6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Corporate Event Venue

For a corporate event to be complete you must have an ideal event venue for your use. The best venue should be able to contain all your guests. It should also have the right arrangements and above all every facility that supports your event/ activity to success. Here are some of the top considerations when choosing an event venue for your corporate event. 

Location

The simplest way to talk about location: choose a corporate venue that is closer to your target audience. Proximity is a key factor when it comes to attendance and security of the venue. Often local attendees will love it when an event is held closer to their homes. Attendees who are leaving town would appreciate it if the event was closer to the airport or next to the hotels too.

Cost

For a conscious event planner, any venue that you shooed for your conference meeting management should fit in your cost.  Additionally if you had budgeted for the venue you’d probably still want to keep the cost of the venue quite low so as to create more room for say food, beverages, and decorations. In case you want a great pricing for the venue you can always remain flexible with the date. Certain days of the week tend to cost less as compared to the rest.

Ambiance

Nothing tunes up an event like the existing decoration. The style and architecture of the place and what the overall décor conveys. Simply put corporate events such as galas would be quite different from expos. The lesser the ambiance fits your need the more money you’ll spend trying to make up for that lost glow. So watch out for the ambiance and make sure it really beefs up the event.

Amenities

Let me say that social amenities are a great addition to any location for a corporate event. The same applies for the corporate meeting management services that are available. For instance, does the venue have a kitchen and is it enough to provide catering services? Does it have chairs, tables, and decorative linens that you could use to up the ambiance of the corporate event venue? Is there any form of Audio-Visual services? Is an event set up and clean up services available?

Capacity

Another very important consideration is the capacity of the venue. How many people can the venue host and how many attendees do you expect? If the capacity is good and your attendees can be comfortable you will look into the safety codes that the venue must keep in place as a form of safety precaution.

Parking

Finally, the flexibility of a corporate event venue depends on the ability to access it easily and also to have a secure parking lot. Availability of a great parking design is a sign that your venue is essential in meeting your needs. If need be, you can always rent a parking nearby to make the work easy.

The layout of a corporate event venue, accessibility, insurance, and the availability of acoustics to prevent noise pollution are also some of the most vital considerations that you must make too. 

Read More

Rauf Ashraf

Mr. Rauf Ashraf is a Managing Partner with the Ash Funds LLC. He has been in this position for over ten years now and more precisely between 2003 to date. While many have heard of him, they may not realize how much contribution Mr. Asraf has made to the investment industry to date. To mention but a few, take a look at the following.

The $1 billion-plus Greenberg-Summit Partners

Mr. Rauf Ashraf was a co-founder of the $1 billion-plus Greenberg-Summit Partners investment project that was started by Summit Partners a leading venture capital firm and Larry Greenberg, Fidelity Investment’s second largest fund manager.

Automation of the Magellan Fund Manager's Custom Research Templates

Mr. Ashraf was also part of the team that helped to automate the Magellan ($57 billion) fund manager's custom research templates. He used a number of stock selection criteria to make the project a success and also change the investment options for the best.

Mr. Ashraf who was identified by Goldman Sachs as one of the most prominent uprising stars in the investment industry has also been given a nod by Fidelity Investments $60 billion dollar Magellan Fund Manager, Larry Greenberg who he served with for quite a stint. He has also featured in a number of renowned publications and has been rated among the top 1% of the best Hedge Fund managers who have been able to raise peak assets above $50 Million in their first stint. This is entirely true and can be related to Mr. Ashraf’s high experience in the industry. Some of the companies he had served with include the following.

Fidelity Investments where he served for close to five years as an analyst. This was his first stint in professional practice. He began with Fidelity in 1995 and later moved on to Summit Partners in January 1997. It is at Fidelity Investments that Mr. Ashraf helped to automate Magellan ($57 billion) fund manager's custom research templates.

His stint at the Summit Partners didn’t last long either. However, it had a lasting impact. While serving under the Summit Partners, Mr. Ashraf became a co-founder of the $1 billion-plus Greenberg-Summit Partners hedge fund that was started by Larry Greenberg. Larry was Fidelity Investment’s second largest fund manager.

Since then, and after leaving Summit Partners in 2001, Mr. Rauf Ashraf has served with two other renowned firms. He has been at the Essex Investment Management as an analyst and finally with the Ash Funds LLC (a company incepted in 2003) as a Managing Partner. He has since been at Ash Funds LLC to date.

The truth is, with such resilience, hard work, and commitment, we are yet to see the last of Mr. Rauf Ashraf in the investment industry circles.

Read More

The Uses and Benefits of Bamboo Charcoal

Bamboo charcoal is increasingly becoming popular, with many people trying to take advantage of their benefits. To understand why everyone is fascinated about this material, you will need to learn about its benefits and used and find out how it works and what it is. This is the ultimate guide to bamboo charcoal.

Why is bamboo charcoal so popular?

For many years, bamboo charcoal has been used as a filtration medium and medicine in Asia, especially Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China. However, the benefits and uses of bamboo charcoal have only been realized by western countries in the recent years. It is an environmental friendly deodorizer and an effective purifier with many benefits.

Natural deodorizer

Conventional air fresheners work by masking bad odor, which actually does more harm than good. Most of the artificial air-fresheners will make you gag and some people even develop allergies because of using them.


Bamboo charcoal not only absorbs but also removes odor trying to mask any horrible smells with perfume. In addition, sweet air fresheners usually contain chemicals that are harmful to you and your family as well as animals and environment in general.


Removing bad odors without causing new ones is very important especially in cars and places like toilet. Instead of using air purifiers with scents such lavender, use bamboo charcoal car deodorizer to remove the smell horrible smell instead of adding to it. Or use bamboo charcoal shoe deodorizer to eliminate bad smell in shoes.


Bamboo charcoal won’t make you and the people you are travelling with in your car chock on the chemical fumes produced by artificial air purifiers.


This material is not only fragrance free but also non-toxic, allergen free and natural. Activated charcoal air fresheners are healthier, last longer and are safer than the conventional alternatives.
It is important that you leave activated charcoal outside for one to two hours every month to refresh it and remove any moisture in it. Another advantage is that these air fresheners can last for more than one year.


Bamboo charcoal can also be used to spruce up the bedroom freezer, bathroom; freshen your sports equipment, gym bag, and eliminate bad odor coming from pet areas and compost pits. Alternatively, you use bamboo charcoal to eliminate small of pain and other bad smells in areas of your home that you have renovated.

Improves water quality

Bamboo charcoal is also effective in purifying water by removing pollutants and releasing minerals. When charcoal odor absorber is placed in water, it softens the water and absorbs chemicals like chemicals and releases magnesium, calcium and other minerals that occur naturally.


Activated charcoal is widely used as filter medium in tropical aquariums simply because it improves the quality of water and removes nitrogen and other toxic products produced by aquatic life.


Bamboo charcoal is completely safe to use around children and pets because it is harmless even when ingested. In fact, many people take charcoal tablets to treat stomach illnesses and you can also use it on pets. The tablets are very effective in absorbing poisons.

Read More