Whether you work for a real estate broker or a dentist, there's one thing that every office has in common - the annual conference day is the biggest day of the year in the office calendar. If you're new to the corporate or trades world and have never been to a conference before, you may wonder: what's the point? Why spend all that money just to hang out with other plumbers? Conferences have many goals, which we will explain here, along with how to host your own conference.

Conferences are important from a professional development standpoint because it's important to keep up to date on the new methods or the latest techniques for the treatment of asthma. The main thrust of the conference is to provide workshops and lectures which expose people in the same career field to new innovation and to help them brush up on their skills in an environment where they're surrounded by their peers.

In addition to learning new techniques, conferences are also a great time to network among people in your career field. As a junior employee you can talk to old hats and learn a few things. As an old hat you can reconnect with all your friends and colleagues from other cities and countries. Job opportunities can arise this way. Conferences also expose you to companies who support your field and provide you with free samples so you can compare your current provider with the new company.

If you want to host your own conference, you will have more success if there is not already a major conference in your career field. For instance, if practitioners would like to have their own get together apart from the Canadian national conference, that could be a niche you could exploit. Try to set the date so that it doesn't conflict with other major events in the participants calendars.

Once you have decided on a date, you need to approach professionals. You'll need speakers and presenters for your workshops, sponsors to help with the cost, a hotel for out of town guests and a conference venue to hold your events. You may also need to speak with catering if you're going to be serving dinners or even just light refreshments. Often times deals and group rates are available for these types of events if you would only ask for them.