I just recently made a decision to fly out to a live event, which occurs this week. It was pretty much a last minute decision, but an opportunity came up for me to get a great deal on a ticket so I went for it. I’ll be doing other traveling right before that and leaving my husband (and our 2 crazy cats 
) for 6 days so there was a bit of going back and forth about it.
However, the more I thought about the potential benefits involved, the more I knew I wanted to do it. It’s a seminar teaching both business-building strategies as well as personal discovery principles, and the timing is ideal for me to experience something like this.
There are three main upsides I see to investing the time, money and energy on a live learning event such as this one:
1) It is the perfect excuse for me to get out from behind my computer and meet people face to face. My business is mainly an online one, and I love that about it. But there is something to be said for networking in person that just takes relationships to a whole new level. I’ve “met” lots of great contacts via social media, but many of them will be at this event and it will be really beneficial to solidify those relationships even more. I expect some exciting joint venture possibilities to take shape!
2) It will be total immersion into learning. Home study courses, calls and webinars are great, but being able to absorb valuable information live over three days will be pretty powerful. This particular event is not going to be a “pitch-a-thon” with multiple speakers selling their products. It will be content-rich and taught by one person for almost the entire event. I fully intend to learn a ton of strategies that I can take home and begin implementing right away.
3) Inspiration! This doesn’t require much explanation–once you get out among new people and new ideas, it’s like breathing fresh air into your business. It’s all but guaranteed that you will walk away with renewed excitement and clarity around what it is you do–and what’s possible for your business going forward.
So, although there was some hand wringing before I came to my decision, I’m confident I made the right one. I’ve attended several live events in the past (albeit mostly local ones) that have really made an impact in my business.
I enjoy learning this way–do you? If you’ve never been to a live event, I highly recommend you try it–and if it’s been a while since your last one, be sure to get out there and go for it!
Live events are definitely my preferred way of learning. Just this past weekend I attended the Enterprising Women’s Conference here in Winnipeg. I debated between attending a session of writers talking inspiration or women managers talking management style. I chose the writers and it made all the difference. I’ve been writing like a maniac ever since! I was so inspired within the first few minutes of this session, I was almost breathless. I felt like I’d come home. Live events definitely make these kinds of experiences possible.
I have really enjoyed the live events that I have gone to. There was a virtual workshop I put on and was able to get a lot of amazing speakers because I had met them in person. They are a blast! But as the same time, they can be information overload, so if there are not recording… you’re in trouble!
So I can honestly say I like both forms of learning.
I hope you have a great time at the event Christine!
.-= Paul Cooley´s last blog ..My Biggest Mistake In Business =-.
@Leanne–that is so cool! I love hearing that.
I really enjoy writing and I know how amazing it is to really get inspired to do it! Glad you had a great event.
@Paul–That’s really true actually. I always take copious notes, and I think one of the keys is to take out those notes and implement, implement, implement once you get home! Otherwise all that info kind of fades away and you can “lose” the inspiration you got at the event.
That’s for sure! Very true! If you’re not going to take action on what you learned, there is no point in going.
Oh by the way… we still need to connect soon!
.-= Paul Cooley´s last blog ..My Biggest Mistake In Business =-.
I really appreciate your take on building an online business and reinforcing it with face to face meetings. I feel it is an important lesson to in cultivating relationships with people. I will continue to subscribe to your blog and I am looking forward to learning as much as I can.
I love the internet and prefer online events (convenience), but do enjoy the live events. It also helps with the “hiding behind the laptop” because our computers can sometimes be our comfort zones.
This weekend I was able to hold a live ladies’ retreat here in our small town, where about 20 women were there to hear me and 2 other speakers. It was so fun MEETING the women face to face, talking to them, eating brunch with them, etc. Plus, computers can’t hug – at least not yet. 
Your seminar sounds fun, especially since it’s NOT a pitch-a-thon and there’s good content, though it’d be hard to leave the cute cats behind —husbands cope better with us being gone than the cats…at least sometimes. 
Beth, I SO hear you on the computers becoming comfort zones! I am really happy to hear you just held a retreat and had a good experience with it–that’s wonderful.
It’s funny about the cats–they DO act a little crazier than usual when I get home from being away…they are very sensitive to their mommy being absent!
I hope you enjoyed the workshop and the Portsmouth area! I live nearby but was unable to attend. I do need to get out more and start going to face to face workshops. It does get too easy to hide behind the computer and there seems to be less accountability for me to follow through.
Hi Gail, it was a great event. Portsmouth was a lovely town, it was my first time in NH actually.
I agree with you about getting out there–although it can involve travel and expense (and leaving the hubby and cats
), it’s usually SO worth it!