Where to even begin?
This past month or so has been absolutely exhausting. A bit of burnout and stress and so many things not working out as planned and also a few changes coming soon – but more about that a different day! Needless to say, I was counting down the days to Creative at Heart where I could get away for a bit and focus on the next steps for growing Basic Bash.
I got in late the night before the conference so I grabbed pizza from a place across the street from the hotel and went straight to bed after. Day 1 arrived and after checking in to the conference and getting a pretty pink name tag, breakfast was served in the beautiful Colonial Ballroom.
I met a new friend in line and sat with her to eat and kick the day’s festivities off. We had some welcome announcements and then Bonnie was up first! She had amazing things to say about building an authentic brand from the heart. Michael taught us how to be financially “free” and after a short coffee break we learned from Molly about blogging with purpose and passion for a profit. (Note to self: don’t go into blogging unless you absolutely love it.) We had lunch and panel group where we got to talk in a small group and ask questions more tailored to our own businesses. We all had something in our eyes during Mary’s presentation (idk what was up with that :P) and we ended the day being encouraged by C@H’s founder, Kat. We had a “late night treat” and spent time hanging out, talking, and eating.
Day 2 had the same format as day 1. We listened to Shay talk about finding your niche – so much scarier than being a one-stop shop! Ashlee taught us about serving our clients well, Krista taught us about her SEO tricks, and Annamarie taught us how to get out of our own way of success. We had lunch and headshots and panel group one more time.
Then we heard from Natalie who gave a fascinating talk about our senses, the brain, and our business. Amy and Jordan talked about how we all crave community and Katelyn finished off the day talking about how to create it.
I was hoping that the conference would be inspiring, full of actionable content, and a wonderful learning and networking experience and it totally 10000% was – but not quite in the way that I expected. It was rare for a presentation to go all the way through without the speaker tearing up and making the audience tear up as well. Each and every speaker talked from the heart and it really showed that they care deeply about their businesses, about their missions, and about us.
Highlights of the conference –
Meeting Rising Tide co-founder Natalie Franke, giving her a big hug, and telling her about our local Tuesdays Together group!
Meeting Sarah from Intrigue Designs – we’ll get ice cream together someday!
Talking and eating lunch with Katelyn James and Michael Alsop and seeing how sweet they are in person!
Listening to every speaker and trying to act casual (read: not cry) while they shared their stories.
Filling my notebook with tons of wisdom and valuable advice.
I’ll be taking a step back and evaluating Basic Bash from the heart over the next few days.
I know that this coming year will bring amazing things!
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I would love for you to join round 5 of Creative @ Heart in Denver! July 24-25! Go here for more info!
Links to the speakers’ websites!
Bonnie Bakhtiari
Katelyn James and Michael Alsop
Molly Stillman
Mary Marantz
Kat Schmoyer
Shay Cochrane
Ashlee Proffitt
Krista Jones
Annamarie Akins
Natalie Franke
Amy and Jordan Demos