Blog World Expo is Great Place to Learn & Network

Just when you think you have your business all figured out, you attned a conference only to discover you’re really uncool and not as knowledgeable as you thought!  This was me at Blog World in Las Vegas last week.  If I hadn’t had my MacBook I’d have felt like a total loser!  I really enjoyed meeting the many people I follow and read regularly, plus the dozens who were new to me.  What a great group of smart, friendly people.

The event was fantastic, filled with panel discussions, workshops and keynotes by the thought leaders in our industry and I left with a ton of notes and a commitment to be more connected for my clients and me.  Today I find myself scouring through my notes and starting to outline my plan of attack.

In the event you’re doing the same, here’s a post I found today that I found very helpful in my follow up to Blog World.

Reflections of a Leaping Entrepreneur

Seven years ago this week, I took a leap of faith and quit my cushy job at the House of Blues.  I was the head of  strategic marketing for the venues which at the time included eight clubs and over 20 concert arenas.  It was a great job and I enjoyed working there for several years surrounded by some amazing people with whom I still remain close to today.   Most people would not have walked away as I did. After all, I had survived three rounds of layoffs since the great dot-com bust of 2000.  But while most people saw demise of an industry, I saw opportunity.  Many of my colleagues were being laid off yet most companies still had the same work that had to be done and outsourcing was becoming very widespread. So why not outsource that to me?

Together with a recently laid off HOB colleague, we started our own marketing consulting company. The funny thing was every time we met with a client, they were confusing marketing with P.R. (at the time, P.R. was still very much about media outreach and begging for coverage.) So we decided we would be a P.R. company, why not?

By 2005 my partner and I had broken off into my own small companies, each concentrating our better strengths.  It has been an amazing ride, I must say.  In the beginning I was so scared, yet it was always a great scared.  I felt empowered even when I was broke.  With no steady paycheck I have depended on my clients paying me in a timely fashion, which sometimes is not so timely.  I have had several holidays with no cash (clients tend to hold off on payments around that time of the year) but it’s never been so bad I felt like giving up.

I have been reflecting all this week as it’s my anniversary and I am so proud of what I’ve accomplished. A good friend asked me over lunch last week what surprised me most about this journey and I listed these:

• The fact that I am actually good at this
• That I am doing it alone without a partner
• The list of things I still want to conquer (such as speaking, writing, etc.)
• How much fun I am having, still

Have you taken a leap of faith? What has surprised you about your journey?

The Other Ledges I Dance On

Sorry that I seemed to have fallen off the “ledge” but I also blog with my team over at Dishing With The Fish – it’s the bloggy stuff from all of us at Starfish P.R.  Feel free to drop in there too!