I was up bright and early on Saturday morning, full of anticipation and a small amount of sleep, 6am is just not a time in the morning that I do well. Make-up on, bag packed, double and triple checking that I had everything that I needed [business cards, glasses, pens, notebook!] and then I was out the door at 7. A slight hiccup with the subway, [why is St Andrew always closed on the day that I need to get to Union?] I made it there at 8. 

As I arrived, I bumped into a couple of ladies also heading towards the conference. We chatted, introduced ourselves, and got registered. The inner stationery nerd in me rejoiced at the fact that with registration they had a little package including a notebook, pen, candy, and name card. There was a bit of a crowd, but it wasn’t completely filled up yet, so it was a little less stressful to take it all in. It was nice to put real faces to some of the ladies that I’ve been chatting to on Twitter, although I didn’t have quite to courage to go up to them all. 

There were an assortment of sponsor booths, and it was lovely talking to them all. Photos galore were happening in the foyer section, one for Etsy, a professional photographer doing headshots, and an Instagram photo printer. I had fun chatting at the Etsy booth in the morning, before going to get a seat and some breakfast. 

The interesting point that did come up, that I never really thought about before is thinking of myself as an entrepreneur. I’ve always enjoyed working for other people, and not having to take that extra step of responsibility, but lately the thought of working for myself definitely has some appeal. I’ve actually come to terms with some things that I’m not even 100% capable of sharing… yet.

Highlights from the Sessions I Attended: 

1. Keynote Presentation – Donna Williams: I actually have never heard of her blog before this conference, and she is fascinating. I loved that she shared her starting story, and it was really inspirational. She’s a fascinating woman, and makes the coolest things around her house! She had some great thoughts about how to keep your passion in blogging by creating a mantra that you read to yourself every time you start to get bogged down, or sidetracked from the original message you were trying to portray. 
2. Do’s and Don’ts of Attracting Brands: As I’ve never really given much thought to attracting brands, this was a good intro to the side of working with brands. Some good tips included Know Your Brand, Be Transparent and Loyal, Engage with Brands you Love, and make a Brand Wishlist. 
3. Bloggers and Brands: After the previous seminar, it was the perfect segway into this seminar, as this was a little more in-depth, discussing pitching to brands, negotiating contracts, creating content, reporting the final stats, and building long term relationships with the brands. 
4. Keynote Panel: The panelists comprised of Scott McGillivray of HGTV’s Income Property, Jennifer Flores of Rambling Renovators, and Monika Hibbs of MH [previously Doctor’s Closet]. I found this to be extremely interesting and inspiring. My favourite thought from this was Scott’s – “Being an entrepreneur is like being a farmer. Long days, and hard work and knowing that the reward is worth the delayed gratification”. 
5. Blogging to Vlogging: This one was interesting, because I’m not sure what I thought it would be like going in, but it wasn’t really what I thought it would be? She went over the major points of why and how, and briefly went over editing programs. This is something that I might be interested in getting into. I just need to get over myself on camera. 

1. Brand Booths: It was really interesting interacting with the brands, I loved finding out that stores that I love shopping, and just browsing also work with bloggers. Definitely a lot of food for thought in the future!! 
2. Networking: Possibly the best part of conferencing, meeting new people! This year I met the lovely Amanda of Amodachic, Paige from Heirloom Keepsakes, and Vanessa from The Shimmer! 
3. Swag: Ah the freebies. I got quite a few new bags, and a chair. I won a little contest that I got something that I’m not sure what I’ll do with yet… Paige suggested using it in a gallery wall project. Good idea!