Lessons Learned from the Small Business Expo-Chicago
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Small Business Expo, held at the University of Illinois Chicago campus. Its goal was to bring together small business owners and employees, and give folks a chance to exhibit, attend presentations and network. I admit, I was a little skeptical that the free event would yield results, but it turns out that I learned a lot.
I got a chance to meet some of the nicest, hardest working people in Chicago- small business owners. It was great to trade stories, and hear from others who are going through the same journey I have started. And, it was really neat to hear about all of the different types of businesses (virtual assistants are HUGE by the way- I did not expect to meet quite so many people offering virtual staffing solutions).
A few key themes and messages stood out to me, and I wanted to share what I’ve learned & spread the wealth. So, what follows is a list of some of the most important or moving things I learned and absorbed last week.
Networking is not about what you get from someone else- it’s about being human. Georgina Miranda gave a beautiful presentation about developing resilient relationships, and she helped me reframe my beliefs about networking. She shared that the more you can look at networking as a chance to develop meaningful relationships, the more you’ll enjoy it and the higher quality your connections will become. She shared a wonderful quote from Oprah to this effect, “What we’re all striving for is authenticity, a spirit-to-spirit connection,” and I tell you, hearing that context changed the rest of my entire day at the conference.
Perfect is annoying. This one was another gem from Miranda, and speaking as a recovering perfectionist, it really hit home. I used to think that being perfect was the goal- in school, at work, in relationships, and as it seems we all eventually learn, I realized that I was never going to get there. Furthermore, I’ve started to see that my outward/false perfection is actually a barrier to real, authentic relationships. There are more than a few people out there who are really annoyed by who I used to be (and still am sometimes, let’s be honest), but the thing that really struck me about this quote is how much I agree with it. I see perfect feeds on Facebook and Instagram all the time, and they are REALLY annoying. I don’t want to be perfect anymore. And for some reason, hearing this one sentence really helped me solidify the fact that perfect can no longer be my goal.
Email marketing is a game I have only barely begun to learn. This was one of the most practical sessions I’ve ever seen. Dave Charest from Constant Contact gave us the BEST summary and outline for how to make an email marketing campaign that I have seen to-date (and I’ve read and watched A LOT on this topic). Basically, he outlined a SUPER SIMPLE approach that involves writing promotional emails vs. non-promotional emails, with strategies and best practices on how to construct each of them, when to send them, and how often. Biggest cool thing I learned: I’m sending an OK amount of emails. It’s not too much, and it’s not too little, and holy smokes did I feel empowered to finally be able to measure and decide on how I can craft my strategy going forward. The best thing about this presentation was that I feel like I can actually implement these strategies, it’s not way too hard, and I don’t need to pay a super expensive consultant to help me figure it out. As a small business owner, that feeling is priceless, and I honestly couldn’t believe they’d teach all of us that for free. BIG SHOUT OUT to Constant Contact for sending Dave our way.
Bring snacks. My only critique of the event was that there were not a lot of food/beverage options. I hadn’t even thought about brining snacks, but going forward, I’m going to stick a CLIF bar or two in my purse just in case.
And that’s a wrap! Overall, it was a great day of connecting, learning and getting inspired for my business. I am so glad that I took advantage of the event, and will be signing up for next year FOR SURE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What’s the best conference you ever attended? What key messages stay with you to this day? Drop me a comment or a DM- I’d love to trade some takeaways with you!