Photo courtesy of Sara E Rose Photography
Happy GORGEOUS Tuesday y'all! I don't know about you but the sunshine is so good for my soul and I have been in a great mood all day long! I'm just going to go ahead and apologize for the lengthy and almost photo-less post, but there is just too much I have to say about what I experienced!
On March 3rd, I had the opportunity to attend the
AH Inspired workshop here in Nashville. It was put on by
Amber Housley who, by the way, is amazing. She is so full of helpful information and
so willing to share it with anyone who will listen. I don't know if you know this or not, but that is a rare thing to find. If you are able, I highly suggest you attend this workshop.
Vote here on where AH Inspired should go next.
Amber spoke on many different topics such as things she would tell her former self, branding and marketing, and business operations. The wide array of topics Amber touched on really got me thinking in all sorts of directions. My mind has been going a mile a minute ever since the workshop - in a good way, of course! Amber challenged us and not only spoke on helpful topics but also made us stop and think about what she was saying in terms of ourselves and our companies. One of the main things (there are way too many to name here) I took from Amber was figuring out who my ideal client is. Sometimes I forget that my ideal client isn't myself. She may be parts of me but not all of me. I am working towards nailing down exactly who this said client is and I know it will make a lot of future business decisions easier. She also had us write down our purpose. I actually am pretty happy with what I came up with in the 5-10 minutes she gave us to do so:
To help people celebrate life's moments, both big and small, with style, personalization, and without breaking the bank. That right there, in a nutshell, is what I want to do. What I love to do! I still have some tweaking on the actual phrase but overall I'm pretty happy with it! Along with Amber there were 4 other speakers, who were all amazing as well.
Kelle Boyd of Ann Kelle spoke on facing your fears and working past them. Hearing someone I admire and look up to name some of the very same fears I feel myself, was extremely eye opening and helpful. A lot of times we feel like we are the only person on the entire planet that feels the way we do and although deep down we know there probably is at least one other person who feels that way, it is very easy to feel all alone. Hearing from her just reinforced for me that I need to "protect my dream" and not let anything stand in my way.
The other night
my aunt and I were talking and she said she knows that I will make my dreams happen and I won't give up when others might. It brought me to tears to know I have someone who believes in me even when I don't believe in myself. I am so lucky for my family - they are my biggest cheerleaders!
Sara of Sara E Rose Photography was a doll. She was so genuine and seriously brought the whole room to tears. She spoke on the importance of having a mentor and someone you can trust in the business. That was one main thing I think I gained from this workshop - a sense of community. As I said before, my family is so supportive and they are my biggest cheerleaders but they don't always understand what I'm talking about and sometimes you need an unbiased opinion. Someone to tell you like it is and not just tell you they love everything you do because they love you.
Courtney Dial of Pizzazzerie (among other things - you can keep up with all of her endeavors
here.) spoke on social media and gave us lots of resources for us to take advantage of. I am pretty tuned in to social media and am usually on top of all the new stuff that is out there, but I definitely took a lot away from her and have started using social media in new ways. Let's just say that I updated my LinkedIn profile for the first time since graduating college and have been super busy "researching".
Jessica of The Budget Savvy Bride (she also is an
Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot) spoke on getting published and gave lots of helpful tips for pitching yourself to blogs or publications. For some reason I never think about being published. I think one huge reason is I'm scared of rejection or not being good enough. She made the whole process seem a little less scary and has got me thinking of new ways I can put myself out there and be featured. Jessica also got me thinking about my
elevator pitch! There have been countless times when someone asks me what I do and I have the worst pitch of all time. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a pitch. I am proud of what I do. I love what I do. I should be able to explain it quickly, simply, and with passion.
women was so helpful and such a key part in my growth. I can't say enough how thankful I am for people like them who are willing to share their knowledge. This post doesn't even begin to do the workshop justice. I put it off for a week and a half because I wasn't sure how to quite put it into words. Seriously, every day since the workshop I have thought about it, what I learned, and how I am going to turn it into action steps for my business.
Beyond the speakers and the material covered, I was introduced to 20-something other creative and motivated women with big dreams of their own. It was so refreshing to be in a room surrounded by people who just get it. They understand what it is I'm trying to accomplish. They understand the hardships I come across. And most of all they understand how it feels to work for something you want more than anything. I am so thankful to have a network of women I can keep in touch with and cheer on and who will in turn do the same for me!
