This was my first time attending this conference, and I was using it as a way to figure out if this is a group I should join. It was April 11-14, 2019, in the historic portion of Philadephia, PA. I could actually see the graveyard that had Benjamin Franklin’s grave (as well as many other historic figures).
It was a small conference, less than 200 people, so many of the people seemed to know one another. But they did have a newcomers session, which I took advantage of. There were 15-20 of us, so that was nice. We practiced giving our 30-second spiel, which is part of the agenda for the main conference, and something we would not otherwise be prepared for, as newbies. Here is a picture of me doing mine first day of the conference.
Here are some random pictures of me and others at the conference. They had multiple short talks: SNAP talks were 15 minutes and given to the whole group and TIPS roundtables allowed participants to move around the room for different sessions with different speakers in smaller groups.
The program had a great feature: there were pages in the back with all of the attendees names and their companies, with space to write notes next to them, so you could write down things to help you remember people.
One really cool aspect of the conference was the opprtunity to have your headshot taken for free. You were limited in the pose and background, but it was free! I didn’t think the picture was flattering, so I am sticking with my old one for now.
Overall, a good conference with other independent business owners looking to make connections and network.