Big things happen at conferences — business partners find each other, ideas get born and developed, people find encouragement and insights and sometimes good, ol’ fashioned friendships begin.
It’s true for me; that’s how Corbett and I met and what led to us becoming partners and building Fizzle together.
You should be going to conferences — there’s just too much to gain if you do it right.
But conferences can be absolutely harrowing. I’ve never felt more isolated, lonely and afraid of reaching out to people. We’ve got some tips for that.
In this episode we give you our best tips to help you meet people and build friendships that comingle honesty, shared experience and humble ambition.
It’s better to listen on the go! Subscribe on iTunes
““Everyone looks like a douche online… but they’re awesome in person.” How to conference well.”
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“Big things come out of conferences if you treat them like an investment in your career. Here’s how ==> ”
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Say Hi to Chase & Caleb at New Media Expo: This January Chase and Caleb will be at New Media Expo. Come say “hi!” Click here for info.
Conferences We Mentioned
New Media Expo 2014 – Las Vegas — It’s a big conference but there are tons of great people and connections. Use FIZZLE20 for 20% off.
World Domination Summit (WDS) — A great conference by a great dude in a great city.
SXSW 2014 — An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity
Big Omaha 2014 — Building community, starting conversation, and providing inspiration for the creative class.
MicroConf – The Conference for Self-funded Startups and Single Founders — A two-day conference focused on self-funded startups and single founder software companies.
Financial Bloggers Conference — A peer conference for personal finance media.
Misfit Conf: Fargo — A tiny conference about making a huge dent in the universe.
Chris Ducker’s “Tropical Think Tank” – Cebu, Philippines, 2014 — hang out, learn lots, network and party your ass off with other awesome entrepreneurs.
XOXO Festival — for geeks and internetters who disrupt things (without ever using the word “disrupt”).
Show Notes
How to Make Your Next Conference an Insanely Useful Experience | Think Traffic — “Your next in-person conference could be a life- or business-changing experience.”
The Third Tier — “The Reeves Tier Theory™ reminds me to dig in, think more human and ask if anyone needs another drink before I go get mine.”
Make WDS (or any conference) better next year — “Here’s a few things I learned at the lovely and fabulous WDS conference in 2012.
Chase’s work station — This is the desk setup Corbett so viciously slanders me for. I think it’s adorable.
How to Create a Compelling Elevator Pitch (FS018) — “From now until you die, how many times will you be asked, “what do you do for a living?” Here’s how to make your response exceptional.”
Wellness Pill — This is the pill I use when I feel i’m getting sick. 3 in the morning, 3 at night. If you’re prone to colds the way I am this is a life saver.
Don Miller WDS 2013 Talk — This is a talk from WDS 2013 wherein my friend Don absolutely kills it. Great job, Don.
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
Sweet! Perfect pre-NMX listening. Great work guys, and hope to see you there!
So you there Nick!
Hey Guys!
Just a heads up. I get your show on my Android through fizzle.libsyn.com/rss. The dates for the episodes are always in the past. Today’s episode shows up as Nov 26th. I sort my episode list by date, newest first. And while I should know it’s Fizzle Friday, when I opened BeyondPod and see SPI and bunch of other of my Starting Lineup shows first, squirrel syndrome takes over and it’s not until Monday or Tuesday that I get around to listening.
Not a big deal as I will be listening eventually, but new or casual listeners may never get around to.
Had the same problem with Itunes. I was refreshing and refreshing and not seeing it. This post also doesnt show up unless you click through from email. Thanks for helping to sort me out Jason.
Thanks for the heads-up Jason. We’ve fixed it for this episode and hopefully for the rest going forward.
Wow. That Donald Miller video just rocked my world.
Dude. You guys are freakin’ hilarious! listening to the conferencing podcast right now. Keep it up fellas.
Thanks, Dean. Much obliged.
Great podcast, guys! By the way, you can still build a standing desk for less than $150. Here’s the one I’m using now: http://newinternetorder.com/standing-desk/
Oh, man… that’s awesome!
Hopefully get to see you all at NMX and I’ll also be at SXSW here in Austin, TX.
Just came back from the Lean Startup Conference, which was almost like World Domination Summit (WDS) but for tech startups. Very cool people.
Don Miller slayed that public speaking dragon in one sharp blow. Loved that vid. Looking forward to see you guys at NMX. Thanks for all the pre-conference advice.
AMIRIGHT!?
Great show! Thanks for leveling the playing field.
As a creative I just signed up for Big Omaha. I wish we had more of these in the UK!
I interviewed Diane Hildebrandt today and she told me about your site. This episode is my first exposure to Fizzle. I’m a speaker at NMX too…I’d love to meet you both.
Also, if you’re interested, I’d be happy to join you on the episode on how to give a better talk and getting a speaking gig.
P.S. Hey, Caleb, who should I meet? ; )
Wow. This is exactly what I needed. I feel like I just got an insider’s glimpse into WDS, SXSW, XOXO, and NMX. I’ll be using these tips to connect with people on a human level for years to come. Despite the following cliche, I think this show is slowly changing my life!
dan at extremehonesty dot com
“I had way more close friends before I was a bestselling author than I did after.” That is some hard truth.
Wow…Don Miller what a speech! Listening to the podcasts in reverse order while flipping houses. Had to stop what I was doing and watch the video. This guy gets right to the bones of reality. Such a great talk. Thanks Chase for adding this one in. On the waiting list for WDS. If I can’t get a ticket would love to have a fizzle meet up and spend a few days and share a drink with everyone in Portland.
Thanks for this podcast. I am signed up for a conference at the end of July and have not been looking forward to going. The triple C advice in this has helped me to better understand the value of conference.
I may be the only one, but I am glad Chase has calmed down a little since this podcast.