Lessons Learned from an Entrepreneurial Conference

In March, I presented at the annual Spark Conference, a female entrepreneurial conference and spoke about how crowdfunding can help entrepreneurs grow their audience. (Shameless plug: visit my book’s crowdfunding campaign here.)

While there, I learned how to SEO my website, connected with old friends, and made new connections that surprised me.

I was one of the only people who had flown into the conference—everyone else was local to Amsterdam—so I felt a bit like an outsider.

One can easily identify other outsiders at a conference because they often stand at the edges of conversation and hang around the coffee machine.

Those were the people I approached first and introduced myself. Once two outsiders join forces, they’re no longer “outside” and the group grows less intimidating.

Here are some additional lessons I learned while at Spark: 

Success means something different to all of us

Defining your version of success is so important because it means something different to every single person in the room. Some women had left their office jobs and were just starting the entrepreneurial journey whereas others were celebrating selling 100k books.

We’re all at different stages of our careers and maturity as entrepreneurs, so it’s important that you define your goals and understand that the conversations you have with others will be through their lens of what success means to them.

A rising tide raises all ships

This motto was said a lot during the conference and there was great emphasis on approaching all conversations with how we can help one another.

A panel discussion covered competition and envy and explained how those thoughts and emotions are not only destructive but they come from a scarcity mindset instead of an abundance mindset.

When we focus on the abundance around us, we no longer compete with others, and we are given the unique opportunity to lift one another to a higher level.

I turned to the woman next to me and said, “I really enjoy hiring fellow entrepreneurs because I know that the money I give to that person will allow her to pay another entrepreneur for her services and so on and so on.”

It’s like micro-economics in a small circle. The more you invest in one another, the more you all succeed.

Creativity is not magic, it just looks like that to people who don't know how much work goes into creating something

Creativity is not magic. It’s also unlimited. We all have the capacity to be creative.

It’s the whole 1% vs. 99% inspiration vs. perspiration thing. Creativity is really just the outcome of a lot of hard work and perseverance. 

If you work hard and don’t give up, you’ll make it farther than most people. 

Don’t approach creativity like it’s some magical process only available to a select few—we all have the ability to create wonderful things.

LinkedIn makes it easy to connect

This one was a practical tip, but if you have the LinkedIn app on your phone, which I recommend installing before going to a conference, you can turn on the Bluetooth option and connect with everyone who is in your same vicinity. 

This took away the pressure of having to print and collect (and not lose) people’s business cards but it also took away a bit of the face-to-face interactions.

Once the conference is over, follow up with everyone who you connected with and let them know what you’re working on. You never know who might be interested in what you do.

Building a business takes time

Building a business takes a long time. Building a successful business takes even longer. How long? The answer was different for everyone.

One speaker said he changed directions multiple times in the past 20 years. He also admitted that as an entrepreneur, he suffered from Shiny Object Syndrome (you can read more about that here) and that he learned to punt interesting opportunities to other people rather than try to take them all on himself.

We have limited time, resources, and bandwidth, so being picky about your projects is a good thing.

As entrepreneurs, we have that indefatigable “can do!” spirit but it can often distract and derail us from getting things accomplished.

Ready to raise the tide and lift some ships?

Go check out my book’s campaign here and share it with one person you know will love it.

https://bit.ly/clockstrikeshalloween

Writers: Increase Your Visibility on Instagram

Your writing lives on your computer but your fans, followers, and potential readers live on their phones.

Sharing snippets of your writing with your followers in Instagram is a great way to build a loyal readership.

There are some new apps designed for writers to share their work visually and since they are on your phone, it’s much easier to create an Instagrammable image of your latest blog, poem, or chapter.

Readers are visual people

These apps are designed with the poet in mind, but you can use them to highlight attention to anything you’d like your readers to know about.

The latest data from Statista states that 52.99% of global web traffic came from a mobile device in Q3 2017—a significant rise up from the 44% 2016.

More and more readers are surfing on their phones every day and let’s face it, people respond to visuals.

Creating an image is a great way to get more attention to your text.

I tested out two mobile apps for you to consider enhancing your Instagram feed.

YourQuote

YourQuote is an app developed in India that has a huge writing community behind it.

The wallpapers are beautiful and you can add them as the backdrop behind your text to enhance the emotions or imagery behind your words.

The app is a little buggy—it would suddenly close on me or freeze in the middle of my typing—but there are daily writing prompts to spark your creativity.

The app has Facebook and Instagram integrations which makes it easy to share across platforms.

There is also an option to copy your caption so you can easily copy/paste over somewhere else.

Lisa’s unbiased review: B

-This rating is due to the app’s instability. It keeps crashing my phone despite having the latest update. 

Mirakee

Mirakee is another app with a writing community behind it. The Explore feed looks like an Instagram feed full of poetry. The tap to heart options makes it easy to share encouragement to other writers and to find a little inspiration if you’re in a rut.

The compose and edit features are similar to YourQuote and navigating the app is easy.

So far, it hasn’t crashed my phone on me, so this less buggy version earns a…

Lisa’s unbiased review: A


Both apps are great options for sharing your writing on Instagram or Facebook and bringing more attention and visibility to your writing. 

What’s great about the apps are the writing communities behind them.

The writing communities are a great way to feel connected to other writers instead of home alone writing at your desk surrounded by sheafs of paper and empty cups of coffee.

Canva

While Canva is not a writing app, you can use this photo editing app to create your own images and overlay the text manually. 

Canva has great free templates with suggested fonts and styling straight from the box.

Unlike YourQuote and Mirakee, there is no Canva watermark attached with the images you create using the app.

The app is seamless and has a desktop version as well, so you can access your images from your Canva account wherever you want to write.

You can upload your own images as the wallpaper which means that nobody will have the same background as you. Your imagery and text will truly stand out from the crowd.

Lisa’s unbiased review: A

-Canva requires a bit more manipulation but has greater control.

-With more options comes more decisions but I love the ability to upload your own images as the background wallpaper.

What hashtags to use?

There are a million hashtags on Instagram but the ones I frequently use are:

#supportindieauthors (4500 posts)

#creativewriting (1.5M posts)

#poetryofinstagram (750k posts)

#writersofinstagram (6.6M posts)

#tellyourstory2018 (my hashtag–use this and I’ll support you with likes and reshares.)

 

And last but not least, be sure to follow me on Instagram @knockedupabroad.

I discuss defining and connecting with your ideal readers in the first section of my Beginner’s Guide to Self-Publishing course because it is so important to know where to find your readers. 
It is crucial to get them excited about your book before it is published.

Instagram is a great platform for sharing your writing if you create visuals that connect and inspire your audience.

Learn more about my step-by-step guide for self-publishing your story this year here.