Back in 2019 when I was dreaming up Oliver Creative, I was spending a ton of time establishing personal and professional goals for myself. It was an inspiring time! One of my goals I wrote down was to attend the dreamy, colorful, incredible women's conference, Alt Summit in sunny Palm Springs, California.
In 2020, Alt Summit was one of the last events that happened before the world shut down and unfortunately Alt Summit had to break during the pandemic. Fall 2022 they decided to host one in New York, a one day conference as a sort of re-entry into the conference hosting world. I considered attending but decided I wanted to wait out for Palm Springs.
Alt Summit was next level. From the Saguaro Hotel to the fashion of so many creative women, I felt like I was in the presence of the most creative in the world! Not only did I grow my bright and colorful wardrobe and tools to expand my business; I learned a little about myself in my solo trek cross country.
The conference was every bit as magical as you would dream a creative women's conference would be. I honestly felt like my inner 8 year old self was right at home with her people who were free to express themselves creatively without fear of judgement.
My biggest takeaways from Alt:
- Take a solo trip. While I missed the husband and the dog something terrible (and definitely could have used a conference wingwoman!), I learned a lot about myself by traveling alone. Going to a conference solo allowed me to not be tethered to one group/person and offered me many opportunities to connect with others that I may have otherwise not taken.
- No one will make your career happen but you. You're responsible for the movement, the flow, the progress. Being in a small town, I am notorious for saying ‘yes’ to projects that don't align with my goals because I know the person asking! Adding projects that aren't in line with your desired outcomes or putting off intentional time for your business while serving others will only result in delayed progress. Yep, I've definitely gotta work on this.
- Build your personal brand. I want to share more on this later but for now I want to share this. It's always felt icky to me to promote myself but in all reality, people work with me because they want to work with ME. Someone is already out there doing what you do already, in fact, there are millions. The reason people choose your business over the competition is the relationship you provide and the way YOU make them feel.
As a creative, it seems I'll never be in one place or doing the same thing for a long time, so building a personal brand instead of my business brand makes a lot of sense for the future. Follow my social for more awkwardness as I put myself out on stage.
