Hey everyone! Some of you were wondering where I was yesterday.
Well, I was recovering from all of the craziness after #FinCon13. I still can’t believe how awesome it was, and I learned many things that I want to apply to my work.
For anyone who is thinking about going to FinCon in 2014, I definitely think you should go. I feel dumb for skipping the past couple of years, when I clearly should have gone.
The networking alone is one reason for why you should go, and the sessions are equally amazing as well. PT did a great job planning FinCon! And Ashley Jacobs is a great rapper.
I met so many awesome people. Seriously, the list goes on forever. I am so happy to have met so many of you. There were a couple that I didn’t have a chance to meet who I wish I could have. Hopefully next year!
And to those of you who met me, I am so sorry that I was sick the whole conference. I’m sure everyone was sick of hearing my raspy voice and my coughing (I was on medicine though, so I was not contagious!).
FinCon was in St. Louis this year, and I’m very happy for that. I live 15 miles from the hotel, so it didn’t take me long to get to the conference. Luckily W drove me on some days as well. It was definitely a very cheap conference for me.
One big positive of having this conference in St. Louis is that it finally brought people to the city that I live in. I truly believe that St. Louis is very underrated (there are a ton of fun things to do here in St. Louis).
I remember when it was first announced that FinCon13 would be in St. Louis, and I heard some complaints from other bloggers. It really made me sad because so many people have such a bad attitude about St. Louis. However, I had many people come up to me and tell me that they actually LOVE St. Louis after visiting. They loved the architecture, they loved the restaurants, they loved the vibe, and they loved how lively the city was when the Cardinals won.
I’m finally self-employed!
Yes, you read that correctly. I am finally self-employed. Some of you already know, but I haven’t announced it directly on Making Sense of Cents until right now. I will be publishing a more detailed post on this soon.
Wish me luck 🙂 There are many things that I want to work on that I learned about while at FinCon. I’m hoping that this will help me grow and make my work successful.
I want to start working on an eBook.
There are many reasons for why I want to start working on an eBook. I want to give something to my readers, I want to help others, and it would help me look more professional when I am trying to build my brand (see below).
I’m not saying whether this will be a free eBook or a paid one, because I’m not even sure yet. Money isn’t my main reason for an eBook because, let’s be honest, the amount of time it would take to write a quality eBook is very long and the amount of money I would most likely make is very small. Most writers say that when they average out their time with how much money they make with an eBook that it is most likely around minimum wage.
Many writers say that the main positive of writing is that it helps build your brand and makes you more professional to potential readers, clients, advertisers, and so on.
I want to work on building my brand.
One thing that I learned from the keynote from Jean Chatzky is that I need to work on building my brand. I’m not sure what I want to do, or how I will get there, but this is definitely on my long list of things that I need to do.
I need to promote more effectively.
One big mistake that I do is create content, but I don’t promote it enough. Promoting is very important, and it’s something that I really slack off in. Yes, I will tweet my article once or twice a day and post a link to the article on Facebook, but beyond that I don’t do much else.
Accept more interviews.
I have something to admit. I have been asked to do interviews (such as through a podcast), and I have said no. Online interviews don’t make me nervous, because I am able to think about what I am about to say and not have too much word vomit.
Luckily Jeff Rose found me and asked me yet again to let him interview me for a podcast, and I said yes. He asked me a couple of months ago but I said no – because I am a very nervous person.
I often engage in word vomit, and this is what makes me nervous about a “live” interview. That is something that I need to work on.
Eventually speak at FinCon.
I attended many sessions while I was at FinCon, and everyone was a great speaker. There was no one whose session I attended where I didn’t learn anything or thought they haven’t been speaking for years.
I would love to someday be able to do this. I always did good (maybe just “okay”) with speaking in classes in high school and college. However, speaking in front of a bunch of very intelligent people who I admire?
That scares the crap out of me. However, I really want to make this a goal of mine. I’m not saying that I will speak next year (AHH!), but eventually I would love to do this. If you have spoken at a conference before, how did you prepare? Were you scared at first?
What are your business plans for the short-term and long-term?
Did you enjoy FinCon? Are you attending next year?
Leave a Reply
I hope to make it to FinCon someday (maybe next year!) I think it would be a great experience and chance to meet everyone! Some of the things you mention above are exactly the reasons I should go – I don’t promote my posts enough, don’t brand myself, been working on an e-book FOREVER now and it’s still not done (perhaps over winter-break). Maybe I’ll get a chance to go next year.
Congrats on your self-employment! I look forward to reading a more detailed post. 🙂
I definitely recommend FinCon. Try your hardest to come in 2014!
Congratulations on going full time into self-employment. As someone who has done that for many years I cannot imagine doing it any other way. Never look back!
As to the public speaking, relax and expect to have a great time. Most people are fearful at first and do not know how to get over the nervousness. Some long time speakers continue to experience it and think it stimulates their speaking but the truth is, if you know the real cause of nervousness you can replace it with a much more positive stimulus.
Many great speakers are less than handsome in appearance and less than polished in speech, but they hold the audience in the palm of their hand. Why? Because they have something to say. Once you know this you can relax and enjoy doing your presentations. It is like your website. Appearance is great but content is the key.
I have had the opportunity to speak thousands of times to audiences large and small. The only times I have been nervous have been the times I knew I was not as well prepared as I should have been. Once past those first few learning experiences, you will have those very likely, you can look forward to sharing what you know to be helpful information to people who you know are wanting to receive it or they would not be present.
Good Success.
Thank you James! And thank you for the positive speaking comment. I need to not be so afraid ad just do it.
Thank you Jordann! And I’m still not sure about the ebook, as I have a ton of ideas. Choosing the topic will probably be very hard.
Congratulations, Michelle! Self-employment has been the best thing that’s ever happened to us, and I hope the same for you. I am so glad you’re saying yes to more interviews. When we did our first and only live interview, I engaged in word vomit, but I did get a few laughs. Just be you and that will be more than enough!
Thank you Tammy!
Thank you Catherine. I will definitely have you review it. However, it most likely won’t be for another year! ha
Thank you!
I’m not sure yet. You should definitely go next year 🙂
Congrats on finally making the jump. It was great to finally meet you in person, and I hope you’re feeling better soon!
Thank you! It was so nice meeting you as well. 🙂 I wish we could have talked more.
Haha yes I was sick and it was so annoying! I’m glad that I’m finally over it, because I’ve been sick for two whole weeks.
It was so nice meeting you also. You are so awesome!
Congratulations! That is awesome – and inspiring, as always! Good luck in your first few days as 100% self employed 🙂
Thank you Kali!
Congrats on being self-employed! I’d like to go to FinCon next year…do they have a location? I understand what you mean by word vomit…I like being able to think about my answer in detail before answer, but with a live interview, I feel a little rushed because when there silence or a pause, I want to fill it with words. I need to work on thinking fasting on my feet.
Thank you Andrew! And yes, you should go. I don’t think a location has been determined yet.
Yes, I need to work on thinking fast on my feet as well. That is something that I am not good at.
Thank you Edgar!
Thank you Anna 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the conference. I am sad that I had to change my plans last minute due to work. I just paid for the virtual pass, so hopefully I will get some good stuff from the recorded sessions.
There are many things that I need to accomplish with my brand, but I just keep making excuses for not completing them. That needs to change.
Aww that stinks Grayson! I was asking people if you were there and I was sad when I found out you couldn’t make it.
Congratulations on finally making the switch to self employment! Looking forward to hearing about how it goes. I’m sure everything will be fine, though – you’ve been so successful.
I am really shy too, but it would be a shame to pass up those public speaking opportunities. I’m sure there’s lots of us that would love to actually hear from you. You’re an inspiration to a lot of people! I hope to go to Fincon next year, it sounds so exciting.
Thank you!