Attending Workshops & Meetups Can Cause Your Business To Soar
This post is way overdue, but it is still relevant.
In the month of April, I attended another wonderful and informative event: Office Protocol Seminar, hosted by the team at Info Pursuit IT Solutions & Education.
In case you have not heard, Info Pursuit IT Solutions & Education, is a multi-faceted business led by Lyndonna Francis which provides training courses and development workshops for businesses and individuals.
Read Also: Info Pursuit Dining Etiquette Recap
Info Pursuit has been in existence since 2010, with an aim to educate the Grenadian community in areas such as Information Technology, Customer Service, Best Business Practices and Professional Image. This dynamic team has also had the opportunity to host workshops in other Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Antigua and Trinidad. See their Facebook PAGE for more on their upcoming workshops such as The Phenomenal Woman Conference.
Office Protocol Seminar was designed for front office personnel, persons looking to improve their protocol skills and just about anyone needing a customer service strategy. Staff from various businesses attended to listen to Ms. Alison Lett, Deputy Comptroller (Acting) at the Grenada Customs & Excise Division, share on topics such as customer service, receiving visitors, professional image, time management and email & telephone etiquette.
[ctt title=”Workshops are a great place to find and learn from other #entrepreneurs” tweet=”Workshops are a great place to find and learn from other #entrepreneurs http://ctt.ec/Qvbb6+ + via @islepreneur” coverup=”Qvbb6″]
While there, looking around and observing the attendance and interaction among the attendees, I started thinking about the opportunities entrepreneurs can create for themselves by attending sessions such as these. There were definitely over 100 persons were in attendance, which was a great turn out and I thought, if I had only had my new business cards, then at least 20 persons would have learned about my blog for the first time. Just maybe. 🙂
My intention was to post a recap of the event and list some great points that Ms. Lett would have alluded to from her presentation. Unfortunately, I lost most of the pictures I took from this event. Files got corrupt, so I resorted to Plan B:
This post is to highlight two main reasons, why I believe, entrepreneurs should invest in and attend workshops and meetups; Networking & Relevance.
Networking
1.New Business Relationships. Attending events create opportunities to form new business relationships with people you don’t come across on a daily basis. I have attended a few workshops since I started blogging and I can say that through those events, I was able to establish new connections and strengthen relations that were already formed. I was also able to meet up with an entrepreneur in person for the first time since we met online a few months ago.
Read Also: Connexions By FemmePowered
2. Find Entrepreneurs In Your Niche. Workshops are a great place to find and learn from entrepreneurs who have already walked the path you’re walking on. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself, interact and ask questions. Sometimes, as an entrepreneur, when we experience a setbacks, it feels like we’re in it alone. I guarantee you, that’s not the case. Interact with people in business, share your experience and listen their experiences. You’ll find that your setbacks are nothing new and just like they did, you can also overcome.
[ctt title=”Setbacks are nothing new, just like others did, you can also overcome.” tweet=”Setbacks are nothing new, just like others did, you can also overcome http://ctt.ec/8scR8+ via @islepreneur” coverup=”8scR8″]
3. Partnerships. Attending workshops not only help you find other entrepreneurs in your niche which can lead to new friendships, it is also the place to scope out talent and skills you do not possess. For example, you launched an apparel line which has been doing well and is in high demand in Grenada and Trinidad. You are now realizing that with the use of social media, you can expand your reach and possibly sell to a few more Caribbean islands. Only thing is that you are not social media savy and will like to reach your desired audience. From attending the last Entrepreneurship workshop, you realized that ‘John’ is into social media and has been doing great at it and getting good feedback. So, you contact and hire John and off course, he gets paid for his services. Remember:
Good #business partnerships are never one way. Both parties must equally reap benefits. #entrepreneurship
— Istra Bell (@Islepreneur) June 9, 2016
Relevance
4. Relevant Information. This is self-explanatory, right? There are some things you may hear at a business seminar that you just won’t hear anywhere else. Seminars are a great place to get current information which you most likely can apply right away. I always advise to keep learning. You can never know enough and the way the world is evolving, the best thing you can do for yourself is stay current with the right information.
5. New Ideas. Attending seminars can stimulate your thinking to develop new ideas for your business. This may be what you needed to start soaring and to step out with that idea of yours you’ve been putting on the back burner. Learn new ways of doing what you do, get new strategies and learn from the experience of other persons in your field.
Never underestimate the power of a business seminar and meetup. You just never know who or what you will discover there.
Have you been to any meetups? Share your experience and takeaways below:
