TPT Conference: The Magic Starts with You

I spent a few days last week in Orlando, Florida attending the TPT Conference. If you did not have a chance to attend, I highly recommend going next year. If it isn't possible, try to find a meetup or host a meetup in your area. While attending a smaller meetup is not quite the same as the conference, they do give you an opportunity to connect with other sellers.

I arrived on Tuesday in time for the Cool Kids Meet Up. Kayse Morris and Sherri Tyler were our hostesses for the dinner. It was a great time to spend with other sellers just relaxing and eating. We even had some photo ops with Goofy and Pluto.

After dinner, I attended the Florida Welcome Social. A big THANK YOU to the Florida Bloggers who hosted! I had so much fun catching up with sellers I met last year or talk to online. I also met some new people.

On Wednesday, we started our day with breakfast, connecting with sellers and a fabulous Keynote. We were motivated by Amy, Director of Seller Happiness, Adam, CEO, and Jen Bengel before the sessions started. Then it was on to two sessions before lunch. I attended Kayse Morris's session on making videos and Michele Luck's (Michele Luck's Social Studies) session on marketing at conferences. My takeaways from Kayse: video is becoming "the" thing, start making videos (teacher tips, products, etc). Michele's session was very informative on the ins and outs of exhibiting at conferences.

I spent lunch with some great gals from the Lesson Deli blog. We were able to catch up with each other and talk about our morning sessions.

Wednesday afternoon consisted of two more sessions. I heard some great information from Meg Anderson (The Teacher Studio). Takeaways include being an expert in your area, stay current in education, and provide rigor in your resources. My last session on Wednesday was hearing some "real truths" from Erin Cobb (Lovin' Lit). I love how honest and up front she is! She provided some great reminders that I sometimes forget (spend 80% of your time creating products).

Wednesday night was spent at the Blogger Teacher Meet Up. Again, another fabulous time relaxing and talking with other sellers.

On Thursday, we had the pleasure of eating breakfast outside and doing a Q&A with Team TPT. It was a bit warm but enjoyable. This was beautiful scenery on the way to breakfast.

My Thursday sessions started out with Sherri Tyler (Literary Sherri) & Mary Beth Nerone (Brain Waves Instruction) speaking about putting together a meet-up. We had a lot of fun! They provided some great ideas that I hope to put into action.

Next up was listening to Angela Watson. My takeaways from her session include staying current in education, you don't have to do it all, and solve your potential customer's problem.

During lunch, I attended Noelle Pickering's (Maneuvering the Middle) session on developing a business strategy. All I can say is figure out your WHY and watch this TED Talk.

After lunch, I learned from Jodi Durgin (Clutter-Free Classroom) about making products useful for homeschooling parents and listened to a panel of sellers about Mastermind groups.

We ended the conference with Happy Hour - more socializing and connecting with other sellers. On the way back to the hotel, I was fortunate to see a double rainbow over the Disney Boardwalk. The top bow is a bit hard to see.

I enjoyed this year a bit more than last year as I knew more of what to expect. I also had met some people last year and enjoyed catching up with them. I did not have as much anxiety that's for sure! I appreciated hearing things such as quality matters, that you need to stay current in educational trends and pick the ones that are right for your business, that TPT is a business, that you need to focus on what is best for you at this time, and that connecting and collaborating in all aspects of your business is important.

While another great conference is behind us, it's what lies ahead that matters. Hearing from amazing sellers is one thing, but it's what you do with the information. Did you write it all down just to tuck it away in a notebook on the shelf? Or are you going to take action? Taking action is what makes going to the conference (or reading the professional development book, or listening to the business podcast, or watching the Pinterest webinar) worth it! I am in the process of writing my list of action steps. My first one is to start working in videos. What actions are you going to take?