For the fifth year, I just finished speaking and participating in Sage Summit. It has grown from a few thousand attendees to over 15,000 this year in Chicago. Today, I kept wondering why I still have a smile on my face.
I realized that these events are so important to small business owners because it demonstrates the possibilities inside all of us.
Running a small company can be a lonely job. We all kept wrapped up in the day to day tactics of operating a company. To combat this, it is critical to get out of the office at least once a year and attend an small business super conference like Sage Summit. All the participants are shown a variety of ways they can grow their business. This ranges from sessions that detail how to use technology solutions more effectively to self help confidence building speakers.
This year, Sage showcased Sir Richard Branson who encouraged every entrepreneur to “screw it” and do it anyway. They even added a little “Hollywood” by hosting a conversation with movie stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Zooey Deschanel who have started or sold their own companies. Attendees saw Sharks Daymond John and Robert Herjavac live at the event.
What I was most impressed with was how all the participants of this three day event tried to help small business owners succeed. This included demonstrating industry applications, connectivity solutions, showcasing “The Start Up Van” and a bot named Pegg which promises to make everything easier. All of these tools got me excited about achieving more success in my own life, and as the theme for the event said helped “Ignite The Passion”. This year, Sage even provided one on one mentoring for participants who wanted to sit down and talk to a small business expert for 30 minutes about their particular issues. What conference have you been to lately that provided that?
I know that these events are a large investment for a company like Sage. However, it proves that they do care about small business owners and they are willing to show them a path to success by hosting this annual event. It re-energizes me every year!
Plan to attend next year. It will make a difference in your business.
