“The beauty of social media is that you can create your own path to a creative career.” -Shea McGee
Highlights from Blog Podium | Toronto 2017
Last weekend is still rolling around in my head! Myself and my blogging, mama friend Codi from Creative Wife Joyful Worker packed our bags and flew on Flair Airlines from Vancouver,B.C to Toronto en route to our favourite blogging event, Blog Podium. Also, meeting us there from Nova Scotia was my childhood best friend & maid of honour Katie from Wild Rose Buds. Now, it was really hard to compact everything we learnt in one day, so here it goes!
Getting there was seriously half the fun. Our flight arrived around 1am, so that meant checking in around 1:30am. Catching up with my mom who met us there, falling asleep and setting our alarms for 6am. Missed our 7am train ride that only passes through once an hour, getting creeped out by an uber driving to finally calling an Auto Fleet service to get us there really fast for our 8:30am appointments which actually turned out to be booked for 10am! All in all we made it and laughed our asses off the entire way there while trying to prep & not fall back asleep. I definitely broke the cups of coffee in one day! The most I’ve ever had…haha
Our first ever experience with Blog Podium was 2015 when they brought it to Vancouver, B.C. I remember debating it forever, tossing the idea back and forth whether I should go or not. Well, I did. I’m so happy I made that decision because it truly did open some amazing doors for myself. At that moment in time I never did grasp the idea of having a blog become an income. To me it was more of the socializing and networking thing! Fast forward a few years, and I’m thinking way differently then I did before! Who knew that one day this would be providing for my whole family and creating a passion for myself!
This year it was all about learning, taking everything we could from this one day and pushing ourselves to make sure we knew what we want to accomplish. It was about improving and taking the next steps as bloggers, from hobby to career and furthering that. Nothing’s impossible! With a fabulous line up of speakers all day it was really hard to decide where to go to and when for fear of missing from one. The main focus of this year was of course VIDEO! Big big big focus, for good reason. A lot about Insta-stories, pitching ideas and pushing yourself by creating a brand you love.
A few that we did hear from were Christine from Amidst the Chaos. Who taught us how to grow a micro blog into something bigger. Because even though we may doubt it, it can be possible. Giving us Five ways to build a profitable blog
- Set yourself up for success – establish yourself – establish your expertise
- Educate yourself
- Invest in yourself and your buisness
- Set yourself apart
- Set up a network
SheaMcgee from Studio McGee was sooo inspiring her whole story lifted the room. You need to go check her out. If not for that then her lovely eye for design. She reassured us that “You can be the juiciest peach, but not everyone likes peaches, and that’s okay!” Listening to your gut is okay, it’s okay to take risks and to always be nice. It’s okay to learn from your lessons and to be creative with what you have.
The lovely duo from The Uncommon Law showed us a million ways to make your video content the best, how to learn and where to focus. The endless amounts of equipment and making the budget friendly choices for what your going for. Letting us know that in order to grow that investing in your buisness is okay!
Now these were just a smidgen of our day. Beyond this were a lot more talented speakers, speed networking with top brands like Ikea, Black & Decker, Amazon and so on. From that I have already in place some wonderful partnerships. Then while en route to new things we grabbed bites to eat and downed A TON of coffee. Codi and I had a flight that arrived at 1:30am, jet lagged, up to leave our hotel at 6am to catch the missed 7am train. Which entailed us spending a lot of money to call a Auto-fleet cab to drive us to the event!! Good Times! But even better we made it!!!
I find that with each year I do grow and grow. I fuck up and learn from my mistakes and that’s okay! I love this journey and I appreciate special events like Blog Podium that consistently motivate me. If you ever get the chance to experience one for yourself I suggest doing so, not only will you make new friends, you’ll learn a lot. Or if your a lot like me you’ll meet up with your bestie’s and support each other doing what you all love.
Photos By: Goose Berry Studios
Keisha Lynne, xx