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WIBN’s 2nd annual conference – is it for you?

Networking and skill-building are this entrepreneur’s most essential tasks. Social media can help me do both from my desk, but sometimes face to face is absolutely necessary. Enter the almighty conference, still one of my favorite ways to learn, grow and meet other entrepreneurs. 

Attending conferences can be costly in a multitude of ways though and it can be hard to balance the gains versus the expenses – time, money, follow-up time. Ever try to measure the ROI of a conference? If it’s a valuable conference, the swag is the least of my gains. If it’s not so great, the swag might be the only thing of value I bring home – which is a crime, if you ask me.

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Why this year’s WIBN conference is going to rock your world

Last year’s WIBN conference was a hotbed of learning, relationship building and, of course, sharing. I had met Leigh Mitchell, founder and president of WIBN, a few months prior and I was impressed with her dedication and focus. When she asked me to speak at her first conference, I was honored – little did I ever imagine we’d be working on the second one as a team. 

Can’t decide if this is the conference for you? Read my Top 10 Reasons and let me know if they resonate. But more important, what did I miss? I’d love to hear your reasons for attending as well.

My top 10 reasons for attending WIBN 

Reason # 1 – Quality of presenters. More than 100 speakers applied to speak, which made our job very difficult. On the other hand, YOU win. Our speakers are at the top of their game, leaders in their industry and each one has promised us a day filled with practical skill building. 

Reason # 2 – Connectivity. Between Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, we’re almost 8,000 women strong but the conference only has space for 200…You do the math. 

Reason # 3 – Learning opportunities. Speaking of attendees, I always learn something from other people who attend a conference. Whether it’s watching how they network or picking their brains for solutions to challenges.

Reason # 4 – Practical skill development. Using video to help spread your message is something entrepreneurs can no longer do without. Thankfully, one of our speakers is a former on-air CBC journalist who’s promised to share trade secrets. 

Reason # 5 – Harnessing innovation. From crowd-funding to the nitty gritty entrepreneur must-haves, this is stuff you can start using the day after the conference. 

Reason # 6 – Return on interaction. Our attendees last year included some of the most influential, female solo-entrepreneurs in Ontario. A few of them have already bought their tickets for this year…the rest better hurry! 

Reason # 7 – Networking disguised as fun. Your ticket includes networking the night before and the night of the conference. Seriously, networking is a BIG part of this conference. 

Reason # 8 – Mentoring opportunities. We’re still working out the details but we promise that this initiative will get you thinking a lot more about mentoring and how you can use it to help grow your business. 

Reason # 9 – Return on investment. We solemnly vow to inspire and ignite you to make your business more profitable in 2012. 

Reason # 10– Fun. Learning is always easier when you’re enjoying yourself and our speakers have been charged to teach you – and make you laugh. 

Looking forward to continuing the conversation on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (whichever one works best for you) or leave a comment below.