Last Thursday I had the honor of attending the first Gal Getaway: The Conference and the timing could not have been better. I already had plans to be in Orlando that weekend for a work project and I had been craving a feeling of connection with other like-minded women. I have been following Kahlea Nicole, the girl behind it all, on Instagram before she created Gal Getaway events and it’s been so fun to see these grow and finally attend one. Kahlea created Gal Getaway as a way for women to connect and talk about business and share ideas that give attendees the information they need to walk out of each event feeling more confident in their ability to make their dreams into reality.
I was heading to this conference feeling uninspired and like I haven’t been doing enough. I expressed this in an Instagram post the day before I left and all of you made me feel more confident that I was connecting with you, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could be doing more. After hearing from so many inspiring women I left feeling inspired that I can indeed do this even if I don’t have everything I think I “need” to succeed and I left feeling like I had truly made real-life connections.
Now I understand that going to conferences and learning seminars like Gal Getaway is an investment and there can always be that lingering question of “is it right for me?” or maybe “is it really worth it?” and all I have to say is hearing other people’s stories and advice is invaluable. Yes, you could probably go on Skillshare, read an article or watch a YouTube video but to me, I learn so much better when I can actually feel like I’ve connected to the person who is teaching me something new. Not to mention, these panel talks are done in real time. You will hear stories and learn things that are typically filtered and you’re getting to see people you’ve possibly looked up to speak. For me, this was the ladies of Blogettes. They’ve been giving me advice since day one of deciding to build my own website and I actually got to meet them and hear their stories.
So, with all of that being said, here were my takeaways from Gal Getaway: The Conference
- Don’t feel guilty about solving someone else’s problem. Your creativity is priceless.
- Surround yourself with people who are where you want to be and be that person for others.
- During your “slow” phases of life/work use that time to build yourself up. Practice your skill, take quality photos, write some blog posts even if you don’t share them, make new connections, etc.
- Branding will improve credibility. It is the things you can see and the feeling you create, it has its own personality.
- If you plan ahead and know what you want to talk about you can share/do anything. For a business trying to plan 1-3 months ahead. For personal have an idea of what you want to share over the next 3 Days – 1 week so that you can cover the topics you want to share but also have time to be present in your everyday life.
- People need to see you as a resource for something
- Create exclusive content for your different platforms to give people a reason to go to them.
- Let people in. Share your struggles, experiences, what you’ve learned, and how you’ve helped yourself.
- Trust your creativity. It’s okay to date an idea, you’re not married to it and your platforms and audience can grow with you.
- Take time for yourself. Create boundaries so that you don’t exhaust yourself and can give from a fuller cup.
Well, that was a lot and that wasn’t even everything! But don’t worry, I will be sharing more of my insights with you through more blog posts so feel free to ask me your questions! I would love to know what you’re curious about and want to learn.
