Years ago, my husband used to travel for business conferences often, and I never really understood what he got out of it. Networking was his main reason for attending and generally, it was always a good experience for him, despite traveling and costs.
Now that I am a blogger, I see the real benefits, at least for my business, to attend conferences. I have gone to a few in the last four years and at every one I have been challenges, educated and inspired in some way.
And although it takes a lot of time to follow up (sometimes even a year has passed), the connections I’ve been have been fantastic, both on a personal level and a business level.
If you read my last post about 5 Minutes for Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party, you know I value the connections I’ve made with other bloggers and readers. One thing I look forward to, it seeing familiar faces and now, friends at conferences. We have fun together, laugh and learn and go back home refreshed and excited to dive into new projects.
This weekend, I will be attending the BConnected conference in Ottawa. It’s a conference dedicated to mom and dad bloggers, and boasts to be the first of its kind in Canada. I’m curious to see what it will be like.
To get me there, I’m driving a Ford Fiesta on a solo road trip. To follow my road trip experience, look for the hashtag #MOEontheRoad on Twitter and Facebook .
Being able to network and learn for two days straight is going to be great, but driving alone, to and from Montreal, is also something I am happy about. Having some time to be silent, enjoy the drive and listening to some great tunes (sorry kids, mama needs some rock) is going to be golden.
I’ve never driven a Fiesta or a Ford for that matter, even though I attended the NAIAS with Ford. I never got a chance to test drive, until now. So I’m super excited about the opportunity. Check back here for a review on my road trip experience and for more on the BConnected conference.