I have just returned from a very eventful trip to Scaling New Heights 2011 in Las Vegas and I don't mean that in a good way! I realized that I am a "travel newbie".
Traveling woes I was traveling to a time zone with a 3 hour difference from my home.
That may have been okay, if my flights were on time.
However, that wasn't the case.
My flights were canceled once and delayed twice.
I missed a connection and I finally arrived to the conference almost a full day and a half later than I intended.
I let my conference experience be totally hampered because I got off on the "wrong start".
But, I did learn about what I am going to do next time, just in case: 1.
I'll have a contingency plan.
For instance, what if I can't make it to the classes I was supposed to attend on the first day? Is there a time to reschedule any networking or "hanging out with friends" that had to be canceled because of a late flight? I'll know to expect that these things can AND DO happen.
2.
Revise packing down if missing a whole night and day! I really didn't need to take along as many snacks, reading materials and work I had planned to do on the initial day and a half.
New business opportunities On a good note, I got to meet some online peeps, reconnect with a few friends, and came upon some great new opportunities.
The training part of the conference was fabulous! Here are a few things I learned that will impact our businesses during the next decade: 1.
Specialization is key to growth for small businesses.
In other words, when offering services and products, offer them to a specific industry or segment of the market.
2.
There will be new business opportunities due to the large population of aging baby boomers starting new businesses.
They will need help in areas of accounting, web services, business coaching, marketing, and much many more areas.
3.
Businesses have to be able to interact with "Gen Y".
"Gen Y" includes those who are in their 20′s and early 30′s right now.
These business owners are tech-savvy.
They expect digital interaction, such as 'texting' and online services, as well as self-serve customer support.
4.
Online marketing and social networking will become a key source of new clients.
Social media will be used more and more to develop brands.
I'm really excited about the future of my business due to one of these trends.
What will you do in your business to take advantage of the new opportunities that will come about in the next decade as mentioned above?
Traveling woes I was traveling to a time zone with a 3 hour difference from my home.
That may have been okay, if my flights were on time.
However, that wasn't the case.
My flights were canceled once and delayed twice.
I missed a connection and I finally arrived to the conference almost a full day and a half later than I intended.
I let my conference experience be totally hampered because I got off on the "wrong start".
But, I did learn about what I am going to do next time, just in case: 1.
I'll have a contingency plan.
For instance, what if I can't make it to the classes I was supposed to attend on the first day? Is there a time to reschedule any networking or "hanging out with friends" that had to be canceled because of a late flight? I'll know to expect that these things can AND DO happen.
2.
Revise packing down if missing a whole night and day! I really didn't need to take along as many snacks, reading materials and work I had planned to do on the initial day and a half.
New business opportunities On a good note, I got to meet some online peeps, reconnect with a few friends, and came upon some great new opportunities.
The training part of the conference was fabulous! Here are a few things I learned that will impact our businesses during the next decade: 1.
Specialization is key to growth for small businesses.
In other words, when offering services and products, offer them to a specific industry or segment of the market.
2.
There will be new business opportunities due to the large population of aging baby boomers starting new businesses.
They will need help in areas of accounting, web services, business coaching, marketing, and much many more areas.
3.
Businesses have to be able to interact with "Gen Y".
"Gen Y" includes those who are in their 20′s and early 30′s right now.
These business owners are tech-savvy.
They expect digital interaction, such as 'texting' and online services, as well as self-serve customer support.
4.
Online marketing and social networking will become a key source of new clients.
Social media will be used more and more to develop brands.
I'm really excited about the future of my business due to one of these trends.
What will you do in your business to take advantage of the new opportunities that will come about in the next decade as mentioned above?
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