We Did It Ourselves: Highlights from Power Boost Live 2012

Power Boost Live participants feeling in the zone at the end of two days together

There are times as a business owner, or an artist, or a scientist, or an engineer, when you just have a hunch that something will work.

The only way to know for sure is to test it.

I had that hunch a year ago, when I imagined a conference that was less “let me come and sit in awe of your many accomplishments, oh great famous person” and more “let me sit by your side, awesome peer, and learn from you. And by learning from you, be reminded that I have everything I need to grow my business, and that I have as much to teach as I have to learn.”

So I put on an event called Power Boost Live 2012, which was held from October 12-13, 2012.

All I can say is: Dang, it feels good to be right!

The CEO of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce , Loren Tapahe (far right) kicked off our event with a welcome to the land of Arizona, on behalf of our first nations (he is Navajo, like my husband Darryl).

Participants in Abe Cajudo‘s Video Star workshop practice taking video of Kendra Tillman with their phones.

The focus of this conference was specific, hands-on advice about how to grow your business, taught by members of my Power Boost Marketing program (PBM is a year-long business building course), and longtime partners like Tim Grahl of Outthink Group.

 

We captured our learning with the talents of graphic facilitator Lisa Nelson of See in Colors.

I kicked off our first session with a talk about the importance of having a strong root in your business, knowing the WHY behind you do what you do.

Then we dug into breakout sessions on topics ranging from how to set up your mailing list to how to successfully network at a conference.

For participants on the beginner track, we reviewed marketing fundamentals.

Dan Ralphs from Infusionsoft talked about the importance of capturing and nurturing leads in a systematic way.

Tim Grahl from Out:think Group who works with authors (including me and Dan Pink) to sell books and grow their business online made an extremely passionate argument for pop-ups that made his audience want to yell a big AMEN.

Lawyer and entrepreneur Kyle Durand and Nonprofit consultant Desiree Adaway scared the daylights out of participants who have been loose and fast with partnerships, and showed them the right way to structure them for maximum impact, ease and profitability.

We pulled off quite a coup by blowing up and hiding a room full of Pilates balls (with the help of my kids and my assistant Sheila’s kids), only to roll them out for Cheryl Dolan‘s keynote on Marketing Presence. I took great pleasure in yelling out “YOU get a ball, YOU get a ball, EVERYBODY GETS A BALL” in my Oprah moment of the event (which Nancy Duarte would call a STAR moment from her book Resonate — Something They’ll Always Remember)

 

Tim Grahl once again got the room revved up with his practical advice about launching a product. We were reminded that if we hide in fear from launching our products because we are afraid of being judged as pushy salespeople, we will never be able to change people’s lives.

Experienced event planner Val Steiger and her daughter Megan McCabe Noonan broke down the nuts and bolts of planning inspiring and profitable live events and retreats.

30 year sales veteran Chris Allen shared how to nurture a strong and collaborative relationship with prospects that leads to sales without feeling awkward or pushy.

Heidi Hauck broke down the essential elements of creating your first offer, all while carrying her own startup, due in December. 🙂

We got to witness a lot of relationships that went from #HashtagstoHandshakes, as networking expert and presenter Mike Bruny encouraged in his breakout session. Left to right: Brandi Holmes, David Hrostoski, Max Mendoza, Mike Hrostoski and Mike Bruny.

Max Mendoza (pictured in middle above) led a session about social media marketing for beginning entrepreneurs. He also assembled a great team of volunteers from Arizona State University to film the sessions and manage the social media channels.

To see the buzz on Twitter, you can check out Yoda’s hashtag #PBL12

Jill Murphy dropped some serious nuggets about the best use of multiple social media channels. Many of us hung our heads in shame when we realized we should not update our Facebook profile and page at the same time with the same information (oops, I am guilty!).

Yolanda Facio shared powerful lessons on how to grow a business through referrals, based on her own experience running a referral-only Porsche repair business.

I was really excited that my kids were welcomed by participants, and played a part in the event. Josh introduced me at the start of the event (in front of 70 people on stage) and Rosie helped with registration. Pictured here adopted uncles Abe Cajudo and Brooks Duncan of Document Snap.

My 7-year old son Josh introducing me at the beginning of PBL. 🙂

Our vibe was so friendly that this gentleman in the Ohio State shirt wanted to jump in our group photo. He said “Hi, I am George from Columbus!” I think George will lead a breakout session next year.

Finally, in the most powerful finale to any business conference I have ever attended, we were led in a drum circle by Adam Issadore of Path to Rhythm.

Many of you know that for eleven years, I trained the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira, which is played in a circle with music. A drum circle was the perfect way to cement our laughter, learning and community.

A big thank you to our wonderful corporate sponsors Microsoft, Infusionsoft, Palo Alto Software and Freshbooks who believed in our vision enough to support our inaugural event. Pictured above are Erin Brimmer and Joelle Thompson from Microsoft.

 

We will do this again next October! Sign up here to be notified when registration opens, as well as to receive video clips from the event itself (we will spread them out over the next few weeks so you can absorb the learning).

My daughter Rosie, inspired by the event, gave some advice to Power Boosters, which you are free to use as you move forward to grow your business:

 

You have all that you need

The experience from Power Boost Live reaffirmed what I have known to be true since I was a fresh-faced International Development major in college:

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

-Lao Tzu