Conference Time
Last month I had the opportunity to head south, to the beautiful city of San Antonio, for a four day event sponsored by the national association that I belong to. NASMM, the National Association of Senior Move Managers, is the only nationally accredited association for Senior Move Managers and I am so fortunate to be a part of such a great organization.
The four day event was the association's national conference, meaning that there were over 400 Senior Move Managers that were in attendance from all over the country and even a few from overseas. It was a long weekend packed with seminars and training classes, all specifically designed for the SMM. I was blown away by the vast amount of knowledge that I was able to gain as well as listening to seasoned SMM's and their advice and best business practices. There were breakout sessions on everything from packing techniques to how to give a presentation to how to handle the financials of the business. I came away with notebook pages full of insights, tips and strategies, all things that make this hard-working mompreneur very happy!
What I found even more exciting than the conference speakers and classes, was the chance to mix and mingle with hundreds of SMMs that have been doing this for years and listening to their stories of successes and failures. I met one SMM in particular who lives in Indy and was so gracious with his advice and encouragement. Not only did he take time to speak to me at the conference, but extended the offer to continue the conversation with emails and phone calls. That kind of mentorship is priceless!
When you are a small business owner, you wear many hats on a daily basis. You are the one running the day in and day out activities of your business and the idea of going away for any amount of time can be a little terrifying. However, I am so happy that I didn't let that stop me from attending this conference, because it was a great investment of both my time and finances. And I am already looking forward to next year's conference!
No trip to San Antonio is complete without a visit to the beautiful Riverwalk!