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This beautiful welcome sign was created by
Caitlin Baumberger of Happy Tines! |
I’m not sure how to do a recap of Creative at Heart in just a few paragraphs so instead I will write about a few of the best things I learned while in Raleigh for 4 days. To give a little background first, Creative at Heart, best known as C@H is a conference for creative small business owners founded by the one and only
Kat Schmoyer! The conference is typically mostly women but there are a few awesome husbands in these small businesses that come to learn as well! For 3 days, we listen to amazing business owners share what they know about running a business. The topics range from money management, friendships, working with your spouse, using Instagram to the best of its abilities and so much more! This conference was focused on being brave and I thought it was absolutely perfect. You can find out more about C@H
here!
The three best things I learned during my 4 days in Raleigh is that the people you meet will become your biggest supporters in a matter of seconds. I’m not kidding. You could introduce yourself to someone, tell them what your business is and they’re already cheering you on before you can give them any more details! They will ask what your biggest business accomplishments are and be genuinely happy for you when you tell them. They will cry with you when you share your hardships and what you're struggling with because chances are they were in the same place as you at one time or another. For me, I came in knowing less than 10 people personally and got in my car Wednesday night being friends with 3 times as many. C@H is truly a place where you embrace the creative community and lean on each other.
The next biggest thing I learned is that standing on your feet for hours, being one of the volunteers and answering questions is always worth it. Never turn down a volunteer position. I learned more than just what the panelist had to say. I learned more than just what happened in breakout sessions (for me it was Calligraphy with Alex from the
Prairie Letter Shop and cupcake decorating with Randi from
Sugar Euphoria). I learned what goes on behind the scenes. I saw the hard work Kat continued to pour into the conference, the constant drink restocking, snack refilling, coffee brewing and so much more from Kat’s momma and another volunteer. I saw Kat’s husband, Matt and some other strong men move the furniture from
Paisley and Jade and a lot of other heavy stuff every single day. I and another volunteer stuffed swag bags for all the attendees and Emily, Kat’right-hand woman did a bit of everything to help keep everything flowing. I LOVED being a volunteer. It gave me the confidence knowing that Kat trusted me with this dream of hers that became reality.
The final best thing I learned is that when these amazing women (and men) tell you they are going to push you, motivate you, encourage you and check up on you, they really mean it. They WANT you to succeed. They don’t just tell you that “you can do it” or “don’t worry, it’ll get better”. Instead they tell you HOW you can do it, HOW to make it better and HOW to give yourself grace. The women in my panel group encouraged me to have confidence in this little business I’m building. They motivated me to purchase my domain and get started on creating a website for hannahmarieevents.com. There is nothing like being surrounded by dozens of small business owners who have been where you are, want the best for you and who can become some of your greatest friends.
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