Business Boutique Nashville: 5 Tips For New Attendees

Business Boutique Nashville is an event where you can join thousands of women in business to learn, grow, and connect.

Restored 316 is excited to sponsor the 2017 Business Boutique in Nashville, Tn. This will be our first year in attendance and we have invited a friend and Restored 316 customer who has attended to give us some great tips to prepare ourselves for the 3-day event. Melanie Byrd, from She Farms Bama, is taking over the blog today to tell us about the essentials we need to consider when we go in November.

Business Boutique: Turning Dreams into Reality

The Business Boutique in Nashville is coming up soon!  I could not be more excited!  Last year was my first experience at the conference.  If you have never been to a Business Boutique event, the best way I can think of to describe it is like this – you will never have so much fun drinking from a fire hose.  After you leave the conference, your mind will be full of ideas, and your heart full of new dreams for your business.

In order to prepare yourself to receive all that Business Boutique has to offer, I have a few tips for you that I learned from my experience last year:

1. Bring a battery bank (or two) for your mobile devices.  With so many phones in one concentrated area competing for an internet signal, your phone will die a fast death.  I recommend putting your phone on “Airplane Mode” during your sessions to preserve the battery life, and to bring a charged battery bank(s) for when the battery gets low.  You will meet so many cool new people, that you will want to connect and interact with them on the Business Boutique app they provide at the conference, so you need to keep that phone charged.
2. Bring your own morning coffee, bottled water, soda and/or snacks.  Last year there was an AWESOME vintage RV-turned-coffee shop in the parking lot selling coffee to those of us who showed up before the doors opened.  It took about 2.5 seconds for the line to get coffee to be longer than the line to get into the front door.  There is also a snack bar in the church where the event will be held, but those lines got long really fast as well.  They were so long, that during breaks and transitions to the next sessions there was not enough time to stand in line, get your snack/sodas, then potty, then get to your next session and get a decent seat.
3. Wear comfortable shoes.   I know you will look awesome in your fall boots, or your power heels, but while you are killing it in your designer duds, make sure you are comfortable.  Last year I bought these super-cute wedges and about halfway through the first day, I was carrying them and walking around barefooted.  Way to be a stereotypical farmer-blogger, Melanie!  Learn from me – you will do a LOT of walking at this venue, make sure you take care of your feet.
4. Be prepared to make new friends.  I admit this was tough for me.  I am not accustomed to striking up conversations with complete strangers.  In fact, I come across as downright awkward when I try.  But the fact of the matter is at the Business Boutique, you are in a welcoming, nurturing environment among women who are all trying to achieve their dreams and crush their goals just like you are.  They need your encouragement as much as you need theirs.  Embrace that.  Give and receive.  Step outside of your comfort zone.  You will be in a safe place to do just that.
5. Be prepared to talk about your business.  This seems so obvious, but stay with me, I have a point.  Last year I was brand-new to blogging (and still consider myself to be, really).  When I would meet someone, they would ask, “what kind of business do you have?”, and I would stammer over my words.  I had not yet been introduced to the concept of an “elevator pitch”.  “I have a farm where we raise grass-fed beef, and I want to start a blog about it,” I would whisper.  One girl thought I said “grass-fed beans.”  No matter what stage of business you are in – a dreamer, a starter, an old pro, be prepared to talk about what you do.  Be confident!  Get a stack of business cards and pass those babies out!  This is your time to shine, and build your confidence along the way!

I hope these tips from my experience will help make yours even more awesome.  I can’t wait to meet you in Nashville!

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