Since I attended the very first gathering, SOBCon has always been about taking the time to think through the trajectory of both my business and my life. If I like the direction, how can I do even better, and if I don’t like the direction, what are my practical alternatives? Twice after coming back from Chicago, I’ve launched a business partnership. The first one eventually petered out, but I learned a lot from it and those lessons have continued to be helpful as I run the second business, Tourism Currents with Becky McCray.
SOBCon has also been absolutely key to my evolution as a blogger, aka a multimedia online publisher. I had no concept of the value of my social media skill set until one of the conference speakers (in 2008, I think it was) looked out across a roomful of attendees and said, “As a business person, I can tell you that we in mainstream business want what you bloggers have in your DNA; the ability to communicate effectively online. And make no mistake – we’ll pay you for it.” That’s when I got serious about figuring out what I needed to do to make a living doing what I love. Much of what I am today, I owe to Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker St. Marie.
Liz said something at the very first SOBCon – “At the bottom of every draft blog post is a button that says, ‘Publish.’ You’re a publisher. That’s pretty powerful.”
As usual, she made my brain connect to an idea in a brand-new way. I think of her every single time I hit that button, publish on my blog and send thoughts out into the world.
Sheila Scarborough, Tourism Currents