6 Ways to Prep for the Create + Cultivate Conference

The Earn Spend Live team attended the Create + Cultivate conference in Dallas back in January, and we had the time of our lives. It felt like we were going on a girls’ trip, but we spent the few weeks prior to the conference hard at work preparing to network—and now we want everyone attending the Los Angeles C+C conference to be ready too!

1. Make Lists (Yes, Multiple)

Packing lists, to-do lists, goal lists. Basically, we have lists everywhere. Of course, the last thing we need is to forget to pack something, like business cards or a phone charger (THE HORROR), or to do an important task, like service the car before leaving. Those little bitty things add up in a matter of seconds, so this team has been working to stay on top of it all. For instance, we put together a packing list to ensure each of us remembered everything, and have been checking in with each other to make sure we’re handling all of the tasks we need to have completed before taking off with our suitcases.

2. Do Your Homework

A conference is only as good as you make it. And you have to do your research to maximize that. There are so many fantastic speakers coming to the conference, so it would be silly of us to show up without at least checking each of them out online. We’ve been going through websites, companies, and social media accounts to vibe off of the speakers and mentors we’ll be learning from. A big part of that is having questions ready to go, and knowing who to direct them to. You can have an insightful, brilliant question, but lobbing it to the wrong person will leave it tainted. And probably embarrass you.

3. Update Your Online Presence

I’m not just talking about your Twitter feed (although that’s a good thing to do too—it just shouldn’t be at the top of the list). More importantly, we’re updating our resumes, online profiles, and portfolios. We aren’t doing this because we want to leave our jobs. We’re doing this so our careers are accurately represented and we can form working relationships with other women. Fifty percent of any conference is networking. If you’re going to network properly, you need to make sure your profiles (LinkedIn should be no. 1) are up-to-date and honest. It’s not fun work, but it is necessary work. So this week we’re combing through our accounts so they’re all updated and cohesive.

4. Set Goals

This is so imperative when attending a conference, and even more so when the conference is as large and inspiration-packed as Create + Cultivate. The goals we set as a team and as individuals will guide our whole experience. Everything from our mentor sessions to the questions we ask, and from the people we meet to the conversations we have will be dependent on the goals we’ve set. Specific goals will help us, and you, squeeze every single drop of opportunity from the conference. We don’t want to go into the weekend without a sense of direction or focus, which is highly likely without goals to guide us.

5. Plan Your Wardrobe

The best way to start the weekend off on the wrong foot is by failing to plan your outfits ahead of time. Merely throwing a few different pants and tops in your suitcase to mix and match is like asking for everything to go wrong. It’s imperative you plan out all of your outfits for the weekend all the way down to the tiniest details. Lay out your main pieces (dress, skirt, pants, tops, jacket, etc.), and then vet your accessories and shoes to make sure you have a cohesive look all weekend and that each outfit looks complete. Otherwise, there’s a horribly high chance of a wardrobe crisis the morning of the conference.

6. Do Some Networking in Advance

Before you walk into the conference without a clue who anyone else is, you should do a little Insta-stalking by following the speakers, mentors, and at least a few of the other attendees. This will give you an idea of who you can relate to and learn the most from, in addition to just creating some familiar-ish faces. Bonus: you’ll have some more conversation material to use other than “So who are you and what do you do?”

Do these prep things and you’ll be off to a good start come Friday. Have fun in LA! (And say hi to Chelsea Handler for us…)

Featured Image via createcultivate

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