My Experience at the TpT Conference in VEGAS!!!!

I want to start out by saying that I am not one to spend money on wants v. needs.  I put each and every one of my family member's needs ahead of my own...... Until 6 weeks ago when I begged/convinced my husband that I needed to go to the TpT conference in Vegas.  Did I need to go? Absolutely not, but I wanted to go so bad.  I even booked a flight that flied out late Thursday night and flew back late Friday night and of course prepped meals so my husband would have next to no effort feeding my children.  

My first session was with THE Deanna Jump and DeeDee Wills.   I cannot tell you how friendly, bubbly, and down to earth these two are!  I wanted to get seats up front so I could see and I ended up sitting behind Erica Bohrer (my idol creator)!!!!! Other big $$ sellers were also right in front of ME!  This session taught me that I need to go through my older products and make updates. I knew I needed to do this, but when Deanna and DeeDee tell me then the motivation magically appears : ).  I know the picture is not the best, but Deanna moves constantly when she presents and this was the best picture I could get. Bless her though, because so many people came up to her and asked for pictures and she never once hesitated when she agreed.  

Session 2 was with Laura Candler, The Facebook Master.  I do have a Facebook page, but after listening to Laura I know that I need to take more time posting to help increase my sales.  I have been absent for a few hectic months and I am energized and ready to make more of a commitment!!  I could not get a good picture of Laura due to where I was sitting, but I learned so much in this session.  She also the current Facebook changes and how few people your posts actually reach only 5% of your followers.  Quality posts will be shared by others and that is how you reach a greater audience. 

My third session was with Rachel Lynette ( soon to be the next teacher millionaire!!).  Where do I start? Rachel is a fun, tell it how it is kind of person!  She is very entertaining and very knowledgable.  She talked about smart marketing (direct and indirect marketing), attracting buyers to your store,  and effective networking.

Erin Cobb ( imlovinlit.com )of I'm Lovin Lit was the last presenter I saw.  She attracted me to her session because she has only been selling since April 2013 and is already one of the top sellers!! She handed out pens and a CD with a variety of clip art and origanizational documents. Erin is absolutely amazing and the fact that her husband quit his job to support her and to be Mr. Mom is heartwarming.  Her story is very inspirational and gave me hope that maybe I can do better than I am now, but not without hard work. 

I met so many wonderful people in just one day that I really wish I could have went back another day.  The number of people I met and talked to was so unbelievable.  I felt so welcome, even though I did not know a single person there I certainly left with the start of many friendships.  

Here are three names and blogs of some special and wonderful people I met:

Michelle Lenahan of Lendahand's Printables : www.lendahandsprintipals.blogspot.com

If you teach from the reading street reading curriculum then you do not want to miss her store. Colorful and creative products that align to the Common Core!  Just click on the TpT link from her blog.

Donna Boucher of Math Coach's Corner: mathcoachscorner.blogspot.com

When I met Donna it was like I have died and went to heaven!! Her products are amazing and I have been following her for a while now.  She was attending another conference in Vegas and came to the keynote speech. She happened to sit right by me and we hit it off right away.  I honestly do not believe she gets nearly enough credit she deserves. 

Erica Bohrer of Erica's Edventures, ericabohrer.bolgspot.com 

I am sure you all know her by name, but if you have not checked out her blog postings or products then you should.  She is not the biggest name out there, but she knows a lot about everything (curriculum, design, technology....). She is teeny tiny and so very sweet. I approached her to say hello, and we ended up taking about the sessions we went to that day.