Tacos, great talks, and business growth.
Heading home from another joyous weekend of WordCamp shenanigans, and this time it was WordCamp Atlanta. This was my first time at Atlanta’s camp and I heard great things about previous years. Of course like always, I wish I would have taken more pictures but I was too busy enjoying the people and moments.
This was my first official event as the Chief Operations Officer for WebArc Technology and representing the company was fantastic. It always feels wonderful representing brands you believe in at events, but when it is also your full time job it makes it that much sweeter. I was able to build even stronger and more relationships at this camp.
I flew into Atlanta from St Louis Friday morning and if only all flights could be as quick and uneventful would be magic. With staying at the recommended hotel, Fairfield Marietta, I was greater by a fellow WordCamper Zach Stepek of Convesio Hosting and foot to chat with him about all things WordPress, music, photography, and the rollercoaster of the state of Illinois until other WordCampers joined us. Then i had a completely fabulous time with Jessi and Shane of Iceberg Web Design having an adventure at Battery Park trying local bourbon and talking agency love and horror stories. Friday night we pre-camped at a local Mexican restaurant with about 15 WordPressers from all over.
Saturday morning kicked off WordCamp Atlanta and a huge thank you to A2 Hosting for hosting the coffee vendor for the event. While I am not a coffee drinker, their chia latte with oat milk was divine.
Every talk I attended the entire weekend was excellent! I actually attended more than I usually do and I’m glad I did. There were a few that I missed that I can’t wait to be up on WP TV. Atlanta’s talks were mostly focused on business, development, AI, design, SEO, and Google services.
I debuted a new talk this time focused on onboarding new clients. You can find my slides and more information below. Proper onboarding of new clients is something I am passionate about as it sets up the dynamics and expectations between everyone in the relationship. Even though there were a few “uhs”, “ums”, and lost words due to an ADHD brain, it seemed to be well liked and I think it will be one I pitch again. Since I have lost a decent amount of weight since some of my last talks were done pre-covid, I asked Nathan Ingram if he could grab a few during my talk. All I can say for now is they are all great, I don’t think I’m smiling in a single one of them, and he could title the collection “the many faces of Michele Butcher-Jones” haha.
This WordCamp was a bit different than the usual. Lunch both days was an option of eating at a food truck or the venue’s (Kennesaw State University) cafeteria. There was not a provided, catered option like usual. I tried the food truck on Saturday and their options were a Mexican bowl, tacos, or a taco salad. I got the tacos and they did accommodate for me not getting cheese on the tacos. It was good, not great/amazing but also not disappointed. Sunday I tried the cafeteria which was all you can take but unfortunately that really did not have much and what they did have a fair amount of it included dairy.
This post-covid WordCamp also did not have an “afterparty” or “after social event” and we were all on our own once the sessions ended. A number of us found a nearby restaurant and got to do some networking. A huge shoutout to the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Marietta for allowing us to commandeer their meeting room for a mini afterparty of sorts.
Sunday the only talk I was able to join was the Business Roundtable that was led by Karim Marucchi. I always enjoy a good roundtable or panel where everyone can ask and answer questions. I learned a lot and got to share some things I have learned along the way as well. After the camp wrapped up we went out to another Mexican restaurant and enjoyed more conversations and friendship. My sister-in-law Debbie got to join us and (I think) had a fun time learning about WordPress and listening to our shenanigans.
All in all it was a great WordCamp spent mostly on conversations, friendship building, and growth.
My Talk: Onboarding Clients Does Not Have to Take a Miracle to get ALL THE THINGS!
If you are interested with my talk, you can find my blog post below. If you are looking for the link to my cheat sheets, they can be found here.
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