150 People Looking in the Same Direction

TIME.

It’s only resource we can’t get more of.

Suppose you could take a weekend retreat away from the noise

• to focus entirely on your business
• to work with the support of a team
• to get quality time to interact with the best names in social media
• to get the best information AND time to dicuss how you’ll apply it
• to work with sponsors in the social media space
• in a room that only holds 150 people — all focused in the same direction
• without worry because the food and the wireless are outstanding.

A weekend learning with Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
Brian Clark Liz StraussBrian Solis Kali Evans-Raoul KD Paine Geoff Nelson and Chris Aarons Denise Wakeman Wendy Piersall and David Bullock Stephen Smith and Michael Martine Glenda Watson Hyatt, Karen Putz, and Stephen Hopson
Saul Colt and Terry Starbucker Glenda Watson Hyatt, Karen Putz, and Stephen Hopson — 150 person dream team.

Would you invest in your business to experience that?

Thank You, Buzz Corps!!

I’m delighted to announce that Geoff Nelson and Buzz Corps have stepped up to make it easier.

Because They Invested in Us We Can Invest MORE in YOU!

We’ve had great response to the discount we offered last week, almost more than we could afford. With the help of Buzz Corps, we’re able to keep our promise bright and shiny in every way. Thank you, Buzz Corps!!

The BlogIt EarnIt Discount

It’s called the “Blog It, Earn It” discount. We’d like to hear from you about what “The ROI of Relationships” means to you. Tell us why relationships matter. How they affect what you do every day and how you do it. Maybe you can tell us how you see them changing the face of tomorrow’s businesses. We want to know how relationships and personal connections shape your world.

Heck, you can even write a love letter to a sponsor you’d like to have a relationship with. Pick a company that’s done something great for bloggers in the past and tell them why you think it was important and valuable that they did what they did. Propose an idea for how you might do something a SOBCon sponsor already listed on the SOBCon blog.

Blog your thoughts, share it, link it back to this post, and broadcast it on Twitter (hash #blogitearnit). We’ll also link to you on the SOBCon blog for others to see and learn. And as a thank you for sharing your story, we’ll send you a special code to take $200 off the $795 FULL conference rate – that’s over a 25% savings!

Or, if you can’t make to SOBCon09, you could “pay it forward” and pass the discount on to one of your friends — or offer it back to us as a gift for us to pass on for you.

We’re doing everything we can to bring you all the value, the experts and expertise, and the time to work and network that you need to make your business outstanding and extremely profitable in 2009.

What could you do with a weekend of the time, expertise, and support you need to focus your business?

We’re all coming for the same reasons.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

The Turning Point

SOBCon08 had a different effect on each person who attended. It had a stunning impact on me.

A most interesting and pivotal decision came my way on Saturday, May 3rd. The conference I planned was not holding to schedule — I had planned too much to fit in too little time. It was a risk I took come to haunt me. As the day wore on, I realized something had to give. One choice presented itself as the best. I would give up my speaker’s slot. It was the only way to put the conference back on track.

At the time, I knew exactly what the choices were: choose to speak or choose for the event. I chose not to speak, knowing that people who attended for the first time would leave with an incomplete picture of who I am and what I do.

I’ve been tracking the impact of that decision. It’s been there in the blog posts and the comments about SOBCon this year.

I hit a turning point in my life.

The Realization

The part that was harder to face was the realization that had I been fully engaged as a leader, I never would have faced that choice at all. The conference would have had more of my hand behind it and more of voice in it on that day.

I knew what to do, but I didn’t do it, because ghosts from my past got in the way.

Who are ghosts to get in my way?

The clear message of SOBCon was that it’s time to step to the plate. Our blogs, our businesses have to be about serving our customers, but that can’t be at the cost of ourselves.

We each have to own our future. I’ve reflected hard on that thought these past two weeks. Today I’m taking back the keys. I’m walking my own path, shining my light on what I know worth sharing, turning off the noise that gets in the way. I’ll be bringing the most meaningful business and life conversations to this blog now — rather than keeping them behind the scenes.

It’s no longer my father’s saloon. The bar is still open. This time the drinks are on me.

What will you have?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!