Viva Las Vegas!! My First TpT Conference

I survived my first TpT Conference in Las Vegas and I came home excited about developing my store. I have finally taken a moment to catch my breath and reflect on it all.  The one thing that I felt to my core was this palpable vibe...a collective heartbeat that thrummed through all of the events. Amazing!! Teachers were generous with their advice and opened their toolboxes of success. I was in awe of them all.

For this introvert, I was so nervous about going to this alone without knowing anyone. So completely out of my comfort zone, which is not a place I like to go. But the anxiety diminished once I found a few wonderful ladies that I connected with at the Cool Kids Meetup on Wednesday night. I am grateful to them and thankful that I found part of my tribe. Tiffany, Brandi, And Tamra!!!! 

One of the first products I purchased from Teachers Pay Teachers was from Erin Cobb at I'm Lovin' Lit and what a symbolic way to start off my conference by having her as my first session. The magnitude of advice this woman gave was a testimate to TpT. The one thing that stuck with me was "Take off your teacher hat and put on your business hat." This is not a hobby and I realized I had been treating it as such. Erin's success showed me where I could be in the not so far off future. She started selling on TpT because she was tired of never making ends meet.that resonated with me because I struggle with this every month. Again, it was time to see myse,f as a business owner and put on that business hat and work on my business.

New Seller Success School was the other session that blew me away. Lindsay Perro explained in detail TpT 101. It helped to have someone spell it out and speak about what it takes to be successful as a TpT seller. The one thing I kept hearing was be yourself when creating your products. Don't try to be something that you aren't just to try and replicate someone else's success. I must figure out what that niche is for me. 

In the Friday keynote, the speakers gave us a challenge. They pushed us to set a goal for ourselves and capture a moment during the conference. My goal is to acknowledge that this is a business, not a hobby, and to start treating it that way. That's a difficult goal for me because over the years I have lost so much of my teaching confidence for many reasons.The on,y reason NOT being ability. I am a great teacher...I just have lost sight of that fact. Instead of looking for approval from other teachers, admins, parents, students, media, and everything else, I should look inside of myself. Not an easy thing for me to do but I will try every day.

The one moment that I captured in my mind also happened during the Friday Keynote. I had a revelation. It was said that the room was filled with people who were making the largest contribution to education. That blew me away when I heard that. I never thought of TpT that way and I sure didn't think of myself that way. Being a teeny tiny seller, I never felt that I had much of a chance to make a difference but I was missing the most important thing...it's all about collaborating with my tribe. Like Aristotle says..."The whole is better than the sum of its parts." 

What are my take-aways from the 2015 Vegas Conference? Be yourself. Don't try to replicate someone else or their journey. I have my own journey to follow. Work hard, be authentic, and find your tribe

I will find my niche and go for it. I will see myself as a Teacherpreneur and I am not on an island alone. I have a great support system in TpTers. I will be proud of myself for traveling alone all the way to Vegas and putting my fears and social anxiety aside. It was terrifying but I did it!!