One year ago I took a huge leap of faith by investing in myself and attending the Sinclair & Moore Workshop. They are one of the leading event design teams in the US and their workshops are truly one of a kind. I first learned about the husband and wife team through Instagram (I mean, how else do we find things now?) I fell in love with the look & feel and intricate details of their events. I immediately emailed Steve asking when they would be releasing the 2016 dates. I set a reminder and registered for the workshop the day that registration opened and booked my flight to Seattle. I’m so thankful that I took that leap because it truly lead to me where I am with my business.

What I learned…

When I attended the workshop, Kelly Strong Events, was just a domain name that I had purchased. I had started the basics – copy for the website, defining what I wanted my business to look like, and how I wanted to make my clients feel. Attending the workshop gave me the confidence I needed to move forward and officially launch my business. I was surrounded by women who were all doing it. In their own way, they were doing it. Steve & Jamie Moore had built their incredible business from nothing and through a lot of hard work and extreme attention to detail, here they were hosting incredibly educational and meaningful workshops.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I learned at this three-day workshop. It has influenced every bit of how I’m building my own business – building honest relationships with clients and vendors, being intentional with each and every detail of my business, and remembering that it takes time to build a solid business. Especially because I am still so new, it’s hard not to be discouraged that you aren’t seeing more progress, faster. This workshop taught me to always think about the long game when making decisions. Build your business with intention and care and you will reap the benefits over time.

Through the workshop I was introduced to Sally at la Happy Calligraphy who did my beautiful branding. I also met so many wonderful ladies who are blazing their own trails in life and business. I stayed with three of them in a great house in Seattle which was a great experience in itself. I’ve stayed in touch with many attendees who have helped me at the start of my own journey. I’ll be assisting one these ladies on a couple of her weddings this Spring and Fall. So it was not only the actual knowledge I’ve gained that was valuable, it was the people and relationships that I walked away with that has meant so much.

Workshop takeaways

Beyond the education and connections, the photos that I was able to use from our creations were completely invaluable. During our workshop, we created three styled shoots. Each group created arrangements and bouquets for the style of each shoot and then put the actual components together. From these shoots, the attendees were able to use the incredible images (all done by the husband and wife duo, O’Malley Photographers) for our websites and social media feeds. These images have been so important for me. I have used them on my site and social media – they’re simply so beautiful. It was especially important for me because I wasn’t able to use photos from events from my past (as they were done under another company.)

There are always so many things to spend money on. Especially as a new business owner, the list is long. I can’t stress enough how worthwhile this experience was. Investing in yourself, in education will only benefit you in the long run. This workshop really impacted the way I do business and quite honestly, gave me the confidence I needed to believe in myself and get started.

If you have any questions or are curious about the workshop, feel free to send me an email! I would love to tell you all about why I think it was the best thing I could have done for my business.