The 2010 NAPO conference was great!   There were so many awesome elements of this conference, it’s hard to pick just one thing to talk about.  So, here are some highlights from my time in Columbus, Ohio…

Three AWESOME Keynote Speakers

1. The good programming was really enhanced by the fantastic keynote speakers.  First up was Tim Sanders. If you looked up “funny,” “motivating,” and “knows his stuff,” you’d find Tim’s picture.  He inspired us to be better business owners and to change how we think about relationships.  Here are a few nuggets he shared:

• Networking is not giving out your business card.  That’s prospecting.

• Networking is putting two people together who need each other and getting out of the way. Networking is a verb.

• Being helpful is the best marketing. Otherwise, it’s just noise.

• Grow everyone you do business with. Multiply their value.

• Integrate community into everything you do.

• Turn your clients into friends, not your friends into clients.

2. Our second keynote was Gina Schreck, otherwise known as the Geek Chick.  Like Tim, she was hilarious! …and energetic and just fun.  She shared a few interesting stats and gave info on how we can use social media tools to brand our companies and get the word out.

• Facebook:  If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest.

• Video:  Have a video over 10 minutes long?  Post it on http://blip.tv.

• YouTube:  YouTube is a power tool. 24 hrs of video is uploaded every 60 seconds. Are you on YouTube?

• Twitter:  Be interesting, helpful, or be quiet.

• Twitter:  How are people listing you? Are you seen as an expert?

• Twiter:  Twitter is a FREE power PR tool – don’t follow blatherers! Follow 5 smart people.

• Make yourself easy to find.  Post your content everywhere.

3. The third and final keynote was delivered by Monica Wofford.  Apparently, she went to comedy school with Ti m & Gina. =)  She, too, was very inspiring and focused on how we can build our confidence.  She says that everything we do, say, think, and believe is contagious!

• Have you ever felt negative on the inside and tried to pretend to be positive on the outside?  Does it work?

• The next time someone doubts that you can succeed, say to yourself, “Watch me.” And mean it.

• It’s ok to not feel confident…but not for long.

• You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most, so surround yourself with people that have similar goals and thoughts…but, first, be clear about what you want.

• There is no substitute for you.

• If 2% of the population loves you, that’s over 1 million people and that’s enough. You can’t be all things to all people.

Want more info? Search #NAPO10 on Twitter.

Neat Company's Paper Monster

Connecting With Vendors @ The Expo

I ran into Jim, Lauren, and Erin at the Rubbermaid booth and caught up with the folks at Neat Company. Some of you might remember that I won a NeatDesk last year. This year, I got lucky again and won a Dymo Label Manager 360D Label Maker! I’ll be testing it out and will share in a later blog post.

Kim Oser, Liz Jenkins, & Deb Lee

Catching Up With Friends

This was my second time attending NAPOCon.  It was so nice to catch up with “old” friends and to connect with people I’ve been tweeting with for a while.  Here’s one of my favorite pics…

Visit my Facebook page to see more pictures!