“Your giftings and your passion are your purpose.” – Amy Howard
I had been wanting to go for years and finally bit the bullet and bought a ticket to the Haven Conference, the ultimate place for DIY and home decor bloggers held once a year! All in all, Haven did not disappoint and I walked away with many new friends, a ton of business connections, lots of inspiration and about a hundred ideas swirling in my head on what the future holds for myself and my blog! Haven truly transforms and I wanted to share a bit of my experience, what I did, who I talked to and what I took away from the 3 day weekend.
Thankfully, Haven was held in Atlanta this year which was just under a 4 hour drive for me from Nashville. The conference began with an evening cocktail party Thursday night, two full days of sessions and then ended Saturday night with a fun 80s themed party. If you can, definitely try and stay at the same hotel the conference is held at. My roomie {Rebecca of Hello Central Avenue} and I booked a room once we bought our tickets in March and got a discounted conference rate. It is SO worth it just out of pure convenience alone! I talked to a few others who were staying at nearby hotels and they said never again!
Thursday night’s cocktail party is short and sweet and definitely a great way to kick off the few days of Haven. It can also be intimidating especially if you are a first timer like me but it was nice to chat with others who were in the same boat and also get some feelers from those who have been to the conference before on what to expect in the days ahead. That night, you have a free night for dinner so try and do some planning ahead and get a small group together to go out. Don’t stay out too late! Friday is an earlier start and it’s a LONG day!!
The trickiest thing about navigating Haven is figuring out which sessions to go to! They had everything from building your blog to creating a media kit to Instagram growth to DIY workshops. The sessions overlap so you really need to focus on what you are there for, what you want to learn the most about and focus on. It can be tough and it was! That first day I attended sessions on building your tribe and growing your brand, setting up a blog beautifully {I learned I definitely have some work to do on mine!} and then attended a great session by the Holderness Family with tips on collaborating with brands.
Each day, in between the sessions is your chance to shine and talk to brands! It can literally be exhausting as you are “ON” and you have limited time to speak with them but I loved chatting with reps from brands such as Home Depot, Behr, Stainmaster, Sinkology, Hometalk, Metrie and Woodgrain…just to name a few. They all do an amazing job on their booths and the people at Hoover even brought puppies in to cuddle with to promote their new vacuum! Talk about genius! But seriously, get your smile ready…A LOT!!!
Friday night there was time for a quick dinner out and then it was back downstairs to the ballroom for “Friday Night In”. It was a SUMMER night full of fun and some DIYs {stenciled dish towels, a cool cutting board made using tile, stenciled gift bags and more!} They even had a SNO cone station and frosé and it was truly the cutest set up! Haven did NOT disappoint when it comes to decor. They nailed every single detail, every single time!
Saturday was another early start and a full day of sessions! Thankfully a few of them were repeated from the day before. I attended sessions on attracting TV for your business {not sure I will be making my debut anytime soon lol}, make it rain with alternate incomes and then an amazing and informative session on Instagram growth! It was another day packed full of tons of valuable info and yep!…my head was spinning even more! I also met with a few other brands and got hands on with a Wagner spray painter and impressed handy hubby with a video of me using a Kreg!
That day ended with a truly motivating and inspiring closing with keynote speaker, Amy Howard! Her words were powerful and really resonated with the whole group! I quoted her above….”Your giftings and your passion are your purpose”. I really took those words to heart and hope to translate them on how I share on my blog and social media accounts going forward. I truly want to share with purpose and intent in hopes to inspire others. Then it was time for a quick wardrobe change…80s style for the farewell party that night!
Another night full of fun down to every little detail! From the neon swinging chair {perfect for that Instagram boomerang} to cotton candy to glowtastic drinks all to a live 80s band it was the perfect way to end the conference!
All in all, I had the best time! Learned so much, made many new connections and hope to set forth a few of the things I learned very soon! I will definitely attend next year and encourage any blogger no matter how big or small to try and attend the conference! It truly transforms the way you view your blog, brand and business!
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