DC Unconvention - Are you going? and if not, why not?

[Bryce W]

Ive covered it on Technibble a little while ago, and I already recongnise tons of names who have purchased tickets, but are you going to the Unconvention? I would love to match some forum user names to attendees.

And if you arent going, why not?
I'd love to know what pain points I can solve that are stopping you from going. Take a look at the site, take a look at the schedule - Id love your feedback.

 

[Altster]

Looks like fun but I will be down south (southern US) about that time on vacation. Besides, I'm just part time now (very sporadic) and have very little income. My main squeeze would go with me (wife) and I'm sure this would bore her to death!

But for the rest of you(s) in the States it looks like it could be a very interesting time. And who knows you might be able to rub elbows with some of our fellow (ladies included) techs!

 

[DRPCNZ]

Looks like it would be fun biggest pain point would be the thousands of dollars required to get there and back again from New Zealand

 

[Bryce W]

My main squeeze would go with me (wife) and I'm sure this would bore her to death!

My wife came with me to Comptia Channelcon in Chicago. She LOVED it. Spent a fair bit of time shopping up and down Michigan Avenue while I was at the convention.

Washington DC is a super interesting city with so much to see. I dont know how the shopping is, but the landmarks and museums are world class.

 

[TechLady]

The financial strain, mostly...could probably do the conference fee or the airfare, but both would be a little tough this year because of another east coast trip that's happening for me very shortly. There is also the fact that I am 3.5 hours from the nearest airport (ugh) and might have a childcare issue as well. It does look mighty interesting, though. A webcast would be nice.

 

[seedubya]

Agreed, I'd pay for access to the conference recordings.

 

[mraikes]

East coast location is the issue for me. If it were more centrally located (I know - you can't please everyone!), I'd be there. It's just too far to travel with the time I'd have available to do it.

And while Washington DC does have a tremendous number of worthwhile things to visit, my SO wouldn't be interested in doing so by herself while I was at the convention.

 

[HCHTech]

I'm going. I went to Toronto last year and it was a great experience. In fact, I've talked a buddy of mine into going with me - his business is a couple of towns over, but still close enough to rideshare to DC.

 

[Blues]

As I am not a business owner really and just freelance tech support while working a 9-5 I guess thats a piece to why I won't be there and also that date is when my 9-5 begins preparing for our busy season which last for ~6 months.

 

[fencepost]

I'm pretty financially tight right now, plus my wife has some health issues and doesn't really care that much for travel anymore.

 

[NYJimbo]

I'll be the prick here and say I just dont see how it can help me at this point in the game. I think this kind of convention might appeal to newer techs. But most of us who have rode the roller coaster of the repair business know that if you have been in it long enough, it's dying a slow death. You can keep trying new ideas but we are reaching (have reached ?) a threshold of diminishing returns.

I understand the convention is suppposed to be an "IT conference for techs and business owners", but "IT" is just such a broad term. How does it help me, a owner of a small repair/hosting/MSP business ? Just look at the topics offered, haven't we all thought about that stuff for years ?

The website for it seems to follow all the typical nebulous, "synergy", "brainstorming", "thinking outside the box" talk sessions we see offered for conventions for any business. Its nice to sit in on one of those for an hour, but to take up a whole weekend, spend hundreds of dollars and travel all that way for what is offered just doesn't appeal to me. I might be wrong but I think many seasoned techs feel the same.

I dont know if that is what you were looking for as a response, but I didnt want to overthink what I felt when seeing this conference offer. So this is just my opinion, take it or leave it. But I think some parts of it are valid.

ps - If this post gets me banned, I understand. But before that happens I would like to say I love you all, except those of you who might still owe me money or favors for anything.

 

[NETWizz]

To me it is just far away, and I really don't like DC. It's too big, hard to drive around in, difficult to park, etc.

 

[Dogzilla]

I agree with @NYJimbo here. For those of us who have been in business for years, there is really nothing all that new which could be learnt and or really help us in our day to day business.

If you are a relatively new technician, or are thinking about becoming a IT tech, then go for it.

To be fair though. It's much to far of a distance for me to travel, plus all the associated coatings involved. Just not worth the cost to me.

We have regular annual tech meetings over in the UK. There is a bunch of us who meet up for the weekend and have a blast. Not just talking tech, but enjoying a few beers with each other.

We have suppliers turn up, giving talks, offering deals, even distro's have attended.

There is no conference so to speak, no real agenda, no real costs apart from your hotel and travel. Oh and a few pints..

Ps Jim. You won't get banned for your post mate

 

[calldrdave]

So I'll add my 2 cents and this isn't a pitch for the Unconvention. I lie. It is because I'm involved with the planning. Honestly, I don't know if I would have gone last year but for my involvement. I've been doing this on my own since 2003, but worked for other support companies since 1996. That being said, here is what I found:

1. If you've been doing it long, you're set in your ways. You don't embrace new tools to make your job easier or better. The newer techs have a new approach. Seasoned techs don't have the same approach you do. You learn new things that make your job easier. Example: Lori sends out thank you letters to new clients. I got old and lazy and realize I needed to do it again
2. You're not keeping up with competition. Although you're all competitors there, you are there to work together. You start learning about what you're not doing and how your local competition might have the edge you're missing. Example: sending SMS to clients. I wrote about that here.
3. Vendor contacts: you get to meet the sponsors and get individualized sessions with them. Example : Malwarebytes is a critical tool in my business. I got to speak with the tech liaisons and give feedback to the program. I earned my self thousands in commissions by learning how to resell the program properly.
4. Networking with other techs: you can't know it all. You learn who are the experts and can bounce ideas off of them. Example: I got to meet Mike Smith of the Mike Tech Show and chat with him about some of my business goals. I even appeared on his show.
5. Working on rather than in my business: we all say it, but do we do it. Going to another city and stepping away from my business allowed me to examine it. In 12 years I hadn't spent time out of the office but still thinking about how I do things. This was forced opportunity to have a 2 day reflection on what I was doing and where I was going.

So why am I going next year? After all, I already made the contacts and it's going to be some of the same people. That's the point though, I' m going to continue conversations from last year and learn new things. Secretly it's also fun. You sit down for a couple hours and compare war stories. Therapists here are about $120 an hour, and I'm getting at least 10 hours of therapy from my fellow tech business owners.

 

[NYJimbo]

So I'll add my 2 cents and this isn't a pitch for the Unconvention. I lie. It is because I'm involved with the planning.

Thank you for your input. But you have to admit, you do have an agenda.

 

[TechLady]

My husband is NOT a techie--I can literally see his eyes start glazing over if I start chatting about tech topics--so for me if would just be nice to have some techie camaraderie for a little bit, even if I don't learn anything earthshaking. Would also be great if there were other women there but I never count on that.

I do agree with Dave's point about getting too set in your ways. I've had many bosses in the past that used the dumbest, most expensive and ill-suited tools for their businesses just about forever. They were just blowing up money and doing things in the least efficient way possible because they got too comfortable. Tech is all about change, and to me this is the worst possible kind of tech person--the kind that charges customers up the yin-yang and just does the minimum with old tools they know and feel "safe" with and never does anything different, never researches anything new. (These people would be better off doing data entry, in my opinion). So yay for learning new things!

I don't much care for conferences where the whole point seems to be about selling you stuff, however I do like conferences that feature different solutions to various problems that I might not have thought of. Adobe Lightroom was pretty scary until I went to a conference on it, and now I barely use anything else with photos. I enjoy conferences and classes, it's just a matter of fitting it in practically.

 

[calldrdave]

Thank you for your input. But you have to admit, you do have an agenda.

That's why I disclosed it! I'm still paying the 1K in travel expenses. Last year I paid for the conference just like everyone else. My agenda is to get more people to the conference, absolutely. Beyond that, I get no benefit.

 

[calldrdave]

My husband is NOT a techie--I can literally see his eyes start glazing over if I start chatting about tech topics--so for me if would just be nice to have some techie camaraderie for a little bit, even if I don't learn anything earthshaking. Would also be great if there were other women there but I never count on that.

I believe there were two women there last year. One was a facilitator and I learned a TON from her. She had only been in business for a few years, but she specializes in technophobic clients. She was the one who reminded me I need to send personalized thank you letters. Too often I forget we're in the people business, and she reminded me of that. Part of the fun isn't just learning, but it's sharing.

I remember sitting at the big table after the show and reminded a bunch of techs while at a restaurant when a client doesn't pay, they're engaging in theft of service. I can't just walk out of the restaurant without paying the bill. neither can a client walk off without paying. I'm HARD core about that, so I taught a few people not to take "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." A few people emailed me after the conference thanking me for setting them on the right path towards collections.

And yes, that was a huge ego boost! Who doesn't like a little admiration from their peers??

 

[Bryce W]

Excellent feedback so far, thank you all.

@NYJimbo , you definitely wouldnt get banned. If fact, your response is super helpful. I dont agree with what you've said but it shows that we need to tweak our messaging to make it clear.

Residential work is winding down for a lot of people as you said, but the Unconvention content is about growing from where you are now. Whether you do residential, are an MSP, do HIPAA work, whatever.

Its actually exactly what people need if they are in that situation. If what you are doing is not working or slowing down, and you keep doing what you are doing with no change, you are dead in the water. This convention is about learning new ways, new opportunities, getting out of your own head and finding whats working for others.

 

[AML]

Our company is pretty well diversified. Retail, Service, Consult, CCTV, Alarm, Access Control, Teach, Web design and Hosting. We are looking into the rapidspar device as we also get enough data recovery to justify it. We are not experiencing a major slowdown as some other have indicated. Retail is down, but I don't care, its there just for getting people to browse. We have 2 large big box stores close to our location. Service is the same or slightly up.
I should have went to last years in Toronto, since it was 30 miles away. I'm sure i could have picked up something useful. That being said i can't see going to Washington with the hassles at the border, my passport is expired anyway. The main reason I think is I'm probably not sure how long i will continue, my wife retires in 3 years and i may as well. I also have another business not related to Technology.

I would recommend this to new businesses, or if your feeling a pinch, think of it as a tool just like buying a program for your business. If I was new to the business or if i was not diversified this would be something I think would be of a great benefit.
Not sure this is going to help you any.