What I Learned at Blogalicious 2015 #BYOE15

This was my first year at the Blogalicious conference. This year’s theme was Build Your Own Empire (#BYOE15). I went with one thing on my mind building my brand and working with brands. Even though I work in marketing, marketing myself has always been on the back burner. As I continue to grow my empire, Style & Vibes is the cornerstone of it! Blogaicious wasn’t just an “on the whim” conference for me, I went there with exactly what I had in mind to accomplish and I did that.

Sharing my struggles with other bloggers and asking for help is a huge step for me, because I’m so used to doing it all by myself. I shared with Marie Denee and a room full of bloggers that next month will be my 8th year with this blog. To be honest, I was embarrassed that I’m not where I want to be, sharing my truth put it all into perspective for me. I’m proud that I’ve used this platform to learn EVERYTHING I know I about digital which has helped me in my corporate career and has lead to multiple freelance opportunities, but I have a tremendous opportunity to grow.

While I have always had the vision, having a process with definitive action steps have my been my Achilles heel. Learning that I can’t do everything solo forever when it comes to building my own empire is going to take some getting used to, but I’m willing to do so if it mean growth. I’ve come back more charged and ready take action and will be pushing myself with reasonable, yet challenging goals. I felt myself pushing towards that shift earlier this year so I’ve been plotting and planning for the first half of the year, testing content ideas for the blog and social media and figuring out what works. Now that I have a good grasp of that, it’s time to go into overdrive on action steps! Here are my takeaways, in order of importance:

1. Take Action Consistently
2. Be a great story teller
3. Own my expertise
4. Focus more on engagement versus followers

Quotables from the general sessions:

“Embrace your differences. What makes us stand out is often what we should play up.” (Paul C. Brunson)

“Know your value and stick to it.” (Natasha  Eubanks of the YBF)

“There are riches in the niches” (Jewel Figueras of Jewel’s Fab Life)

“Continue to learn while you own your expertise” (Julie Ross-Godar She Knows Media)

“Sometimes they’re not ready for us to be all that we can be. Don’t let others define you.” (Mayor of Baltimore Stephanie Rawlings-Blake)

Favorite Breakouts:
How to Diversify Your Income and Earn Six Figures  (Arsha Jones, Tees in the Trap)

Building YOur Empire with Vision and Leaving a Legacy (Monique Malcolm, Mattie James and Karen Doniere)

People Matter: How Building community, forging relationships and storytelling help empower your brand. (Kevin Curry, Fit Men Cook)
While leaving with an action plan was important to me when leaving Blogalicious, beyond that was great to network with  bloggers, meet speakers and brands I’ve admired and meet bloggers whom I’ve been interacting with online. (Hey BLM Girls, we were out in numbers! ) I didn’t take as many pictures as probably should have, but I was focused on soaking up all information and networking the conference had to offer.

Jamaicans Unite! Kerry and I with Paul C. Brunson

The badge of honor

Artisan Business Network table featuring work from artisans in Haiti

Mikelah

Mikelah is a Caribbean Culture expert, curating the bridge between the Caribbean and its diaspora. A CUNY Baruch College graduate with a BBA in Marketing. With previous experience with Caribbean lifestyle brands such as VP Records, Tempo TV and JAMROCK Magazine. Currently serving as a digital marketing maven by day, while continuing to collaborate with Caribbean brands.

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