Are the big weekend events worth it?

$1000 for one weekend? One or two days off work? Airports, taxi’s, hotels? Are you kidding me?

Ever heard that before? I bet you have! I know you have if you’ve been building a home based business for anywhere close to a year. Heck, you probably thought that the first time you had someone tell you that you NEEDED to be at an event.

For a lot of people these big weekend events are a waste of time and money. If you think you need to go to learn about your product or comp plan because you need that info to be successful, you’re going to waste your time. If you are going because your friend is going and it sounds fun, you’re wasting your money. If you are hoping to get motivated from one of these events, you’re going to waste your time and your money.

You can learn about your product or your comp plan for free online. It’s way cheaper to go to a ballgame with your friends, you’ll probably have just as much fun. And, if your current situation, your debt, your stress level, your goals, or your desire to live a better life isn’t enough motivation now, you aren’t going to find it at an event. So why waste your time and money, right?

Well, here’s why, if you’re the rare person who is already motivated to change, who is willing to learn from those that have gone before you, and who knows that there has to be a better way, then run, don’t walk to the next event. The right event will give you 10 times the value from your weekend, in fact, the more difficult it is for you to attend, the more you will get out of it. “But wait, what event should I go to?” I’m glad you asked.

So, here’s where we get back to the discussion of what kind of results you want from your business . Remember, your home based business is a means to an end, it is an income stream, an opportunity to develop your skills and make money. But success in your business is only a piece of the puzzle; it’s not the entire goal. What that success can bring you in terms of freedom is the real goal. In my opinion, no one has more real life results than Dani Johnson, just take a look at any of her websites or emails or Facebook pages and you will find tens of thousands of stories (literally) of people who have made real changes and real improvements to their lives

Yes, Dani will teach you a system that has a 24 year track record of success. Yes, that system will fit into what you are doing now and it will accelerate your business success. But, she will also do much more than that. First Steps to Success will show you the steps to create freedom, true wealth and real lasting change that will permeate all areas in your life. This is where you get the foundation to build your business success on. Ask anyone who’s been to even one event with Dani and hear what they have to say.

“OK, will do, but what about my company’s big shindig in Las Vegas?” Go! But go with proper expectations. Think about all of the stuff that these company events have to accomplish. They have to give a ton of recognition. They usually launch a new contest, promotion or product. You’re going to hear from most of the top corporate executives, top field leaders, and maybe even a motivation speaker. You’ll have a nice dinner or two and overall you’ll have a ton of fun. Hopefully, you’ll leave with a strong conviction about the company your with and the you’ll be excited about your future.

At these events, the biggest “how-to” value will come from the field leaders who may get a chance to share their success tips but with all of the other things these events are trying to do it’s tough to get everything you need. Some of these events are better than others but the reality is you should attend these events at least once a year to build a bond with the company you’re committed to.

“Brian, my company has training events like Dani’s, which one should I attend?” that’s a great question with and easy answer: look at the results. Most home based business are pretty simple, not easy, but simple. So the “system” that a company or team uses should be pretty easy to learn without going to an event. What you need are the SKILLS to make that system work efficiently and effectively so that you can accomplish more with that five hours a week. So, you have to ask yourself “where will I get those skills?”

If you’re honest with yourself you will admit that you bring a certain amount of the needed skill set to the table because of your prior experience in life. Your work history, social skill, and personality all bring something to the table. Most likely, however, you don’t have all of the needed skills to truly be successful in your home based business. Some things cannot be learned anywhere else except for in this business. Also, as your business grows you will need to learn new things to stay ahead of the challenges it will bring. Leadership, time management, delegation, presentation skills, PEOPLE SKILLS, organization, priorities, wealth management, recognition, etc… You may not need all of these things at the beginning of your career in home business but, ultimately, you will.

The bottom line in all of this is that it’s YOUR BUSINESS and you have to decide what events give you the results you want. Don’t promote an event just because it exists, promote an event because it saves you time and provides the results you need in your business. Good leaders understand this and have built a system that should do these things. When you are new you need to follow the people who have the success you want. If you don’t have that leadership, then you need to find what works for you. Do your best to build a system that doesn’t require more and more time as your business grows. TIP: check out Dani’s Dynamic Duplication for the ultimate strategy in this area.

That’s probably enough for today. If you have made it this far, congratulations! You are hungry and teachable and ready to get the most out of the next big weekend event (First Steps to Success). Tomorrow, we will wrap this series up with a high level overview of what your year, month and week should look like in your first year of business. Your first year (or two, in my case) is when you learn how to make this business work for you. Yes, you can make a lot of money in this period but you also need to invest heavily into your success and your skill set. Tomorrow we’ll look at the big picture.

Brian