mylifeasaliteracycoach

VIVA LAS VEGAS! REFLECTIONS ON #TPTVEGAS14

You’ve heard of the phrase… what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Well, I am all about debunking that!  This post is all about the exciting First-Ever Teachers Pay Teachers Sellers Conference.

It’s taken me a few days to process this experience, as it was absolutely aaaamazing!  As I reflect on the FIRST EVER TpT conference, so many words come to mind: good people, friendships, collaboration, community, creativity, talent, energy, spirit, fun, enthusiastic sellers… the list goes on and on.  

PRE-CONFERENCE FUN

Prior to the conference, I squeezed in every available minute with my Hello Two Peas business partner, Jen Jones. We were  busy collaborating and planning the next steps of our Hello Two Peas projects. Since Jen and I live on opposite sides of the country,  collaboration time in person was golden. Our husbands patiently waited while we gabbed for hours. In between our gabfest we sprinkled in some fun.

NETWORKING WITH OLD FRIENDS AND NEW

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting so many of my cyber friends and in person. For many of us, this was our first face-to-face meeting.  I was thrilled and honored meeting the dynamic duo Deanna Jump and DeeDee Wills!  Excited and delighted to meet so many of my fellow bloggers and TpT sellers like Linda Kamp and Lisa Mattes who have encouraged me from the very beginning of this little blog a year ago. Meeting so many of the gals face-to-face was awesome! 

OMG it's DEANNA JUMP and me!

 Hanging Out with fellow bloggers and TpT Sellers
Jen Jones and Linda Kamp

Fellow bloggers and TpT sellers Jen Jones, Fran Kramer, Lisa Mattes and Janice Malone

THE FIRST-EVER TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS SELLERS CONFERENCE

On Friday, it was time to attend the first-ever Teachers Pay Teachers conference! The standout highlight was being able to meet Paul Edelman, the founder of Teachers Pay Teachers. Who knew when I walked in the conference hall at the Venetian I would be walking in with Paul Edelman and some of the TpT staff! Paul's vision to empower creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit among educators has changed countless lives including mine. The TpT success stories that were shared by several sellers were beyond inspirational.  

 Paul Edelman- founder of TpT

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE TPT CONFERENCE

 I attended several sessions to help me better understand the nuts and bolts of being a TpT seller.  I kicked off the sessions by attending a session on providing customer care presented by Jen Jones, my Hello Two Peas In A Pod business partner. Then boned up on blogging tips from a fabulous panel made up of a team of power house bloggers: Erica Bohrer, Cara Carroll, Deedee Wills, Elizabeth Hall and Greg Smedley and followed that session with another session on blogging tips and I discovered a treasure trove of information about TpT from Lindsay Perro.

While, many of my sessions were focused on developing my understanding of being a TpT seller and edublogger, the most valuable lesson I took away from this conference was- follow your passions with  integrity.  This theme was woven thru the fabric of stories shared throughout the day.  Story after story validated that the most successful sellers on TpT sellers were successful because they had passion for their profession and creative ideas to share. These folks all had one commonality; they got inspired, worked hard, and as a result positively influenced the lives of countless educators and children.