It may surprise many listeners to learn that I have attended 6 FinCon conferences. Beginning in 2012 when I randomly discovered that a money conference attended by my favorite personal finance content creators would be in Denver in two weeks. Real talk, I was broke. Seriously, really broke but I scrounged together the $100 or so bucks to buy the ticket which also included a number of meals. WOW! I would end up attending: Denver, St. Louis, New Orleans, Charlottesville, San Diego and Dallas. Each event was even better than the last. Many of the people in the community have become dear friends and have been a blessing in my life.
Typically, I work on a blog post that’s a little more persuasive. “Why you should go to FinCon.” But, this year I just felt the community was asking a very different question “Are you going to FinCon?” So, I decided to reach out to members of the community who are and who are not attending to hear what was behind their decision. My goal with this episode was to allow my guests to share their thoughts without fear of being talked over, made to feel bad or not listened to. A couple of things about this episode. I didn’t edit it except to remove some loud noises on Reshawn’s audio. Emily’s audio is a little garbled for about 10 seconds at the beginning of her comments.
Finally, you’ll hear the Elevate Community referenced by a few of the guests. Elevate Influencer is the community created by Sandy Smith of Yes, I Am Cheap and the Hustle Crew. The goal is to elevate uplift and encourage people of color who are influencers in the personal finance space. Please note that Elevate Influencer is not affiliated with FinCon. I’ve also included a link to a recent episode where 3 guests share their Elevate Influencer experience.
*In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please read my disclosure here.*
This episode was recorded BEFORE Texas passed the anti-abortion law. Hence, that is why no one commented on that contentious issue. 09/06/2021
Resources
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If you’re thinking about starting a podcast and attending Podcast Movement 2021, listen to my review of Podcast Movement 2021. I share my thoughts of the recent event.
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Show Notes
Tiffany Grant-Money Talk with Tiff
- Going with a mission and a purpose
- Didn’t attend in 2020 and received a refund.
- COVID has complicated things and she misses in person events
- Attending for the betterment of her audience.
- How can I better serve my audience?
Reshawn Lee-Learn Hustle Grow
- Third time attending and is excited about the diversity of speakers.
- FinCon has been a gift and she’s found her tribe.
- 9 years into their journey before they discovered the FinCon journey
- Loved meeting the people
- Elevate Community was a plus as well
- Their goal: to connect with people in person because online connections is different.
- Would like to give back to others what they’ve received from the conference and the attendees
Miranda Marquit-Co-Founder The Freelance Writers Academy
- Has been in the personal finance space since 2006
- Attending the first FinCon in 2011 in Schaumberg, Illinois
- She wanted to meet the people that she was meeting online and wanted to meet in person.
- It has been almost 2 years since she has seen everyone
- Get access to potential clients, the freelancer market place and speed networking
- Potential client meetings and establishing deeper relationships with future clients.
- The Expo Hall-Video specific content
- Networking and collaboration-Tom Drake is an example of a person that she’s launching a project with.
- Attended Podcast Movement in Nashville, TN
- Took a rapid test before and after going to that event.
- Created a pod of people to be around and wore a mask.
- Focusing on what she can do to manage herself while recognizing that she can’t manage other people. She is vaccinated.
- She spent more time in her room than she expected while at Podcast Movement
- Looking forward to getting unstuck and connecting with inspiration, knowledge and networking
Marcus Garrett-The Marcus Garrett
- FinCon2016 in San Diego-He thought that there was something special at that event.
- So, why is he going to FinCon2021?
- Whenever he DMs someone he’s able to get help
- Made over $150,000 in sales in 2021.
- All of the people that he mentions in the episode have one thing in common-he met these amazing people in 2016 at FinCon San Diego
Chris Mamula-Can I Retire Yet?
- Bummed that he won’t be attending in 2021 even though he’s attended 3 previous conferences.
- FinCon has been instrumental for his business
- The highlight of the event is the social connection and meeting people spontaneously.
- The in-person networking is actually the reason why he’s not attending with the rise of the Delta variant.
- Has an 8 year old who can’t be vaccinated and he needs to protect his mom who has a medical condition.
- He’s aware of her immunocompromised situation
- Hopefully he can attend in 2022 in California
Emily Guy Birkin-Retirement Expert
- Has been attending since 2011.
- Has decided not to attend in 2021. She has 2 children under the age of 12 who aren’t eligible for vaccination.
- In order to attend she would have to travel in such a way that she’s concerned about being exposed to COVID and is concerned that there are people attending who view mask wearing as a freedom issue vs. public safety and health.
- Concerned about the difficult conversation that FinCon as a community had during the summer of 2020.
- She recognizes that she has been insulated from these issues and had hoped to attend this year.
- Not expecting perfection but looking at what has been done and will have to rely on the attendees feedback of this year.
- Emily has high hopes about how FinCon can address the issues that were brought up during the previous year.
Jackie Lam
- Freelance Personal Finance Writer
- 2014 FinCon New Orleans was a money blogger running the site “Cheapsters” and got her first freelance gig at that conference.
- She won’t be attending in 2021.
- Jackie did purchase a ticket a few months ago but with the surge in the Delta Variant
- Texas feels unsafe with it’s regulations against mandating masks, etc.
- Being in a crowded space with lots of people doesn’t feel like the best idea.
- She will miss the event and the people that she knows. Meeting new people and traveling.
- Freelancers marketplace and meeting new clients as well as connecting with current and old clients.
- FOMO is happening.
- The best decision for her is to not attend.
Michelle Jackson-Michelle is Money Hungry
Will I be attending FinCon 2021?
- For the past year I have been a member of FinCon’s Community Advisory Panel. It was great way for me to participate in the behind the scenes conversations that shape a community.
- It hasn’t always been easy during a year when oftentimes I just wanted to detach myself from everything and everyone and run away to a tropical island or mountain retreat.
- I’m very proud of the work that we did, and I focused on insuring that I was advocating for communities and persons who might not always have a voice in the room or in the spaces that I’m in.
- I also participated in the Speaker Selection committees for both FinConX and FinCon2021
- I strongly encourage POC and Allied voices to sign up for the behind the scenes transformative work in the different communities that you belong to-in addition to FinCon. Understanding what makes a winning proposal, what organizations are looking for and how content serves their community is a huge transferrable skill that can be used elsewhere
- And when that option (to participate behind the scenes) isn’t available to you, create new spaces.
- So, will I be attending FinCon2021? Yes, I plan to do so. I am concerned about the Delta variant but I’m going to be candid and say that Colorado has had a huge influx of Texans coming into the state for the past almost 2 years and that there is no doubt in my mind that I’m being exposed on a daily basis in passing.
- I’m focusing on being safe and for this conference will do the following:
- Stay in my own room
- Wear a mask indoors
- Get tested upon my return to Denver
- My goal for the conference is to grow my business and to meet people in person. Everything else is icing on the cake.
- I plan on hanging outside as much as possible. Patios for the win.
- I did attend Podcast Movement this summer and I’m glad that I did because I wasn’t as used to being around people and I found myself getting tired faster than usual at the event.
I hope you enjoyed this episode and my goal was to give my guests an opportunity to share their thoughts without judgement, drama, or having to explain themselves. They’re doing what’s right for them.
So, I leave you with a final question: Are you going to FinCon?
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