This past weekend I made a quick trip to Downtown Los Angeles with my friend, colleague, and fellow blogger, Mel of My Everyday Lifestyle, for Create & Cultivate. There were two tracks at the conference and we took different tracks in order to hear all of the speakers. I was able to listen to speakers such as Clare Vivier, Alexandra Amodio of beGlammed, Mara Ferreira of M Loves M, Taylor Sterling of Glitter Guide, Christine Andrew of Hello Fashion, Jessica Alba, and my favorite, Rachel Zoe.
We started our morning off with a delicious breakfast from Patina Restaurant Group that included mini blueberry pancakes, chi parfait, avocado toast, and of course Alfred coffee. My first two sessions were The Future of Fashion: Trends, Tech, & Bridging Online & Off and Fresh Faced: An Unfiltered Look at the Business of Beauty. A few things I took away from these sessions included:
“Walk forward with blinders on and keep your eyes on a goal. Do not focus on the competition…. Even if a post doesn’t turn into dollars, it is building your brand.” –Clare Vivier
“Always say yes, you’re never too good for anything… there is always something you can learn from it.” –Nikki DeRoest
“If it’s inside you, you should do it. Work hard. Oprah was not built in a day.” –Sarah Gibson Tuttle
“Have real friendships with other women instead of focusing on comparing yourselves.” –Sarah Gibson Tuttle
“Snapchat and real time content is the future of social media.” –Evelina Cartasova
“Suck it up and don’t compare yourself to other people… don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle, understand where you are.” –Evelina Cartasova
We enjoyed salads from Sweetgreen for lunch, then I attended Video Pros: Harnessing the Power of Digital Platforms to Build Your Brand and Blog Powerhouses: The #BossLadies Slaying the Content Game. I took away some great advice that pertained more specifically to blogging, that included:
“If you don’t have a passion for it, don’t do it. You will end up spreading yourself too thin.” –Chriselle Lim
“Being on time is the most important thing. Brands talk about influencers just as much as influencers talk about brands.” –Christine Andrew
“Be yourself. Do not try to be another blogger. You will just be second best.” –Andy Torres
The day ended with our bomb keynote speakers, Jessica Alba and Rachel Zoe. Jessica was in conversation with Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr of Clique Media Group, and Rachel was in conversation with her friend and jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer. Some of my favorite quotes from Jessica Alba included:
“One thing I undervalued in starting a company was the importance of trusting your gut, they don’t teach you that in business school.”
“I don’t identify a problem and bone out, I identify a problem and get in the nitty gritty… I am very involved in all aspects of the company from IT, UX to creative and marketing.”
“Being an actress is like being rejected by the hottest guy in school everyday.”
“Mentor those people in your life and open those doors to help them along the way… It’s absolutely important for women to support each other.”
And my favorite quotes from Rachel Zoe included:
“I want to help motivate women at a very young age, to help them accomplish anything.”
“It is all about being honest, kind, and forthcoming, both internally and externally.”
“I don’t think you can be good at something if you don’t just love it. You need both patience and passion to succeed.”
“If you just hire really talented people you can just let them be and not have to micromanage.”
“Don’t micromanage, but you need to watch people because you can get hurt, just trust your gut.”
“Taking the high road is really hard, but it is always better. You have to believe that good people win in the end.”
“Social media has become how we speak to each other, it is essential to business. I don’t think you can have a business right now without some sort of social presence.”
If you ever have a chance to attend Create & Cultivate, it is well worth it! They will be announcing their next city on May 16th. xoxo
