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My last blog post talked about my anticipation of ProfitCON16 hosted by the author Mike Michalowicz. He has written a few books on business and this conference focused on “Profit First” and his new book “Surge.” To put things in perspective, the mission statement from “Profit First” is to “eradicate entrepreneurial poverty.” When I heard this, I knew that I was in the right place and that I wanted to be a part of that!

Let me just sum up the weekend in a few words: high-energy, fun, entertaining and inspiring, just like its host Mike Michalowicz. The conference was loaded with speakers and networking opportunities.

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A speaker that stood out to me was Mike Agugliaro. He is considered the Warrior CEO. He told us in the audience that it is ok to tell a hurtful truth than a comforting lie. His “Warrior Code” has business owners leverage themselves so that they stay accountable. Although it is an overused cliché, it is true- the truth will set you free.

Another speaker that struck a personal chord with me was Dawn Brolin, CPA. Working in accounting myself, her words rung true with me. As a part of an earlier project I did and wrote about for my blog, I established my core values. Brolin said that by using her core values to form an acronym describing her business, her business really took off. I am in the process of developing my own acronym for my business, so stay tuned to find out what it is!

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And finally, one of my favorite speakers was Nat Beasley and his presentation The Fun Department. In his talk, Beasley talked about how fun can have an effect on your company’s bottom line. What Beasley touched on was the science behind fun at work. When we have fun at work, it is a shared experience that is not just good for morale but also your bottom line. You can have fun and use this as team building with employees and also with your clients.

When with employees, this can be a sort of leadership buy-in. Beasley named his 3 C’s, which are:

  1. Consistent: try to have a fun activity on a regular basis.
  2. Company time: make the activity quick yet engaging.
  3. Compliant: don’t break any laws, gear activities towards the company culture.

 

Beasley also said that you shouldn’t be breaking the bank on these fun activities. Use what you already have available. One example used during the presentation was of one company that holds an annual Ping-Pong tournament; even if a one-time investment in a table, this is a low-cost activity.

All of Michalowicz’s works are available on Amazon.com and other fine book retailers.