We just returned from ChannelAdvisor Catalyst and what a great trip it was! The location was just awesome, Nashville. Come on, you’re going to send a country music lovin girl to Nashville, you know a good time is about to happen, and it did!
We arrived early on Monday to a turnkey booth, so no real work to do – it all looked pretty spiffy! We walked around a bit, saw a few other vendors, and then went to wander Nashville; Country Music Hall of Fame, and then Margaritaville (live band in there at 3:30 pm! LOVE IT!!) After such a fun afternoon it was time to head over to the conference center and listen to Martha Stewart talk about her business. I enjoyed listening to her different interests; she gave some good advice to those who were paying attention. I loved her comments to be a little outrageous, and always be authentic. She talked about her days with Kmart fondly and how she loved being part of their brand for many years, she went on to discuss social media and the big part it plays in her many businesses. I found the talk to be interesting and am glad I went.
At the end of the talk I ran out of the room and over to our booth where we spent the next two hours talking to so many different people, current clients like Shop the Finest, iSnorkel, Mary B. Decorative Art. Seeing old friends like Gracie and Jeff from Dreamway Trading, always great to see you guys! Getting to hear such wonderful comments from our friends at Vitaminmom.com, thanks Hazel! I promise next time I’m in Atlanta I will catch up with you! There are so many great customers that I can’t name them all. The night was fun, the drinks flowed, the food was plentiful, and the bull was going – yes there was a mechanical bull in that room! I even saw people riding it!!
On Tuesday it was another busy day, meeting with clients, seeing partners, gather info from potential clients and partners. So many people came through, the day just flew by, it was so busy all day. The Music City Center staff did a great job moving food around and keeping it filled up, it was very entertaining to watch the catering staff in motion. That same night we were able to go to the party sponsored by eBay, and the Wildhorse Saloon. Such fun, there was a band playing, and during breaks the staff was teaching line dancing. I joined in for a song or two, but mostly I was busy talking, talking, talking. Saw Ed and his wife from Ed’s Fly Shop – congrats on the growth guys! Ran into our buddies from Sports by Sager, and the crew from Brent Industries. Again, so many people, so little time. As the night wound down I left and went and walked around on Broadway, taking in the music and the sights. It’s Nashville, gotta listen to some music, and I did.
Wednesday was the final day of the conference, it was very busy when people had breaks from their sessions, other times we filled talking to partners, and potential partners. Met the people from Overstock, and from TopHatter, as well Pricefalls, and Payoneer. We spent a good deal of time talking to the ShipStation crew since they were right next to us (very convenient!). I went to the closing awards and saw the awards for retailer of the year, always great to hear those stories. Then they gave away the trip, this was from the app game. Did I not mention the app game? This was a great idea, it was very interactive and got people talking. You took pictures of people in other booths, and of yourself in other booths, or yourself with someone from another booth. Then pics from the Nightlife, hotel rooms, people dancing, and a lot of other fun places. It was a great ice breaker, and I feel like it worked!
