8 Things I Learned from Attending Alt Summit
[00:00:00] Kellee Wynne: Well, hello. Hello. I'm Kelly Wynn, artist, author, mentor, fiercely independent mother and wife, and the founder of a multiple six figure creative business. And I love my life, but I've been where you're at. I was slogging away at this art business thing for more than a decade. Once I finally connected with my true calling, unlock the magic of marketing and built a system that could scale, while I realize I can make an impact and make a substantial income, I'm finally running a business that I love and it makes all the.
[00:00:33] Difference in the world. My biggest dream is to help you do the same. Let this podcast be the catalyst to your biggest success. You already have it in you because you are made remarkable.
[00:00:46] \ hello, hello, my friends. I've been gone for a while. I was in California. I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a little bit. It's just what I needed. It's probably what you need too. So what was I doing in California besides taking a moment out of my busy year to spend time with my family?
[00:01:04] Kellee Wynne: I went to Alt Summit. Have you heard of Alt Summit or thats short for Altitude Summit? It's something that's been happening for like 15 or more years. I've always wanted to go. It's for creative business owners. Primarily women and really diverse and honestly nurturing. It was just, Not what I was expecting maybe and more than what I expected and that's what I want to talk about today is my experience at AltSummit and why I decided to go in the first place.
[00:01:39] Have you been? That's my first question. Have you been? Have you even been out? Since the pandemic and done any networking, any socializing, any group activities. For me, I find that I'm either home Or I'm on the other side of the planet. That's really my MO lately. I don't go out very much anymore. I don't have a lot of friends in the area because I don't have a lot of people to relate to doing what I do.
[00:02:06] Artist, entrepreneur, coach. Business owner, podcaster, social media, like, we do all these things that most people that we know probably aren't doing, at least the people I know in person. There's few and far between who get this online business, creative business they think we're all just tiding off in the corner with our Little poor, starving artist attitude, but heck, I am like this big, globally minded, connected entrepreneur.
[00:02:37] I see myself bigger than that. So I don't really have a lot of local friends, but I have a lot of great friends online like you and many other people that I actually spend time on zoom. I message regularly. We email, we collaborate, we show up on Instagram, we do podcasts together, and we rarely get to actually see each other.
[00:03:03] Although that's going to be changing in the future. It's really a big part of my plan moving forward is more in person events. And that's what I wanted to talk to you about today and how much it changes who you are and how you see yourself. And just what's possible. So that's why I went to AltSummit. I wanted to meet new people, get out of my comfort zone, my couch zone, really.
[00:03:31] And, network. Network is, some people think of it as a kind of a dirty word, like, ooh, who wants a network? But when you live such a solitary life with your business and your art, It's really good to get out and meet other people who are doing what you're doing. So I knew it was something I had to put on my agenda and I had made the decision last year that showing up for more summits and conferences was something that I wanted to do.
[00:03:57] I have a few others planned, but this was the first of many, and I have to tell you, I felt so uncomfortable leading up to the day of the summit, knowing that I needed to show up in a new place. and meet bunch of new people , and I was alone. I didn't bring anyone with me. I didn't plan to meet up with anyone.
[00:04:18] It was just go and see who you meet along the way and learn what you're going to learn. And even though I'm a fairly outgoing person, I'm finding that the older I get and the more solitary my work is, the more it's nerve wracking to spend time with people I don't know. And the anxiety kind of creeps up.
[00:04:36] So. I'm sure there's a lot of you who feel the same way. You know that feeling? I wish I hadn't scheduled this kind of feeling or how do I cancel this play date, this date, this meeting I'm supposed to go to. How many of you feel that way?
[00:04:51] Like, Oh no. Even like the big things, like I bought a plane ticket and a hotel room to fly across the country. And I'm like, to go meet with strangers. What in the world was I thinking? And yet the truth of the matter was, once I got there, all those fears and worries disappeared. It was phenomenal. The women that I met were incredible and I felt at home as soon as I got there.
[00:05:18] And that's what I wanted to talk to you about is the fact that as much as I am grateful for Zoom, I am grateful for DMs and emails and video recordings and all the ways that we can connect because I wouldn't have friends across the world if it wasn't for the global platform that we live but nothing can compare to actually showing up in person somewhere.
[00:05:43] I'm feeling the energy of other women, of other creatives, of other ambitious people and experiencing the opportunity to connect like that and build relationships that are going to help your business in the long run. So I thought it would be fun today to give you my eight biggest takeaways.
[00:06:03] From attending Alt Summit and also tell you what my plans are next. Some of these are serious takeaways and some of these are fun and playful takeaways. I just. Dumped out of my brain. Like what was the most momentous about what I experienced. So first, I want to tell you a little bit more, exactly of what alt summit was.
[00:06:26] It was a 2 day, but bumper on either side for meeting, event. And I don't know where it'll be hosted in the future, but it was hosted in Palm Springs in March. This was March 2024. If you're listening to this way into the future. But I attended with, The expectation that I would just go and see what it was about the intention of alt summit is multi fold 1 more creativity. I love the fact that there were some art classes. There were some murals and and creative projects that we could do collaboratively. But that wasn't the main focus of AltSummit.
[00:07:06] The main focus was really education for creative entrepreneurs and networking. Uh, some of the education involved was about how we run our business. Some of it is about how we could connect with other people for our business. We had experts from big companies like Yahoo and Adobe that were there. And then we had some well known authors and other Speakers that were, really incredible and inspiring and not everything that I went there and learn was new.
[00:07:40] In fact, most of it was stuff that I already understood and was implementing in my business. So I would say. The content of the experience wasn't the main objective for me, although I loved going because then I could have discussions with my new friends and really see where we're at with all these different ways of, building our business.
[00:08:05] And really the best information came out of those conversations. And, you know, any event that you go to is going to have its pluses and minuses. The way I approach anything that I choose, whether it's to pay for a program, to join coaching, to go to an event in person, I look for what I can take away from it.
[00:08:24] Not where the flaws are, not where the faults are, not whether it was wasted money or not. Once I've made a decision, I don't feel like any of it's wasted money because I can always find something I can take away and learn from. Even if what I've learned is what not to do in my business.
[00:08:40] And that is a lesson I've learned many times. So in this case, I learned a little bit more about events, how they come together, how people interact at events and what the benefit of networking is. So here are my eight biggest takeaways. And the first one's a little bit funny, but it was a surprise to me.
[00:09:00] Business cards are still a thing. I have no idea because obviously I've been home for so long and most of the people I meet are. online. But when networking, people are still using really fun business cards with QR codes on it, with clever quotes and sayings, ways that you can easily connect fast.
[00:09:21] Yes, a lot of us just connect through, hey, I'll follow you on Instagram. But as people met, they're like, who are you? How do I connect with you? That was the first thing everyone was asking. And I was like, This is awesome! So, you get a bunch of new friends, you get new followers, you have new contacts for new, exciting collaborations, and the majority of the people there, they all had business cards with their QR codes to easily find them online, and I was just like, okay, I'm behind the curve.
[00:09:54] I did not realize we were still using business cards when networking, and I'm glad to know that now. In fact, there were a few people who said, you know what, I didn't even think to bring them. So I printed them off really quick at the like Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples down the road. And I'm like, geez, that was a good idea too.
[00:10:12] But you know what? I realized quite quickly, I wasn't there for other people To fallen over me or follow me or need to know me. I was there because I wanted to know other people. So it was okay with me that I wa didn't have a card to pass out. It was totally fine. People connected with me on Instagram or some of us exchanged phone numbers, but the majority of it, it was, I wanted to know other people and it was really relieving for me to go to the event with that in mind that I wasn't there to promote myself.
[00:10:46] I was there to connect. And so that made it really easy for me, but make note, if you're going to do some in person events, at the very least, I thought those who didn't have business cards on their event tickets. Nametag or not nametag, but it was like a, a lanyard with our, , ticket, you know, I don't know what those are called, but anyhow, on the other side of it, they would have a QR code printed there that you could just quickly scan with your phone and get to their information for some of them that was even their newsletter signup.
[00:11:17] I was like, wow, that is. Brilliant. Like, okay, this is what we're doing in the future. We're going to get that QR code. They're easy to make, by the way. You can do them on Canva. And I'm going to bring business cards, make some pretty ones, because I haven't had a business card since Maybe 2016? 2017? Sure, why not?
[00:11:36] Why not go all in on these beautiful little paper, signatures of yourself? Alright, number two, which was probably the most important takeaway.
[00:11:47] Women like supporting each other. Newsflash, it's true. I guess there's just so much talk about women backbiting and stabbing each other in the back and like not getting along. I think it's an old trope that's taught in, in TV shows and sitcoms and maybe even some of the memes online. And maybe it's also from personal bias because I've had my ups and downs.
[00:12:17] In relationships with women and even with people that I've worked at with and collaborated with. And it just comes down to the fact that's human nature that you might have problems with people from time to time. But generally, overall, I just needed to get out there and see how women can love each other.
[00:12:41] And that's what I saw at Alt Summit. It was a bunch of people, a bunch of women, creative entrepreneurs of all different walks of life and huge, vast array of diversity experience. And they were all there saying, Hey, who are you? How can I support you? How can we stay in contact? Come with me, have a seat with me.
[00:13:02] You could be walking down the hall and someone would just be like, hi, how you doing? You having a good time as standing in line for lunch. That's how I made friends. It was phenomenal. There was so much interest in each other and what and the ways that we could work to support each other, who could be on whose podcast, who could do a collaboration, who could work with who, and, I don't know how to explain it, but it was just phenomenal.
[00:13:28] So refreshing and so nurturing because of it that I just have to say, that was the probably my most important takeaway, although the whole event, there was so much to learn, but the fact that women could just come together by the hundreds and all just instantaneously be friends and supportive of each other, just reminds me how important that is and how possible it is, and.
[00:13:54] That's one of the reasons why I do believe I'll be going back to AltSummit again, is simply because that experience alone made it a thousand times worth it. So, that brings me to number three. Don't wait to be asked. That's the fun part about networking. Everyone was there without a partner, without a friend, most of them, almost everyone that I met there came solo and had never been before and were just ready to say, Hey, what you doing?
[00:14:23] Come along. And I, by the end of the event, got comfortable enough to just invite myself. and turn around and look and see who is next to me and invite them along too. And that was really cool. It was like, don't wait, just go ahead and be bold enough to say hi and invite yourself. Can I sit with you? Can I go to the next meeting?
[00:14:46] Where are you going? I'm going to come with you to dinner. Who's going to dinner? Let's all go to dinner together. You know, drinks afternoon at the pool. Let's do it. Oh, hey, you guys over there. Hi, let me introduce myself. That's how the whole event was. You didn't wait to be asked. You just joined and that was so much fun because at first, when I arrived, of course, I felt a little awkward like, okay, how am I going to like, I'm going to eat alone the whole time because I didn't come with anyone.
[00:15:17] But by the end of it, you realize that's not the point of a in in person networking event. You come alone. You walk away at the end with friends. And the way to do that is you don't wait to be asked. You say hello to everyone standing next to you and you invite yourself. And it totally worked out. I had people who's like, Hey, can I tag along?
[00:15:39] And I said, Hey, can I tag along to other people? And it just was wonderful. All right. Number four was the wide range of creative expertise. I guess I didn't, I don't know what alt summit was in the early years. I think it was a lot more focused on what I heard was like maybe mommy bloggers, homemakers, crafters.
[00:16:06] Artisans, but somewhere along the line over the years, it's turned into the entire creative entrepreneurial world, meaning podcasters, bloggers, writers, copywriters, graphic designers, fashion designers. I just everyone I met had a different range of expertise in different fields and some in places that I just, you know, you would have never even expected and it opened my eyes.
[00:16:33] Again, which you know, me, I love to talk about out of the box thinking, build a business on your own terms, but it really helped me realize how vast and wide and open the creative business field is. There's just so many possibilities, everything from, , be dazzled with jewels to fashion design and to public speaking and book writing.
[00:16:58] There was just so much to take in and so many different fields. So each person that I met along the way had a new story, a different way of being and, and a way to contribute to, to the greater good of all of us and what we're doing. And number five, this is really an important aha. This was probably like a little bit of a surprise to me.
[00:17:16] Besides the business cards thing was that we all still need diversity training. It wasn't on my agenda to go to any of the diversity. Courses and that's my confession. I'm like, okay, we did that. We went through it in 2020. I'm open. I've read some books. I do my best to reach my hand out across all, races. gender, sexuality, disability, ability. And this is where my privilege falls in line, I think I know these things. But what I realized when going to, like, this was the follow along, Hey, where are you going? We're going to go watch these speakers. It's, it's, That and there was an incredible amount of diversity at AltSummit, which was really great to see and experience, but to sit through the conversations, the harder conversations of, are you being inclusive?
[00:18:11] How do you make it easy? How do you reach your handout? How do you make it known that you're open and working and collaborating with others? All sorts of people. And it was something that I needed to do and hear again. And I think it's something that we all need to put in our agenda on a regular basis, opening up our ears and hearing people of color and, you know, for me coming as the majority in America and realizing that I still don't understand the voices of most people.
[00:18:45] So, I think it's really important that we still read the books, listen to the talks, find out and seek diverse voices in our Instagram feed, and who we collaborate with, and who we ask to be an expert in our programs, all of those things still. And always will really matter and really matter to keep working on and I love that the women who were speaking in some of these diversity conference conversations were really open to the fact that I don't know how to say this, but they understood that it was still a challenge for a lot of, white people who still think to this day, I don't know how to do this.
[00:19:28] And I said, it's okay to admit that you don't know how, but as long as you're not being ignorant of the fact that you don't know how. And to just ask for help. And I love that because it felt like I could admit my shortcomings and still ask for a hand to help me take the next step. So I, I feel like that's something that I can pass on to everyone listening that this is still a work in progress for me and for you.
[00:19:57] We can't ever stop doing the work. And when I attend something like alt summit, it means that I get exposure to different points of view, not just different ways of doing work. You know, I really feel like the best education I got out of alt summit was the diversity of. The women who were there and their experience and their voices that was probably for me the biggest educational curve that I needed to walk away with.
[00:20:26] Of course, the relationships were the best thing for me. But as far as what I needed to learn and hear, that was really important. Number 6, it's kind of a fun one. When going to AltSummit, pack your brightest colors. of clothing. Black is not necessary. Now, of course, you can wear whatever you want.
[00:20:45] There's no judgment. Boy, those women were dressed gorgeous. They were dressed in bright colors and fun patterns and beautiful outfits. And they all look comfortable. None of them were like in, in their fancy heels or anything, but everyone had on dresses and, and caftans and, floral and bright patterns and I saw patterns even of clothes that I recognized and brands and just like Lisa Condon's pattern on somebody's dress and I was like, Oh, this is so cool.
[00:21:17] Everyone brought their most fun, happy clothes. And I did not, I brought t shirts and maybe one or two shirts that were, were colorful. So I took myself over to TJ Maxx and found a few more bright things that I could feel fun and playful in. And it just reminded me that sometimes we can wear our joy. I think Kelly Ray Roberts talks about that all the time.
[00:21:43] And I don't know if you know who Kelly Ray Roberts is. She's a Instagram artist that I've been following for a long time, but she always talks about wear your joy. And I know there's quite a few other artists on the online community that are like, yeah, wear it, express yourself. And boy, do they express themselves there at Alt Summit.
[00:22:03] This is my own personal little growth here. As many of you might remember, I kind of declared I'm on a health journey to get, to get more fit and to eat healthier. And even though I'm not talking about it daily, because that's not my intention, I'm still working towards it. But I still look at myself as just a frumpy dumpy old middle aged woman.
[00:22:23] Which is really kind of sad because I shouldn't really be thinking myself that way. , so I'm a little body conscious and that's why t shirts and loose pants and being comfortable, stretchy waist is always my go to.
[00:22:36] And I don't know why I stopped myself from dressing cute. Because as I saw all the women of different sizes, shapes, colors, big, little, small, it didn't even matter. They were all dressed shamelessly. Honestly, I don't mean that in a bad way, but like, they showed off themselves. And I'm like, why was I holding back?
[00:23:00] from allowing myself to feel beautiful. When I watched so many other women just show up as themselves, and that was really inspiring. And I'm going to make note when I do these events in the future, bring my cute clothes and, think a little more positively about yourself. Kelly and show up in your best, not your best, but your brightest and your happiest. I don't know, maybe we need to go deeper into some of those thought processes of why I didn't allow myself in the first place, but why I want to make that change now. All right. Number seven.
[00:23:36] This was an interesting revelation to me, and it does kind of tie back to four of the wide range of different expertise in the creative business, but one of the things that I want to like a different point of view is we are all experts in something. And then the reason why I put this down as number seven is because I applied to speak adult summit and I applied like probably At least a half a dozen applications with different points of view for different topics, for roundtables, for workshops, for speaking, whatever.
[00:24:10] I just wanted to be able to get my foot in the door to speak as an expert and I didn't get picked. 900 people applied or 900 applications were turned in. And so I realized there's a lot of people who are experts at something and want to be seen and heard. And when I got there, I also understood that even those who had not been officially chosen to run a workshop or a seminar.
[00:24:38] They were all experts too. We all are experts in some way or another. We all have something to contribute. We all have knowledge about how we've run a business life. Our backstories are so fascinating. There's something that we can all contribute. So I'm okay that I didn't get picked this time. I'm going to keep applying because I really do have a desire to be able to stand in front of other women and entrepreneurs and inspire them.
[00:25:07] I do it here on the podcast. I hope and I hope to do it more in the future. It's something that for some reason I feel called to do, but was really good to just get there and see that. It wasn't that I was rejected at all, and so I can say, Oh, and I don't need to take this personally. It's that there were so many choices, Alt Summit to decide from, and honestly, we're all experts.
[00:25:36] And that's kind of cool. Really, honestly, you're an expert too. That's why I called this podcast Made Remarkable. We all have something to give. And finally number eight. This is the part where I usually fall off and don't follow through and that is it's my responsibility to maintain these relationships.
[00:25:53] So if I've met wonderful, amazing people that I felt were transforming my life, then it is my responsibility to make sure that I continue to stay in touch because if I don't continue to do the part I need to do, reaching out, say hello, collaborate, work together, I'm not going to be able to sustain the kind of.
[00:26:12] Great energy and relationships that I made that was the whole purpose of going to alt summit in the first place. So I have a long list of really, really, really cool people that you're going to get to meet this summer as I have them on the podcast, wide ranging experts that have really good points of view that are going to be able to.
[00:26:31] Help you with some of your business adventures as you get your self up and running. I know that there's so much advice out there. I might have some expertise in. How to run a creative business for artists and makers, especially online and marketing and strategy and structure are my expertise, but I couldn't tell you how to run a YouTube channel properly.
[00:26:56] I don't have any expertise in how to run a Shopify account. I don't really know how to run a podcast. I record this and I hand it off to you. To my team to help me. And so I have experts in all of those fields that I cannot wait to have on the podcast and introduce you to later. We have a few months before they're all going to be on, but I have a great lineup for you for what I'm calling my summer school series.
[00:27:24] And you're going to get to meet all these people that I was able to meet at Alt Summit. How's that for you? So what's my biggest takeaway though of all of this is that I want to do more things in person. I feel it necessary to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone, meet more amazing, dynamic, creative business owners, more women who are ambitious, who are more like.
[00:27:51] Me maybe in seeing the possibilities of the future vision for what can be. And I love being around that energy because it keeps me motivated. It keeps me inspired. And that's one of the main reasons why Alice Sheridan and I put together soulmate is we know how important this is. We absolutely in our souls.
[00:28:17] Soulmade knew that it's time to start bringing each other together in person and to have the kind of transformation that you can't have online. Yes, online does amazing and I know there are many of you that it's not either not in your budget. You might not have the physical capacity to travel. And so we will always have an online presence.
[00:28:40] We will always be creating a content and connecting with you globally online. But at the same time, there's a There's come a point now, especially post pandemic, that it's time for us to get out again. It's time to really revolutionize how we're doing business, how we're connecting with each other. And so creating events and participating events is a really big goal of mine moving forward.
[00:29:07] Soulmade is just right around the corner and we have not sold out all the tickets and I'm okay with that. Small Intimate Group is great. We really only had about 50 seats. Total, so there's a few left. If you want to join Alice and I, what we have planned it's unlike anything we've done online. It's going to be really transformative, and I really believe that you'll walk away with the kind of energy and excitement you need for your future, whether you're just starting in business, or you've been in business for a really long time. It's just time to unearth everything that your soul's been desiring.
[00:29:43] Everything that you are made for in this world and see where your future can align with your greatest dreams. And that's what Soulmade's about. You can go to Soulmadeevents. com and grab yourself a spot before we close down the doors in just another week. I'm planning on putting my heart and soul into this with Alice, and we cannot wait to meet you.
[00:30:07] And I will tell you, that's not the only event that I'm planning this year. I do have one planned, and it's more geared towards my Big program that you know is coming up. Build It Remarkable. We launch in June and it's a really amazing accelerator course. It's everything that I've ever taught to my league members, my high end coaching program.
[00:30:32] mastermind group of people who have really excelled into multiple six figure incomes. And I've put that all into my master course, Build It Remarkable. And I'm going to culminate it at the end with an in person event that will have a low ticket price, a point of entry, and that'll be in October. So, you know, if you're thinking about Wanting to join in person, joining the program, Build It Remarkable is the best way to get a ticket in the door, but for everyone else, I'm going to open up tickets to the public after those who, who have participated in Build It Remarkable have had their chance to snag a seat.
[00:31:12] We're doing Build It Live in Annapolis in October and it'll be my second time running a retreat or I should say an in person workshop in Annapolis because last fall I got to do it and that's when the spark hit. That's when I knew I needed to do more things in person. So that's kind of where I'm going with this year.
[00:31:33] Is creating an opportunity for more collaboration, networking, in person meetups, soul deep unearthing of everything that we are meant to do and made to do here in this very short time we have on this planet. I want to keep inspiring that spark in you that says I'm made for more. I can do this. And I want you to just put your best foot forward and give it a shot because when I see.
[00:32:04] Creatives doing big things in this world. I see the world get more love, more creativity, more inspiration. We grow in better ways when we're putting our magic into the world. Basically is what I'm thinking. I need more good people like you doing that, right? Okay. Well, that was my spiel about in person events and my little prompt and motivation to hopefully get you to come and join me for an in person event.
[00:32:33] And maybe even next year when AltSummit comes around again, we'll be able to bump into each other because I plan on being there. All right. Thank you everyone. Bye.
If you'd like to listen to or learn more about the podcast visit https://www.maderemarkable.com/blog for our show notes and links to the main players.