Last week David and I drove to Charleston, South Carolina. The reason for the trip was the RISE Business Conference, but it also sounded like a great reason to get away together and eat some incredible food that Charleston in known for. I planned to recap our trip here, sharing where we ate, our morning run by the water, our experience at Method, a fitness boutique with reformers, and yes, some of the big takeaways from the conference as well. However, now I’m sitting here on the other side of our adventure and at a loss for words. In short, the RISE Business Conference blew my mind in every way imaginable. In fact, I’d probably go as far as to state that for me, it was life-changing. And I don’t use that term lightly.

So instead of sharing our favorite meals of the trip (The Ordinary, Mex 1, Stella’s and Basic Kitchen were all incredible FYI), I’m focusing on the conference itself. So here’s the long version of our experience…

Before the conference I was familiar with Rachel Hollis. I read (OK, listened to the audio versions) of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing. I followed her on Instagram and listened sporadically to her podcast. I liked her stuff and figured it would be a fun time to see her in person and listen to the speaker line up she had curated for the event. But y’all. Y’ALL. In person, live and on stage, her passion and light is so much more powerful than I can describe. She’s the real deal. She poured into us for 3 days with the energy of over-sugared toddler and the knowledge of a business Yoda. She knows her stuff and is passionate about sharing it all to empower us to find our purpose and reach our dreams. Her unapologetic drive and her ability to not take herself too seriously blew me away. I am changed.

Let’s start with the logistics before I get to hyped up and/or weepy (which I did more than once during the weekend). 

What is the RISE Business Conference?

According to the website, RISE Business Conference is a conference for goal chasers, dreamers and a hardworking hustlers ready to reach for more. Whether you’re building a side hustle, scaling a full-time small business, or you’re someone looking to better your leadership skills, this is the conference for you. I was impressed at the variety of businesses represented at the conference. From high-revenue companies with a slew of team members to a mom selling homemade candles on Etsy, all were represented and the energy that comes from being in a coliseum of entrepreneurs is pretty incredible. It was 6,000+ people in one room that have a deep-seeded passion to make an impact on the world and change lives and using their businesses as the avenue. 

Who were the speakers at the RISE Business Conference in Charleston?

Before attending the conference, I had heard of one or two of the speakers. I was mostly there to see Rachel and Dave, but ended up completely floored by the individuals that took the stage. Multi-millionaires got up there and shared their best business tips, but what made the deepest impact on me was that they told their stories– where they came from, their struggles, their faith, and their passion for making a difference. These weren’t people that were out to make millions only to be left unfulfilled. These were people of depth that felt so passionately about helping others, whether by producing the very best nutrition bar or empowering others to chase down their dreams, that they were able to turn that passion into a lucrative business.

The speaker line up included Amy Porterfield, Chris Hogan, Marie Forleo, Ed Mylett, Tom Bilyeu, Dean Graziosi, Mally Roncal, and Brendon Burchard.

How did RISE Business Conference Impact You?

RISE Business validated my deep-seeded drive to serve others and illuminated my path on how to do so. It resulted in a fundamental mind shift for me. I have always shied away from using the word business or talking about money because it felt “icky” somehow. But money isn’t icky or shameful. It’s just a tool. The more of it you have, the more you can give and create and impact. We should all be looking to build a life we don’t need to escape from, a life that we can build beautifully by combining our passion with the ability to earn money, care for our families, and live our dreams. 

The conference also helped me get comfortable with the idea being more vulnerable. It made me realize that I’m not going to be everybody’s cup of tea and that’s OK because those people aren’t my people. It helped me come to terms with the fact that that failure isn’t possible, it’s guaranteed. I am going to fail and fall on my face because that is what happens when we stretch and learn and grow and try. But if we get back up and keep going towards that life we’ve imagined for ourselves, that’s when real change and progress happens. The compound effect of getting up over and over again after each failure is what is going to determine our success.

What is your passion?

My passion is people. I love people. I always have. It makes sense to me now why I’ve stuck with blogging for so long. It connects me to more people, to you. It’s the thing over the years I’ve always found the most value in, from back in the time I was writing posts in exchange for a free tin of almonds to making thousands of dollars per month, I’ve always been fulfilled most by my connection to you. The money has never mattered to me beyond a “oh yay that’s fun!” kind of attitude, much to David’s chagrin. But now I see it as a tool because money gives us options. Money gives me the resources I need to serve you better. And speaking of serving you, that was a concept I was never comfortable with either.

My biggest fear was that you would think I thought I knew it all. That sounds a little confusing, but I was never comfortable with putting on the expert hat because I KNOW I don’t know it all. That’s why I have this constant thirst for self-development and learning and hearing your perspective, because I have an insatiable need to learn and understand and love people more. I thought to take my business to the next level I’d have to become an “expert” and that just wasn’t a concept I could embrace.

But this conference helped me step into my truth. My truth is not that I know it all or even need to know it all. My truth is that I love to share the journey. I am on a constant quest to better myself and though the more I learn the more I realize all the things I don’t know, I can share the knowledge I am gathering with you along the way. Maybe that knowledge looks like sharing my favorite sheet pan dinner or maybe it is sharing how I am learning to step into my own purpose. Either way I hope it inspires you to see and recognize your own power. On the simplistic side, I hope you are empowered to know that you can put together a healthy and tasty meal in a short amount of time. And on the deeper side of things, I hope you’re able to see the thing inside of you that is your gift- and a gift the world needs. Maybe it’s your craft or your viewpoint or just the way you make people feel, but you have something inside of you that the world needs. Whether its your children, your best friend, your husband or your team at work, you are a leader and inspiration to someone and they are counting on you to not show up and not sell yourself short. 

I feel ready to take another step into my purpose. I want to serve you better. I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what the heck that looks like yet, but I’m willing to take the next step and see where that leads me. 

Questions? Thoughts? Leave them in the comments and let’s chat! Or sign up for my weekly newsletter where I go more behind the scenes into day to day life and share where I found my biggest inspirations of the week through favorite podcast episodes, links, and meals.