Best Conferences for Female Entrepreneurs in 2020
Live events have changed my life and business. I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't started to attend live events over five years ago. Since then, I've attended numerous conferences, seminars and workshops and every time it has been worth my time and the money I invested in the experience. I highly recommend you attend at least two to three events a year to build connections for your life and business.
Today I have a large network mainly because of the people I have met at live events. And with a large network, I have more partners and clients and can grow my business more easily. Not to forget, all the knowledge I've been able to attain attending all of those live events. That’s why here, I want to share with you the live events that I recommend. I have either been there myself or I've heard from multiple sources that the event is worth attending.
Past Events
First, I want to share with you four events that I’ve attended in the last five years that sadly don't exist anymore, but if these hosts put on any new events in the future, you should pay attention.
1. Money Bootcamp with Denise Duffield Thomas
I attended this event in London in February 2015, and I wish that I would have attended it sooner. By this point I had been running my business for over a year. I was feeling lonely and increasingly craved meeting people face to face. I attended this conference at the perfect moment in my business where I was starting to experience those money mindset issues that Denise is so good at helping us resolve. And I could get over my first issues just by attending this event. Now, I don't see her doing this event in 2020, she's actually doing a retreat right now, but if you want to see Denise Duffield Thomas speak this year, come to The Self-Made Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, where she will be our keynote speaker.
2. Off the Charts with Nathalie Lussier
In May 2015, I flew to Dallas, Texas, to attend Off the Charts. I remember asking Nathalie Lussier how it all started and she said, “It started with 80 people and now we're 300.” That was a positive boost for me, everyone starts at zero. Yes, 80 is not zero, but everyone starts small. If she ever does a conference again, I want you to pay attention because Off The Charts was an amazing conference where I got the idea for doing my own events and eventually this has led to me creating The Self-Made Summit.
3. Money Mindset and Marketing with Lisa Larter
Normally, I wouldn't fly to another country or let's say over the Atlantic ocean for a one day event, but as I was one of the speakers I did fly over to Canada. Lisa Larter did this event for several years, it was always about 300 people and I loved it. She’s an amazing speaker and she is coming to speak at the Self-Made Summit as well.
4. Iconic with Ali Brown
I attended this event first in 2018 and as a result I decided to work with Ali Brown. She's now my coach. I'm in her premier Mastermind, which is for seven to eight-figure female entrepreneurs. In 2020, she is focusing on new events, but they are exclusive for her Trust members, a new networking club for seven-figure women.
If you see events from any of these women, I can highly recommend them. I'm glad that two of those women, Denise and Lisa, are both speaking at The Self-Made Summit.
Upcoming Conferences in 2020
Let’s talk about conferences you actually can attend this year.
1. Social Media Marketing World, March 1st-3rd, San Diego
2020 is going to be the sixth time that I'm attending this conference. I attended it first in 2015 alone, not knowing anyone. I saw the website and some ads on social media and I thought to myself, “I want to learn more about social media marketing. If I want to help my clients succeed with social media marketing, I need to go there.” I absolutely loved the conference. The first four times I went, there were so many other things besides social media that you could learn: Workshops on podcasting, on Masterminding, on sales funnels, how to write a book.
In 2019, it's been reduced drastically and they're focusing a bit more on corporate. I'm attending Social Media Marketing World because of Phil Mershon, who is the event organizer. He is also an advisor for The Self-Made Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. So, if you imagine how amazing Social Media Marketing World is, the same organizer is helping me organize The Self-Made Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland.
2. Alt Summit, March 1st-6th, Palm Springs
I’ve never been to the Alt Summit, but I've heard about this conference for many years. The Alt Summit was a conference intended for designers and bloggers and creative people, but now it's become a lot broader. It's for any type of female entrepreneur. They specifically target women and they're all about building a community. So if you feel you are a creative person and you're a woman, I think you check it out. I love their tagline, “Amplifying women's voices since 2009.” That also tells you how long they’ve been doing it.
3. Traffic and Conversion Summit, March 30th – April 2nd, San Diego
Traffic and Conversion is for you if you’re into sales funnels and evergreen conversions. Maybe this is something that you don’t just want to learn yourself, but teach to your clients. As a contrast to the creative person who should attend the Alt Summit, it's the nerdy person who should attend the Traffic and Conversion Summit. They say if you're a marketing professional, agency owner, consultant, entrepreneur, this is your event.
4. ATOMICON, April 28th, Newcastle
Organizers Andrew and Pete have been guests on my podcast. They’re fantastic content creators and that is what they have decided to specialize on. If you're into content marketing, maybe you're teaching content marketing, this is the event for you. They have a great mix of female and male speakers, Mary Smith being their keynote speaker. If you haven't seen Mary speak, then this is your chance in Europe. Otherwise, she tends to speak at Social Media Marketing World.
5. Unfair Advantage Live
Most of the conferences I talk about cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000. But Unfair Advantage is a different one. It actually costs at least $5,000. It’s a three day event and it's all about helping you get clear on your message and connect to the media.
It's very much U.S. focused, so if you're planning to expand your business, you have an international business, and your business is in English, then I think this is very much for you. And you must be further in business. I don't think this is for beginners. This is for people who have a business and are ready to invest $5,000 and get very clear on their message and connect and learn more about PR and media.
6. The Selfmade Summit, June 18th and 19th, Reykjavik
I can’t wait to see you at The Self-Made Summit, happening on June 18th and 19th in Reykjavik, Iceland. When I created my Mastermind Retreat Iceland, I think that was the start of something that has turned into this conference. As mentioned, Phil Mershon is one of my advisors. Another advisor is Claudia Chan, the founder of The SHE Summit, a conference that's been running over eight years. She’s helping me to create the best conference experience ever.
At the Selfmade Summit, you’ll pair business breakthroughs with seeing breathtaking landscapes. We have 12 amazing speakers who are all seven-figure female entrepreneurs who have built a very diverse range of businesses. They’re down to earth and they're going to tell us exactly what they did to get to where they are today. Plus they're going to teach you something specific that you can take away immediately and implement in your own business.
And I'm going to be on stage too, and I'm going to help you create an epic plan so that you can finally take your business to the next level, whether it's making 10,000 a month or 100,000 a month, crossing the million dollar mark or aiming for six figures. The Selfmade Summit is for women who want to be inspired, think big and take action. During a two day conference, you’re going to be part of the amazing community I’ve already built with my clients.
The Self-Made Summit is a public event and the keynote speakers are Denis Duffield Thomas, as I’ve mentioned already, and Molly Pittman, one of the leading Facebook ads experts in the world. She was a VP of marketing at DigitalMarketer, which is the company behind the Traffic and Conversion Summit. So you’re getting the best of both worlds by attending The Self-Made Summit. The theme is ‘put a date on your dream, the rest is just logistics’. If you want to come to The Self-Made Summit, hop on over to the show notes and secure your ticket.
7. World Domination Summit, June 23rd – 29th, Portland
This is the 10th and last year that they're running this conference. They share on their website that they've brought together more than 10,000 people from 40 countries. The summit is all about adventure, creating a remarkable community and helping people pursue their dreams. They focus on discussions and activities and how to live a good life, how to travel, hack your way around the globe and how to write your first book. And they're going to be celebrating 10 years of community, adventure and service.
8. Podcast Movement, August 5th – 8th, Dallas
Podcast Movement is great if you are a podcaster or you're planning to start a podcast. If you're really far in your business, Podcast Movement is probably not going to be for you, but if you’re starting your podcast and you want to see how to grow it, how to market it, you want to love to connect with other podcasters, maybe find more guests for your podcast, then I think this is a conference worth attending.
9. Archangel Summit, September, Toronto
The Archangel Summit is a one day high-end conference. I think the tickets are above $1,000. Typically, the speakers are people like Elizabeth Gilbert or Lewis Howe – people you wouldn't see at a typical marketing conference. Here, it’s more like business, art, and science coming together. I haven't attended, but I’ve watched videos and gone to the website every single year thinking that I should attend it.
10. Impacting Millions Live Event 2020 with Selena Soo, September 18th to 20th, Los Angeles
This is the first year this event will take place. I can really recommend Selena Soo’s course, Impacting Millions, which helps you with PR and media. The live event is basically something to amplify that experience. So, before you think about joining the live event, you may want to test out the course first or you join the live event, then buy the course later.
Selena Soo is all about publicity and networking and that's where you learn how to become a household name in your industry. If you feel PR and media is something you need to put on your radar, then watch out for this event, and Selena’s course.
11. Nordic Business Forum, September, Helsinki
I attended this forum first in 2016 and bought a first class ticket. They have a general ticket, VIP ticket and a first class ticket. The first class ticket included a concierge service, they picked me up from the airport, they brought me to the conference in the morning and there was a special first class area. We were only about 40 people, very unique. What I liked about the conference was how professional everything was.
They have amazing speakers. They have a similar concept to the Self-Made Summit – I guess that’s where I got the idea: 12 speakers, six on each day. Typically, they have one famous actor and an equal mix of female and male speakers like Sarah Blakely or Seth Godin. I was blown away, not just by the speakers, not just by the first class service that I got through my ticket, but by the overall atmosphere. The Nordic Business Forum was kind of the key that I needed to create my own conference.
12. Sigrun Live, October, Zurich
I can’t do an episode on live events without mentioning Sigrun Live, which is exclusive to my clients. So, it feels a little bit cheating mentioning it here. But if you are in SOMBA or a Mastermind member or you plan to be in the next months, then Sigrun Live is for you.
It's a three day event for my Masterminders and a two day event for my SOMBAs. It's all about community and not as focused on outside speakers as the Self-Made Summit. It brings people from within the community on stage, celebrating their achievements, opening up the minds of those who don't know what's next and overall making mindset shifts you need to grow your business and make your dream come true.
13. A-Fest, October, Jordan
A-Fest is an adventure experience. It's very different from the World Domination Summit that I mentioned before, because the World Domination Summit is still more of a conference. A-Fest is more of an experience for people who are very open minded, creative, and want to meet people. It's less about content. So, if you are looking for an exciting adventure, consider yourself a creative person, you're not looking for a conference, you don't want to be sitting in a room, but rather be in little groups or go out and party and have a lot of fun, then check out A-Fest.
14. Entrepreneur Experience by Amy Porterfield, October, San Diego
If you like Amy Porterfield, if you want to focus on list building, webinars, online courses or anything that Amy talks about on her podcast, then this might be for you. Amy’s event is for people who are somewhere around the six figure mark or lower. She gives step-by-step advice and a blueprint for how to take your business to the next level through online courses.
15. Youpreneur Summit, November, London
The Youpreneur Summit attracts amazing speakers like Pat Flynn and John Lee Dumas every year. If you’re looking for a community in Europe, then the Youpreneur Summit might be for you.
16. Funnel Hacking, January/February 2012, Nashville
Typically, Tony Robbins is one of the speakers at this event, so if you want to see him speak at a business conference and not just at his own events, then this would be your chance. The event is happening in 2021 (it's already happened in 2020). It’s all about funnels, so if you want to create an evergreen funnel or even a live funnel, webinar funnel, you want to create passive income, this event is for you.
Of course, we all want some sort of outcome or a return on investment by attending conferences, but honestly what I got from all of these conferences that I’ve attended in the last five years is the people I met. I learned great things and I've implemented them in my business, but what really sticks and stays with me are the people I met. And without meeting people face to face live, I wouldn't be where I am today in my business.
“When you see a conference that speaks to you, then make it a priority to go there.” - Sigrun