Knees weak, arms are heavy. Surprisingly there is no mom’s spaghetti. As an infrequent flyer, that is how I feel before boarding a plane. I HATE flying. In fact, the first time I ever flew I was about 22 years old…

Hello, my name is Heather Eaton, and this is my first official post written (from my perspective) on the B4 Networks blog. I’ve been at B4 for a while, and I am sure you have seen me on our social media, but I haven’t really gotten personal before. This is my firsthand account of what it was like to attend my first Robin Robins (Technology Marketing Toolkit) event…

When Bryan and Amanda told me three weeks before Boot Camp that they would like to bring me along, my anxiety went into hyper drive. Am I going? Do I want to go? How will I get there? I can’t leave my cat! Who will take care of my boyfriend, he can’t fend for himself! All kidding aside – I’m a planner and this was very last minute for me – I may or may not have packed and re-packed my bag several times.

On Monday morning, I worked for a few hours and finished my packing. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to going. I like routine and didn’t want to leave my family. I also didn’t relish the idea of sitting in a dry, too-bright room for 8 hours, drool coming out of my mouth while someone yammers on in a monotone voice. I’m not sure why I had that in my mind but that’s what I pictured conferences to be - Boy, was I wrong.

After getting dropped off at Bryan and Amanda's house, we headed to the border. Thankfully, we made it through without a hitch and mosey’d on over to the Buffalo Airport. I must say – I had only been to the Buffalo Airport once, around 5 am, in 2016 and didn’t remember it to be too exciting but oh boy, was I shook this time around! An indoor patch of grass for animals to use before boarding!? Play areas!?

We got through security without hassle and were soon enough on our way. Despite my fear that the plane was going to fall out of the sky, we made it!

Nashville, Tennessee baybeeeeeee. The city was beautiful and so clean. I have also never been in a boujee-r hotel than the Omni Nashville Hotel. It had ALL the channels. Room service for $40? Don’t mind if I do 💀

It was so nice finally meeting the other members of our accountability group face-to-face. One is from Canada (British Columbia), and the other three were from the states (Texas, Illinois and California). Having this team to rely on is probably one of the best parts of being a Robin Robins member. The group meets once a week to discuss sales and the direction their businesses will be going. I really enjoyed getting to know them on a different level and I look forward to getting together with them again! I think I heard it was one of their birthday’s next March in Vegas? Count me in!

So, remember when I said I was dreading the conference because it was going to be an 8-hour, mind-numbing experience. Well, I was definitely wrong! I was pleased to experience several breakout sessions on Tuesday, 30-minutes each, with a 15-minute break in between. It gave you a crash course of a new subject but didn’t leave you feeling like you needed a nap right after. I actually preferred to learn 6 short things that day instead of 1 long speech and found myself writing so many notes and helpful takeaways.

The gang got together and went for dinner and caught up a bit before heading into the main opening night event. Of course, you have to open a Robin Robins conference with a Trump impersonator… A little learning, a little laughing, and I was off to bed for 11pm.

Day 2 was our wake up at 7am and stay awake until 3am…. No wait the conference wasn’t until 3 am – that late hour was just for…reasons that maybe involved bull riding and karaoke… more on that later. After a few more sessions and a nice break to walk on Broadway to see some of the sites, we headed back for one of the sets of celebrity guests. There on stage were three of the members of the SHARK TANK (or Dragon’s Den for us Canadian’s). That’s right, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary were set to speak to us! (Fun fact, Kevin O’Leary's hotel room was four doors down from me). They helped us vote on the Better Your Best Winner of 2023 and it was so interesting to hear the presentations and the types of questions that the sharks asked. It was informative to hear their critiques, but the sharks always left off on a positive note on how to make the Better Your Best nominees run successful companies! I left feeling inspired because I know the toolkit is something anyone can utilize and be successful at if you diligently work at it. It’s also exciting to be around like-minded people who are all working towards the same goal and can help you along the way!

This is where things got interesting. When a vendor sponsors an open bar on the rooftop of Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, you go all out. While we enjoyed our time and erm, free drinks, our team is a little wilder than live country music, so we sought out something everyone needs to try once in their life – a karaoke and mechanical bull riding bar! From what I remember I didn’t sing too bad? The video footage may say otherwise though…

Our last day we got to hear Nick Vujicic talk about overcoming adversity and I left feeling extremely emotional – in a good way! He taught us that instead of looking at all the things you can’t do, focus on the things you can do! Nick does not have arms or legs, but he helped us realize that you don’t need them to be a strong and powerful person. Sometimes we all just have to take a step back and realize that the burdens we wear are a state of mind and don’t reflect how our lives could be!

All in all, 10/10 would recommend going – bring a notepad, a friendly smile, and a positive attitude. Robin and her team put on a great event, and I learned so much. This is a room full of people that can give advice and help you get amazing results. I felt like my brain was stuffed with all kinds of knowledge and I needed some serious downtime when I got home! I don’t remember the last time I slept for 12 hours straight but after such a busy week, I needed it. I look forward to attending the next event!