For the second year in a row, I went to the Haven Conference in Atlanta. This conference is specifically for content creators in the DIY and Design space which includes artists and crafters also. They have numerous speakers and breakout sessions on every topic from affiliate links to email marketing to video editing and much much more. Last year, I was a newbie in terms of social media and was just working on my blog. This year I’m on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook so I feel better equipped to really reap the benefits of all of the information I was going to receive this year.

The big sponsors this year were Rooms to Go, Pergolux and Benjamin Moore.

The first afternoon after registering, we were treated to a very inspirational speech by Galey Alix. If you don’t know her, she was a heavy hitter on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs and on the weekends she would design people’s houses. . She is so engaging and spoke to us about how she was renovating her house and took a break and shut down her Instagram due to personal issues she was going through. When she went back to it, she had thousands of followers and couldn’t believe it. She eventually scored a show on HGTV called “Home in a Heartbeat”. I love her designs so much and she now has a rug line and is working on all kinds of different projects. She now has 1.7M followers, which she even finds hard to believe!

Galey Alex Design | Instagram @galeyalix

Another great speaker was Tamara Day from “Bargain Mansions”. This show, who’s premise is buying dilapidated mansions in Kansas and renovating them, has been on for several years and started off on HGTV. Now it’s on the Magnolia Network. She started her career flipping furniture believe it or not and she took over renovating her house with a baby strapped to her back. She then started flipping houses with the help of her father who’s a contractor. She said she fell into tv because a friend of a friend contacted her about doing a show. What I love about her is she links every item on her show, on her website. So if you like it, you can buy it.

Tamara Day | Instagram @tamaraday

We had panels where there were several speakers talking about the state of content creation and how each person started. I loved how the people that taught the classes and spoke were from all walks of life and at every stage of their creator journey. My favorite speaker on this panel was the woman on the right – Monica Chavez from the House of Esperanza. (Instagram @house.of.esperanza) Such a dynamic personality.

Another panel that was inspiring was with Farq Media and the owner, in the middle, Georgia Farquharson. This is what I’m aiming for in my career. A management company that will book brand deals for you and manage your career. They even provide legal services. You have to have a minimum income per year, which I haven’t met yet but it’s a goal that I can work towards. She also had a couple of her clients there to give some information about how Farq Media made their career skyrocket and took a lot off their plate.

Farq-Media | Instagram @farqmedia | Instagram @sonelymateo | Instagram @theflippedpiece

I loved the breakout sessions were so much fun, because they were in smaller groups and you could interact more freely with the teachers. I call them teachers because they each had their own specific topic and they taught us all they knew. They all wanted to help us reach our full potential which was so encouraging and made you feel special.

I had never heard of Kyle from Kyle Did It, but I could tell that he was going to be good because the room was packed. He specializes in storytelling and he really got into the nitty gritty of how he does his Instagram Stories. He’s a dad and started his content creator journey just to document renovating his house, like many of us. He’s funny, witty and his stories and reels have the best music so he’s a man after my own heart.

DIY Kyle Did It | Instagram @kyledidit

Kayte Hamilton of The Social Question had a very interesting class also. She started as a corporate market researcher and now she has a social media marketing agency. In the class, she gave us pointers on how to connect with our followers and get more engagement asking questions, conducting polls and surveys. Her advice was priceless.

The Social Q | Instagram @the_socialq

I was really looking forward to Candice Trevino’s class. She’s a lifestyle blogger, just like me and her class was about how you don’t have to “niche down” which is the opposite of what I keep hearing. I’m interested in all kinds of things and that’s part of me, so to “niche down” wouldn’t be authentic. Her blog, Smiles and Pearls is filled with color and positivity and she’s just like that in real life. Just look at that smile.

Smiles and Pearls | Instagram @smilesandpearls

Another class was about turning your DIY business into a full blown Interior Design company. These two DIY ladies, Divya and Vaishnavi, have partnered up to provide design services and the class offered us some tips on how to diversify and actually use our DIY skills. What I really got out of this class was how, instead of having to hire employees, you can outsource different areas, like design assistance, 3D renderings, etc. I’ve been so overwhelmed with the amount of work I have and how I needed help, but couldn’t afford to hire anybody. They gave me a new way of looking at the structure of my business. Well done ladies.

Desi DIY Design Studio| Instagram @desidiy

I was so tired when I got home after it was all over, but it was an excited exhaustion. I can’t wait to put into action everything I’ve learned and you guys should start seeing some very exciting things coming your way.

See ya next time.