The Value of Attending Industry Conferences
Money and time are both in short supply these days so it’s important to get the most value from attending industry conferences. How do you get the most bang for your buck?. There is definitely value as a business owner to attend conferences and they can also be a great way to grow and retain staff. Participating in conferences is the ultimate way to confirm that you and your team are pet professionals.
You should get a return on your investment of attending a conference. Advanced planning is the best way to ensure this happens. Review the agenda topics to find ones that resonate with you and align with what you want to learn. When your staff attend be sure to set expectations for them on sessions to attend and how they will share their new knowledge with other team members when they get back.
There are several conferences for pet care service businesses that you may consider:
- IBPSA Flow Conference
- Barkleigh Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo (West & East)
- The Dog Gurus Summit/Workshop
You and your team may also consider other related specialty conferences such as:
- APDT for dog trainers
- Pet Sitters International for pet sitters or dog walkers
- Groom Expo or regional grooming shows for groomers and groom techs
- SuperZoo or Global Pet Expo for retail managers
Keep in mind you don’t have to pay the full cost for your staff to attend. There is value in them sharing in the cost of their own personal development).
Based on years of attending many types of conferences here are some additional tips to get a return on your investment:
- Market on social media while at a conference to share your commitment to ongoing education
- Stay at the conference hotel to make it easy to network
- Set goals for your time: Education, Vendors, Networking
- Stay an extra day to create your action plan for implementing new ideas
Be sure to watch our video where we also talk about how your staff at home can benefit from you attending a conference. If you just can’t travel this year consider budgeting now to go next year or register for our virtual Proactive Profitability Master Class being held in August 2022.
