Create & Cultivate Chicago Conference Recap

This past weekend, I was finally able to accomplish one of my LIFE GOALS career-wise! I attended the Create & Cultivate Conference in Chicago and although I took home a few stuffed-full swag bags (you may have seen on my Instagram Story 😉 ), I got so much more out of the conference! It’s incredibly motivating to be in a room full of 500+ women from all walks of life who are passionate about their CAREERS. When I started MP, I wanted everyone who visited my site to feel like they could be a boss babe in their 20’s.

By definition, Create & Cultivate is an online platform and offline conference for women looking to create & cultivate the career of their dreams.

The setup of the conference was AMAZING. I could not get over the backdrops. I got tons of questions about why I was there, was it worth the price, etc. so I’ll cover everything below!

Who should go to Create & Cultivate?

Every single female marketer, entrepreneur, blogger or just someone who needs a little self motivation! The conference wasn’t specific to any career demographic (I actually met some awesome women who were anything from florists and hairstylists to social media managers). There are two tracks, which allowed me to go to the sessions I found most relevant to my job – marketing and PR.

Keynote Shay Mitchell – also got to hear Jennifer Hudson

VIP or GA ticket?

Honestly, there aren’t a ton of major differences and I didn’t know that going in. VIP has a few more perks – getting to pick which track you’d like, complimentary champagne bar, and a bigger swag bag at the end. The VIP ticket was most worth it to me for the relaxing lounge I had access to. With so many women there, I needed a bit of a break to sit down and chill.

What is the format of the day like?

There are panels, keynotes, mentor sessions, happy hours, Q&A’s and set up spaces for brands (LIKE SO MANY AMAZING BRANDS). It was so hard to not fan girl at moments and to focus on the content the speakers shared. There were also tons of snacks (and lunch) throughout the day!

C&C Founder, Jaclyn Johnson, Ashley Tisdale, Whitney Port, Chriselle Lim

My Key Takeaways

• For bloggers: Be authentic. Work with brands that you already use every day (or want to try). One of the speakers shared that your followers are more likely to try/buy a product if they’ve seen you talk about it three times.
• For bloggers: Pitch long-term collaborations. See fact above for reasoning, but consider offering a discount for a longer campaign.
• For businesses: Don’t underestimate the value of data. Look at your performance stats once a week. Founder Alaina Kaczmarski of The Everygirl shared, if your Instagram post of XXX item performed well, utilize that in different formats! Write a blog post about the same subject.
• For businesses: Show the consumer two things: What is it going to do for them and what problem of theirs is it going to solve? This is definitely something we already utilize at my job, but rings true in all capacities.
• For businesses: Video content is only going to increase. One of my favorite bloggers, Olivia Rink, shared how Instagram’s IGTV is convenient because her loyal followers are already on this platform, as opposed to starting a YouTube channel and having to build a whole new following.
• For businesses: Ads are key. Is your business using ads? Have you tried video ads? 6-second video ads are what’s next.
• For businesses: In my mentor session with Jenna Colgrove, she shared that if you don’t love to do something and someone else can do it 80% as good as you (I think that’s what she said haha), outsource it!
• For EVERYONE: If someone else is doing it, why can’t you? Shay Mitchell is a total #girlboss and said this quote multiple times. SERIOUSLY, THOUGH.

Thinking about attending a Create & Cultivate conference? Let’s chat! I’d love to share my whole experience with you. P.S. – I met Ashley Tisdale and almost died.

What an amazing weekend in Chicago!