Blogging Workshop | #BFCEworkshop Recap

I’m so excited to share a recap of last weekend’s Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop (#BFCEworkshop)! This workshop was nothing but a dream for a long time and I kept delaying it for any reason that came my way. Last fall, I finally decided that I’d make it happen this past winter, but then my dad had a stroke and everything was put on hold. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to make it happen, but in an interesting turn of events, the perfect venue suddenly appeared in my life and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. If you’ve been to The Art Factory before, you know what a cool space it is. It gave me plenty of room to dream of an in-person workshop full of learning, community, pretty details, and an inspiring space to spend the day.

Before I tell you about the workshop, though, I have to share that I couldn’t have done this without the help of my team. Something I’ve learned well these last few months is that I cannot do everything and delegating is key to making things happen. As they say, “You can do anything, but not everything.” I was lucky enough to have a group of amazing ladies help me make it happen: Jeanne from Bogath Weddings and Events took care of the event design, planning and catering and took it upon herself to be my #1 encourager and supporter all throughout the planning process. I am so thankful for Jeanne because she is an amazingly creative, organized, caring, and fun person who has a true gift for making things happen in the best way possible. I shared my vision with her for this event and she ran with it, needing very little input from me but somehow making my vision come to life just as I had imagined it. Event planning is definitely in her blood!! Also on my team were Ronya from Ronya and Co. and Ashley from Lavish Lifestyle Management. I only met these two ladies recently but they fit right into the team! They got up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday and made it possible to set up our workshop in an hour’s time! And, lastly, Heather from Heather Palecek Photography was there to photograph the event and capture all the pretty details. The images below were all captured by Heather, except where noted. Thank you to Jeanne, Ronya, Ashley, and Heather!! I am so grateful for you!!

Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs | A Workshop

The Workshop

The day started out early at 8:30am. We set up in the International Room of The Art Factory and it was an amazing space full of plenty of natural light. Since the space used to be a silk factory, it has an industrial vibe to it that I wanted to make sure we retained. See below how Jeanne carried out my idea of industrial meets rustic chic.

Blogging Workshop Recap | Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop

As soon as you walked in, there was a welcome table with yummy breakfast foods for our attendees. Ronya came up with the fabulous idea of getting doughnuts from Montclair Bread Co. and I think everyone agreed that they were delicious!

Doughnuts from Montclair Bread Co. | Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop

I just love calligraphy so I enlisted the services of Caitlin Jane Calligraphy and she made these gorgeous name tags with a little watercolor motif. They turned out so pretty!

Once the attendees had grabbed some breakfast and coffee, they headed over to the tables and found a bunch of little surprises waiting for them! My favorite was the swag bag full of goodies and the workbook that I put together for the workshop.

Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop | Swag bag Watercolor name tag ideas with calligraphy | Caitlin Jane Calligraphy Breakfast table at workshop Industrial meets rustic chic workshop Swag bags by PCB Home Personalized glass mugs

Photo Credit for left image below: Something Blue
Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop | Workbook and collateral items

I may have written the content for all these items but I definitely can’t take credit for the design of it all! My designer, Ivana, did a fabulous job of making everything look so pretty!

Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop Workbook, Invitation, and Schedule Welcome table for workshop for creative entrepreneurs

Before we knew it, it was time to start the workshop! I was so excited to welcome our attendees to the workshop and get started on digging into their blogs! I hadn’t been in the “classroom” since last June so it was really fun getting into teacher mode again. Once a teacher, always a teacher, and I felt right at home in our learning space. Blogging is at the heart of our business and I loved sharing with everyone why it is that I believe in blogging so much.

Blogging for Photographers Speaker at Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop

Photo Credit for left image below: Something Blue

Pictured below is the workbook that every attendee got to go home with! It acted as a guide for the workshop but also included plenty of activities, resources, and checklists for attendees to refer to after our time together came to an end.

Photo Credit for image below: Something Blue Blogging Workbook

Something that I knew I wanted to do throughout the day was create a learning experience that would include some time to be reflective and work alone, but also work in small groups and learn from others. I was so thankful for workshop attendees who seemed to appreciate working individually just as much as they did working collaboratively.

Blogging Workshop Recap

Photo Credit for left image below: Something Blue Blogging Workshop in NJ

Photo Credit for right image below: Something Blue Workshop for Creative Entrepreneurs at The Art Factory

Photo Credit for left image below: Something Blue "All the things I love is what my business is all about." Small groups working at blogging workshop

Once it was time for lunch the attendees had an hour to eat, get their headshots taken, and have some fun in the photo booth!

Catering by Bogath Weddings and Events Photo Booth by PBSCO NJ Photo Booth Rental | Idalia Photography

When you’re short, you get a stool. And then you stand on your tippy toes.

Once I finished up everyone’s headshots, it was time to get back to business for our afternoon session.

Get Stuff Done Mug

In the afternoon, we had a special guest! We spent a big chunk of time talking about SEO and how to get your blog posts found on google and, being a WordPress user, I knew it would be best to have a partner for this portion of the workshop to help out our Squarespace users. I invited Cinnamon Wolfe of cinnamonwolfe.com to teach our attendees how to optimize their blog posts in Squarespace and she was such a wonderful addition to the day! Cinnamon and I have been connecting online for over a year now and I was excited to finally meet her in person and have her share her knowledge with the attendees. So thankful for her!!

Cinnamon Wolfe speaking at blogging workshop for creatives

I love that Cinnamon knows how to use her jazz hands =)

Cinnamon Wolfe presents at Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop

Ten hours later (I told you it was a full day!) we wrapped things up with an amazing giveaway. Our website company, Showit, graciously donated a year of Showit to one of our very lucky attendees! I’m so excited to welcome the winner into the Showiteer family!!

Showit Robot with prize Giveaway winner Giveaway winner receives prize from Showit Robot

Before everyone went their way, we made sure to take this quick group picture of everyone. When I look at this group I seriously feel so lucky to have met so many amazing women who have such big hearts and dreams for their business. From event planners to creative directors to floral designers to bloggers and photographers, this group right here is full of so much talent!! But most of all, what I see here is a group of lifelong learners who are committed to growth and #CommunityOverCompetition.

Group picture at Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs Workshop

And there you have it, friends. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the workshop! Thank you for making it to the end of this post!! Before you go, check out the amazing list of sponsors.

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