My Fincon 2019 Review

A couple of weeks ago, I attended my fifth FinCon. FinCon is a conference for financial bloggers and financial influencers. I can’t believe that I’ve been to five of these conferences. FinCon happens in September or October every year. The conference is in a different city each year. I’ve been to FinCon in Charlotte, San Diego, Dallas, and Orlando. FinCon 2019 was in one of my favorite cities, Washington DC. The difference between my first one and last one is night and day.

In 2015, I didn’t know anyone at FinCon. The first people that I met were Tai & Talaat of His and Her Money and Liz Stapleton of Less Debt, More Wine. I ended up meeting other people and started forming friendships with them. That FinCon was life-changing for me. I started to get more serious about my site. I’ve audited the content a couple of times in the years after FinCon 2015. I was also introduced to more side hustles and opportunities as well.

Since then, I’ve built an audience, found side hustles to help me make more money, stepped out of my comfort zone and rebranded. It’s really been an interesting 4 years.

2019 has been an up and down year for me. Things started slow, then they got better around May. I started a new job in July and I’ve been busy as hell since then. Because of that, I didn’t have time to come up with goals until a week before the conference started. Last year I participated on a panel, this year, I didn’t speak, mentor or volunteer. Earlier this year someone reached out to me about joining them on a panel. We submitted the pitch, but we weren’t picked. I was fine with that. I ended up using FinCon 2019 as a chance to recharge and connect with a few people one on one.

As a semi FinCon vet, I didn’t go to that many sessions. I did have a couple of private dinners and meetings to attend. They served their purpose because I am recharged. I have a couple of things that should help 2019 end with a bang. I’m currently doing a 30-day challenge where I’m learning about a specific topic for the next 30 days. I’m taking 3-4 hours every day and learning about Facebook marketing. I think that will help me take things to the next level. I’ll let you know things go in 25 days.

Related Reading: My 2018 FinCon Review & Tips

FinCon will be in Long Beach in 2020 (What’s up Snoop!) and I’m looking forward to it. I already purchased my ticket. If you are in the finance industry and is considering, go. Your life will change for the better afterward. I have four tips that will help you when you attend.

Talk to people

The first thing that you want to do is to talk to people. FinCon is not the time to be shy. The people at this conference don’t bite. Introduce yourself to someone that you don’t know and get that convo going. You never know who you could be talking to. They could help bring your business to the next level.

Don’t Compare

We’ve all done this before. We’ve compared ourselves to other people. I’ve looked at the new blogger who gets 100,000 views per month after 2 years and wondered how the hell they did that. In the past, I would have wondered why that wasn’t me. I stopped doing that a while ago though. Comparing does nothing good for. Everyone’s journey is different. Let me repeat that. Everyone’s journey is different. As long as you keep working, your success will eventually come.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Earlier, I stated that once you get to FinCon, make sure that you talk to people. You also want to do a couple of other things. Volunteer if you get a chance. FinCon usually posts volunteer info a few weeks before the conference. Sign up ASAP. Volunteering will allow you to meet more people and do things that you may not typically do. The other thing that you should do is sit by someone that you don’t know at the sessions. That will definitely get you out of your comfort zone and it will allow you to meet even more people.

Participate in the Facebook Group

After you register for FinCon you have given access to the Facebook group. Check it out when you get a chance. There’s a lot of good info shared in there. I waited until after my first FinCon to become active in the group. That was a mistake. I could have started networking earlier and reached out to people. Make sure you take the time to pop up in the group. You never know what opportunities will show up before the next FinCon.

FinCon is a GREAT conference. I enjoy attending it. The networking and friendships that I’ve made are priceless. If you haven’t been, check it out.

Did you attend FinCon 2019? Did you have a good time?