This year, after having focussed on growing her coaching business and amassing a large social media following, she decided the time was right to resurrect the conference, but with a different vibe. Eschewing a city-based conference centre venue, she chose the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, a four-hour drive from Edmonton. “The goal was to create a distraction-free event, to provide attend- ees with a bit of an escape from day-to-day life to just really focus on their business. As small business owners, we tend to not do that very much; we don’t take a lot of time to work on our business ver- sus in our business.” While the program was essentially a day and half, many attendees extended their stays to continue networking and do business planning and reflection. The location’s layout was very conducive to this, says Meadahl. “It’s cabins with the lodge— with event space, the lobby and restaurant—in the centre. I just im- agined people connecting and walking and just running into each other as they’re going to and from.” But before the conference, there was lots to do to make it happen: EVENT MARKETING: It’s no surprise, of course, that an Instagram coach would use the platform to promote the event. But it didn’t stop there: Meadahl also created an affiliate program. Those who signed up to be an affiliate got a special rate on tickets and received a digital package designed to make it simple to share details of the event to their networks. “It included cut-and-paste images and captions, posting suggestions and details about the speakers.” Meadahl also created a monthly contest for affiliates who sold tickets. And at the end, the one who sold the most tickets could upgrade to the VIP platinum ticket, which included a meet-and-greet with Meadahl and keynote speaker Jenna Kutcher. SETTING THE VIBE: The event kicked off with a pajama party in the lodge. “Everybody had been travelling that day so I wanted them to go to their rooms, get settled in, put on their cozy pajamas and meet us for welcome drinks, appetizers and mingling.” CONTENT: High on Meadahl’s wish list was business and marketing pro Jenna Kutcher, best-selling author and host of the Goal Digger Podcast. While she knew it was a longshot, she sent a message detailing her vision for the event. And within hours she heard back: “I feel like it would be very aligned for what I do and what I’m Speakers, from left: Sheetal Story, Tanya Fox, Dr. Jody Carrington, Jenna Kutcher, Ashley Meadahl, and Selina Gray. working on,” Meadahl recalls Kutcher saying. “And let’s do it.” With Kutcher in place, Meadahl began building the rest of the speaker lineup, which started by polling her community on what they wanted to learn about. “I’m very strategic with speaker topics and how they all flow together. My goal behind each speaker was to have tangible takeaways and action steps. For example, right before lunch, the topic was collaboration and how to work with other small business owners. The speaker gave tips and then encouraged the audience to put them into action over lunch.” Meadahl notes that with the exception of Kutcher, the speakers were onsite for the full day. “I really value that because attendees can see that they’re a real human being, they have access to them, they can actually have a conversation.” LESSONS LEARNED: “This year, I wanted to shift my focus from being the event planner to also being the host and sharing more about my story,” says Meadahl. To do so, she brought in an event planner. “One of my biggest learning curves was delegation. I recognized I couldn’t wear all the hats and play all the roles.” FEEDBACK: “One of the coolest parts of the whole event was how many people had been following each other online and were meeting in person for the first time,” says Meadahl. “There’s a group of five women from Edmonton who met at the conference. They just clicked and now they’re doing monthly get-togethers. They’re constantly tagging me when they get together and then they’re also doing work- related collaborations.” The positive feedback has spurred Meadahl to consider future conferences and other locations. “Stay tuned,” she says. Photos: Kaity Body See more photos of the Glow Getter Conference. Scan the QR code or visit ignitemag.ca Spring 2024 | Ignitemag.ca | 41
