Tina Tower of Begin Bright was at the South by Southwest Conference and wore her HerBusiness Correspondent hat, providing updates from the conference everyday.
On Day 1, Tina said she could talk for 30 minutes about all she learned but instead gave us a few key points.
One of her favourite quotes from the day was “Everyday, do something that moves you closer to your end goal,” from Jonas Koffler’s, author of Hustle, talk on money and momentum.
The most surprising session was by Gary Vaynerchuk. She said before this talk, she was not a fan of his but now definitely is. He spoke about the enormous pressure put on entrepreneurs by themselves and others. People expect them to have major success and be flying in their own jets; and when that doesn’t happen, they become depressed and beat themselves up over it.
In reality, entrepreneurship is all about the failures, said Gary V, and you must learn to love failing in order to be successful. Those failures won’t matter once you get that one success that changes the course of your business. He also said Facebook videos are the new thing of marketing and it is important to be brand obsessed and the voice of the market.
Tina also learned from Gary about being patient with your success because they won’t happen overnight, so don’t have such kind of expectations. Also, be aware of online bullies but don’t put too much stock into what they are saying. If you are going to be opinionated, you are going to receive backlash.
And lastly, you have to balance your work and your family. Don’t have unreal expectations, but don’t back down.You family will want you to succeed because once you chase what lights you up inside, you will be your best self.
She also saw Jake Tapper from CNN who discussed the election of Donald Trump and adventurer Cory Richards who climbed Mt. Everest.
This article was co-authored by Mary Klepzig. Mary is currently completing a journalism internship with HerBusiness. She is pursuing a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Tennessee in the United States.
