I had the opportunity to attend the AI Ignite Your Small Business Day in Manhattan on July 28th, and honestly, I left feeling like I could take on the world.
I was surrounded by others in the market research space, small business owners and VPs of their companies, and the support, networking, and understanding you receive at these types of conferences is something not to be taken for granted. There's something deeply grounding about being in a room where people get it. Where you don't have to explain the hustle, the pressure, or the passion behind what you do. They just know.
I had the pleasure of seeing many market research colleagues as well as meeting new ones. We exchanged ideas, shared stories, successes and failures, and all walked away with things we could implement into our businesses. That kind of open, generous exchange doesn't happen everywhere, and when it does, you feel it.
The presentations were something else entirely. There were talks like Leading High-Functioning Teams from Susan Vogel of SB Vogel Consulting, Advocacy, Compliance, and Risk from Howard Feinberg of the Insights Association, The Empathy Engine from Junior Nyemb of Grio, and an incredible talk from J. Walker Smith of Kantar. You could hear a pin drop during these presentations. Everybody was intent on learning what they could do to better themselves, their businesses, and their teams. That kind of collective focus and hunger in a room is rare, and it's contagious.
There were also roundtable discussions where you were able to dive into real, authentic conversation, the kind that doesn't happen on a Zoom call. I walked away with insights from sales and business development, marketing, conversations about AI, being a CEO, strategy, and development, among many other things.
Key takeaways were the signs of a high-functioning team, how to truly grow your company and grow together, sales management and growth strategies, what's working and what's not, what other people are hearing, seeing, and doing. We talked about being innovative and creative together, stepping into a role of thought leadership, and what's truly relevant about our work and our clients. We explored the evolution of strategy and company branding, and what it means to level that up with intention. And we took a look at consumers over the years, how their needs and views have changed, which was truly insightful. That last piece hit differently when you're sitting in a room full of people who have been watching those shifts happen in real time, just like you.
Days like these are priceless. They are so important in the market research community, especially for small businesses. To learn how to grow, thrive, and be able to sit in a room with people who share your pain, your sentiment, and want to get to the next level, personally and professionally, that's not something you find every day.
I left feeling ignited. Grateful for the community we have. Grateful for the conversations that challenge us to think bigger. And reminded, once again, that the best growth doesn't always happen at your desk. Sometimes it happens in a room full of people who get it.