Our Dream Planner Conference 📙

0:00Hello and welcome to the Planner Pals Podcast, a podcast hosted by two true planner pals. My name is Mark and I go by Mark Your pages. And I'm Jess or Jessica Ren, and I'm very excited for today's episode because it's just like one of those opportunities to dream big. But before we get into it, a big shout out to what I'm calling the Planner Pal Patrons. If you have an actual official name that you'd like to be called, you let us know. But the people who are part of our YouTube membership, they suggested and voted for this topic to be part of the podcast lineup. So a big shout out to you guys, if you did want to join, join the planner power Patrons team or whatever we're calling you guys, then all you have to do is make sure that you're over on YouTube, there's a little join button next to our name. You can press on that to check out all of the perks. But the biggest one is definitely getting all of the episodes early at the time of upload rather than having to wait for the official upload schedule. But Mark, what are we talking about today? Today is a fun one.

0:51We're going to be talking about our Perfect Ideal Planner conference. There are so many pen shows. There's so many more new stationary shows popping up and then the planner conferences are always a big deal. You and I got to go and speak at Go Wild. And then I actually on my time hop just a few weeks ago, it popped up on my very first official Go Wild as well. And it was so much fun. And it really got me thinking a lot too afterwards, like, are there more planner conferences like this? This one is just like bigger than anything. So the planner pals are like, hey, what if you were to create one?

1:23Like what would that look like? So today we're going to be talking about the things that we would love to see, having some discussion, especially some feedback that we got from the community on some things that they would like to see as well. Because at the end of the day, the planner conferences really are about the community. It's about the people. Yes, the free stuff is nice. Yes, the speakers are awesome. Yes, the little workshops are really exciting and cool to do.

1:44But really, at the end of the day, it's all about the people who are paying to go and what they think about it. Definitely. I do love that it's just one of those opportunities to get amongst people who like the same stuff as you and are as enthusiastic about it as you are. Because I feel like sometimes for a lot of us in our kind of day-to-day lives in the real world, quote, quote. When you get really like hyped up about pens and stationery and planning and stickers and all of these things, people look at you like, OK, then that's cool I guess. And like everybody has their thing. You know, some people are sports fanatics, some people like us are really into planners and stickers and stationary and that kind of thing.

2:24So being able to get amongst people who have that same level of enthusiasm as you is like one of the most special things. I swear. I find that in going to these kind of events, I always get this period before I go, like leaving my house. That's such a chore. Like, do I actually want to do this? What if I go and like nobody wants to sit with me? No, it's never like that. You go, you get amongst the people who are just as excited as you are. You have plenty to talk about because you're all enthusiasts in the same kind of space. So that opportunity to connect with people would like first and foremost be the most important thing when it comes to planning one of these events.

3:00Oh, absolutely. I mean, the community is what it's all about. They really make or break a conference altogether. I mean, we know that we can be persnickety about like certain planner things. And then I think as we've gone to more of these conferences or I have, you also see a lot of the people that start to compare things, right and really talk about some key things. One of the first thing that's on here, and I think there's probably the most important to kind of talk about is location.

3:21And you kind of mentioned you're like, oh, like I have to pack up and go. But like for you, especially if the conference is in the US, like you're not just packing up for like a quick flight, like you're like a 24 hour flight to get to the US and especially depending where it is in the United States. So the first I would definitely would want to consider and then talk about would be location, because I do think it's important to have it at a fun place and there's probably a few things that I would want to keep in mind. I think aside from having a large space to have said planner conference, I think having areas around the conference to go to are really key.

3:55I think some of the most fun memories I've had are actually outside of the conference. When you're with your little planner click and you go get sushi or you go get some ice cream, or maybe you go to an event or a show, like really depending on where it is. But having things around the Conference Center is great because even though it is fun and exciting, it is overwhelming, especially when you're kind of in all of the commotion of things. So being able to step outside of where you are, get some fresh air, go a little sightseeing. That's I think a really important factor of any type of conference and especially one that if I were to plan one or hold one that I would want to see. Yeah.

4:32I think that having a kind of extracurriculars outside of just the conference, especially if you are coming a really far distance like I typically am, it's nice to make it more of a trip than just going for a weekend to, you know, see the speakers, get the swag, all of those kind of things. So I do try and give myself anytime I make one of those trips, just like a little bit of buffer on either side, not only to make myself a more kind of like human and put together person when it comes to attending the conference.

4:58So people get like best Jess energy as opposed to like a gremlin just got off a flight hasn't slept in 24 hours. Jess, funnily enough, she's like the not the most fun to be around, if you were wondering. So having a little bit more buffer time in the schedule so that people can do those little trips out go and like, you know, check out a local stationary store or go to a local kind of like vendor of XYZ. For me, it's always food. Food is the most important part of the trip. Like it's also going to be a really important part of any conference I plan.

5:26With that aside, I think that for a lot of people having somewhere close to home, especially when travel is getting more expensive and you know, having to take time off as well to actually get places, that's a big consideration for people. Now, obviously, we can't necessarily plan a plan a conference in every single town that everybody lives in. So maybe kind of like a more central location depending on who wants to be there. But also trying to make sure that it's not too spinning.

5:53Because if you start to go to these locations that are like, you know, really central to kind of like, you know, big hubs or anything like that, typically speaking, the cost of actually running the event there starts to creep up, which is something that I would probably be wary of. Yeah, I think you're exactly on point. It would be really cool. I mean, I think having an experience is important. I think about like DC for you, right? Vogel came along with, but he was also very interested in that town versus like Indianapolis.

6:19I don't think he was as it just did necessarily there, right. So I think picking places like that around are really important. Like right now I would not necessarily choose DC because I think a lot of people don't even want to be anywhere close to there. So like, I think you also have to be aware and it's kind of harder because these planner conferences get planned so far in advance. Like you don't know what the socioeconomical landscape is going to look like.

6:42So it's kind of hard, but I think you're exactly on point. Like if they were to do 1, let's say in like Vegas, like it's already expensive to go to Vegas. So it's just like, okay, where are you having that? Like, how much would it cost to rent out Conference Center for multiple days in Las Vegas? You know, there's plenty to do, sure, shows and all those other exciting things. But it's one of those things where you're right, you kind of have to like really kind of think about it.

7:08But it's a balancing act I think is really important. And the cost is probably a really big factor in the overall cost of the conference and the ticket as well. So. So yeah, I don't know if I would know of a certain spot. Like, again, I've only been to a handful myself, I guess. So like any new city is exciting for me. I don't travel a whole whole lot, but it would be cool, I think to at least have some of those like we talked out, like kind of fun outside extracurriculars to have. Yeah, I, I think that one of the things with it kind of turning into like a mini vacation for me a lot of the time is that it would just be really nice to be in a city that I was already interested in travelling to.

7:46You know, obviously I am but one person kind of a thing. I'm like, Oh yeah, I want to travel to Europe, I want to travel to Japan, I want to travel to Canada kind of a thing. So I'm like, Oh yeah, any of those three would be great if we could just like have one there. But I do think that, you know, in in planning it with that kind of like balancing act in mind that you talked about like the cost, but then also the accessibility to people. And I think that depending on who your target audience is, that's probably going to dictate a lot as to where you end up having it. So if you're having a planner conference that's really targeted towards, I don't know, like East Coast planners or whatever in the US, you probably want to pick somewhere on the East Coast.

8:23I assume like big assumptions here, Maybe everybody on the East Coast is like, I hate the East Coast. I don't know. Yeah, I think it's kind of crucial to think about the main audience for as well, and that's kind of the hard part. I'm curious, I don't know if I've ever, ever really asked you this question. Like as you've gone to these planner conferences, especially being someone from outside of the US coming to the US, are you meeting other people who are also travelling like super long distances? Have you come across anybody from like other countries outside of the US other than like Canada, for instance, you? Think that for the Go Wild trips in particular, I know that there was one person who was coming from Germany. I met another person from Belfast. She was great.

9:01She was a who. I think that we had maybe a couple from Australia. But, you know, just because we're all international doesn't mean we actually know each other before we get there kind of a thing. I know, right? It's a small world, but not that small. It's always kind of fun getting to interact with people at these conferences and then, you know, get us. I'm going to say assaulted, like throat punched with a different accent. You're like, whoa, where are you from, friendo?

9:24Like that's always kind of fun. So I think that yeah, she opened her mouth and this like heavy accent that was just not US came out. I'm like, oh international me too, friends an. Instant kinship when you come into it all right, let's go into the next piece of this so we're talking about location. Let's let's talk a little bit about like the atmosphere of the event space as a whole. So I mean, I think the first thing is that it has to have space, but I feel like there is a balance with everything between being like overly large and feeling like very overwhelming and that line of like how many people do you have and kind of how tight is it in said space?

10:05I think for me, I personally really like the large like grandiose space if I think about, and again, I've only really been to go wild. So I'm kind of basing a lot of my experience on that. But what I have liked about it is when there is a lot of space and a lot of tables and a lot of people, but you don't feel cramped because we have a lot of stuff on the tables. We all are carrying a lot of bags of things as well, whether we're purchasing them or getting them or bringing them. And so I think having that room to kind of breathe is really important.

10:34But I really do love having that large space, especially when you have speakers where you are kind of making and taking right. If you're like working on something along with it, like with ours, for instance, like ours is very hands on. It was use these materials make this thing like kind of go through and how we would do it and write it down to you want to have that room at your table to breathe or else you just feel very claustrophobic. And with that many people and that much stuff going on, I know how I get when I have too much stuff on my desk and I'm trying to do it.

11:03I just want to like throw it all on the floor. Can't necessarily do that at a conference well. You can, but people might give you a strange look. You know, just because they're your people doesn't mean that they want you to be messy. But I do think that having space to operate is a big deal. Like even if we're thinking about, you know, pre conference activities or whatnot, like for instance, it go wild. They have the plan affair where they have the little stalls set up and all of that.

11:29You want people to be able to move around in those spaces comfortably, but you don't want it to be. It's like everything, it's a balancing act, right? You don't want the room to be so big that there's too much spacing between the stalls to the extent where it feels like, I'm not going to say disappointing because that's technically not what I mean. Because if you have the same amount of stuff in a slightly smaller space, it would look more full and thus kind of be more exciting in a way.

11:53It's kind of like, I don't know, you see those events that some people run, like I think there was one called Barbie World or something. It was probably not called that like the Barbie experience or whatnot. And a bunch of people showed up to like this empty hole or warehouse room or something and I had like a blow up slide 1 backdrop with like a phone on a tripod in front of it or something. And like, that was the experience. So I guess it's like in particular with some conferences where there is that kind of very big kind of emphasis on the visual aspect of it and the look and the feel. And I think that if you're asking people to shell out, you know, X amount for a ticket or whatnot, you want the hype and the aesthetic and the kind of vibe of the whole thing to match that level.

12:38And I find that if you're not paying attention to the sizing and the spacing of those kind of elements within a space, then sometimes it can lead to more disappointment. It's kind of like if you're trying to set up a layout for yourself and you have like 1 tiny ass element smack bag in the middle of the page. For some, you know, for some setups that looks great. It's like, oh deluxe, look at how much white space breathing room it has. Whereas for other, you know, layouts and thus events, because you're drawing parallels here, having that kind of like busyness to it, that kind of like, you know, more visual interest and excitement on the page feels better.

13:11So it's like, OK, what kind of event are we running? Is it going to be one of those like super deluxe, like only one person in the store at one time? We have one handbag on a shelf kind of a thing and like, that's the main attraction. Or is it going to be the idea of like lots of kind of stalls or setups in this space? And it's slightly more, I know, cozy, I guess to give you that kind of like more condensed excitement feel. I'm explaining this incredibly poorly. Can you tell she is not a planner conference like designer?

13:39But I think that that would be a concern point for me. I think it's just so big and so extensive to really kind of think about like getting the value, what you're paying for. I think that's like something that we do here at the end of the planner conferences is like OK, travel plus ticket. Does that equal kind of what I'm getting out of that? And I think a lot of people are looking for like a even they're looking to like come out of the conference with a lot of free stuff, which I agree, a lot of knowledge, you know, a lot of kind of those experiences. So you really do feel like you're getting your money's worth because, yeah, if you're paying, you know, 6 or $800.00 for a ticket and all you have is a, a blow up slide in the iPhone tripod.

14:16Like what? What is even that? Right? I think there was another one too, reminding me of like a Bridgerton one that people were really excited about, but it wasn't official. And they went and they were like, this feels like a 8th grade dance, you know, like, but you're paying all this money for this experience and not getting what you think it is really important for that. And so I agree. I mean, something I love is the hustle and bustle of those rooms. You know, if I even compared like the my first go wild to the second one, it felt very different. You know, I definitely think also, and this was kind of on here too.

14:46Maybe I'm skipping ahead a little bit, but like I really liked finding these like small stationary shops and like other stationary things inside of the conference. Because look, let's be honest, we're already there with the budget. We are spending money and we know we are. But like, how cool is it to go in and be like, oh, I haven't heard of this brand before. And I'm already here for journaling and I'm already here and excited with my people and talking about it to be able to play around or try new things to maybe get some notebooks, you know, other than the free ones that you're getting stickers and like stamps and like all the fun excitement planner stuff that's in there. Like that also creates the hype before you're even into like the main event and that is so exciting, you know? So I think it is really important to be able to like have those spaces to be able to do that. Something else I know that people were missing in the past, and I know other planner stationary conferences people talk about this too, is having like mini breakout rooms. And some are like a little DIY though. It's basically like, hey, we're

15:47a group of people that want to kind of hold a get together, but it's not official. I think last year there was people who got together to talk about fountain pens, but there really wasn't a space to have that conversation. The main hall was very busy with things going on, so they were kind of like sitting out in like a little cafe area, but it like wasn't enough. It kind of creates that. I think I would also love to have kind of little small spaces like that. So if you wanted to get together and talk about a topic or do a make and take or even just a fun hobby or honestly, like I think there should just be like a quiet room, you know, where like you can go to and it's like a safe space, like a quiet train car, right?

16:25No one's gonna be on their phone, no one's gonna be talking. But you are kind of around other people and that's OK. Or maybe even just by yourself. I think also allowing for some of those side spaces too are really important. So it's like main event space, fun event space, social space. And then they'll leave me a hell alone room. Yeah, I think that like the community LED breakouts can be really fun because it's those kind of like satellite topics or like kind of very niche specific things related to the planner event or related to the planner conference where you can really kind of hone in on the people who are very much in that kind of like same field as you.

16:59So if we're thinking about, you know, like people who use XYZ planner and the idea isn't because it's like, oh, you can't sit with us, it's more so like I love this planner specifically. Yes, planning I love as well. That's why I'm here. But this one in particular, I want to get amongst the other people who really love this one specifically. And I liked your point there about that kind of like the enjoyment and the kind of like building of excitement that comes from the pre conference stuff like that pre kind of event in particular, if we're thinking about like go wild and such, they call this the plan affair.

17:28But I almost feel like if I was going to plan a plan A conference, I would want it to have that first day just be about the stalls and highlighting the work of small businesses and all of those kind of things. So you could come into a space or a room or I don't know, shed whatever we were calling it a hall where you have all of these different like planner vendors set up selling their wares and such. And you get to go around and like experience like not only the excitement with everybody else, but get kind of exposed to all of those small businesses.

18:00That would be really fun. And I think for some of us that would be like a separate event. But I'd just be like, no, if I'm going to fly all the way there, I want it to be all at once. No, I totally agree with you and I love the idea of it being smaller businesses too, because I think that's like one of the most fun part about stationary is fun. Those small little cool like me shops that have something that like you can't really find in other places.

18:23And I think and for my own, like if I was really planning it, I would be kind of I would find like themes, but I wouldn't have a lot of the same type of thing. Like if I was going to have like some stickers or whatever, like say it's a shop that's like only stickers, like like I would have those. But then I would love to have like a smaller business that may be like mixed in some other like pens and stationary and like some fun stickers. I wouldn't say like, Oh, the only place you can get stickers is here.

18:47The only place you can get markers are here. The only place is notebooks there. But like just kind of really mix and mingle. But like find a way to create something that's kind of fun for everyone. I know you can't like hit it out of the park for every single person or whatever. And especially for me, again, this is the conference that I'm planning. I would definitely want to find a lot of vendors and stationary things that are more like gender neutral because a lot of the times for me, and I know this going to a lot of these planner conferences, it is definitely not aimed at my demographic. It is, you know, for the most part, it is pink and it is glitter and it is excitement and it's Boas and it's all these kind of things.

19:26And a lot of the times I know for me, and you know, this too, especially going with me, I'm like, Jess, do you want to trade? I don't think these are really my colors are like, you know, oh, cool bangle bracelets, but like, I'm not I'm not going to wear the you know, like, so I would just try to find things that are kind of good for everyone or just have a mix. Because the truth is is more and more guys are going to these conferences, but there's also people who also don't really identify with a lot of the pink and frilly and kind of that kind of space too.

19:53So I think having something for everyone allows everyone to enjoy and not feel excluded from like the main event. So I think for me, I would try to find that in a way that was like kind of touched all different areas of life and exciting about planning because I think. It's super important. I think also the nice part about having this kind of like vendors stall space or whatever before the main event is that a lot of the time the way that we would get exposed to those small vendors and such as part of a planner conference is usually stuff like sponsor tables or swag bags or whatever else. But for a lot of small businesses, that's quite a decent cost.

20:29So it would be nice to have the option to still give back to them. Specifically support the ones that you're like, Oh my gosh, I love your stuff. That's not to say that we're, you know, trying to exclude people or whatever, but, you know, some things are your vibe. Some people don't want the bows and the frills and the pink stuff, and some people feel like the minimalist stuff is really boring. And there's obviously everything in between. Maybe pink isn't your thing, but glitter is, and you love purple. I want to make sure that there's a space there dedicated to you. I want the purple glitter store to be there for you. So it'd be really cool to have the kind of that opportunity to showcase the small businesses that are in the planner and stationary and whatever kind of space, but also give back to them very directly by being able to support specifically their work rather than expecting them to kind of like come to the table with a bunch of free stuff to give to everybody at the conference.

21:18Because the thing that I was thinking about before this was in terms of sponsor tables. And if you haven't been to go wild before, typically on the first day of the conference, like the actual kind of conference day you get in the room, there are a bunch of tables and each table has been sponsored by a brand. So they've put out a bunch of goodies and swag and whatever for you to take home with you. And I was kind of thinking about the part that bothers me the most about Go Wild is the fact that if you want a specific sponsor table, you need to be there like ass cracker clock to put yourself in line to make sure that you can scope out the table that you want. And I'm not going to say you have to run to get it, but like you might.

21:57I don't love the kind of just difference in experience that people get just based on how early they were willing to get up and where they ended up sitting on day one. And I feel like one of the solutions that I thought could possibly be a good idea is that, OK? Well, every table is the same in terms of what's on it. So that means then that you have to kind of like really hope that these businesses are going to show up and provide not just a tables worth of stuff, but a smaller amount of stuff for the entire conference room. And I feel like that's possibly asking too much. Like, even if you're just thinking about like, you know, one small business providing one sticker sheet or whatnot, but if you have like 500 people at this conference, that's 500 sticker sheets.

22:42She doesn't know how much that would be. She doesn't know about how much manual labor that would be, but she assumes it's a lot and she doesn't want to put people out like that. So I feel like a nice way to have them still showcased but also give back to them so that they're not just like, you know, handing out a bunch of free stuff is having that opportunity to be like a little vendor on day one or something like that. I don't know. What are your thoughts? I actually completely agree with you there. I mean, I understand it from like a marketing perspective, the fun, the excitement, the rush, the FOMO of being in there, picking your table, you know, being there with your table mates, kind of making those things happen. But I do know also when you're just like eyeballing. But the one thing I can say that I've always had a good experience with and maybe this can also lead into something that I would like is when people are willing to swap with you in case like you already have something and they have something that you don't want.

23:34I think that the tables are exciting. I love that you can, you know, get a sponsored 1 and they all are different and kind of pick your personality. Again, it's our ideal planner conference. So like, you know, I guess I don't know how the money part works, but I would say I love that idea that like everyone's kind of getting similar things. But if, you know, the reality of planner conferences is that that's not really happening, then I would definitely say I would like either a time or a space for planner swaps. Because in my experience, there hasn't really been a dedicated space for that or for or even for people to be like, I'm not going to use this like you're actually a really good one where you're just like, hey, I have all this crap. I'm not taking back with me.

24:16Here's all of it and take it. I put it in a spot go get it. I think that like that is it's great, but that's I don't love that though, right. I would rather know that I was giving it to somebody or there was some type of like swap or like a planner eBay or not to sell it, you know, but like a planner free Bay or something like that where like, oh, I saw this and I was really looking for it the whole time. Like I will definitely take it. And then, you know, you swipe right and you meet the person in the lobby.

24:44I don't know what that looks like, but like this idea that, you know, you could mix and match and meet up with people and like have those exchanges because again, that's the fun of these types of things is again your love stationary. Maybe what you're getting isn't all for you, but if you can leave with like the things that you're really excited about or stationary you're actually use or something new that you didn't even know that you were going to love, like that's even more exciting. So I think that the the planner tables, the swaps, the swag bags, all of that are incredibly important because I honestly think that's probably like 60 to 70% of why people go to these conferences.

25:16As for those things, I just want to make sure that like everyone is happy, you feel fulfilled, but that you also have these cool opportunities though to also like trade out what you don't. Yeah, I love the swap ability, like being able to swap, that is something I love. You know, on the last time previously on Go Wild, I took like, not a suitcase full, but practically A suitcase full of washi tape because I knew that I wasn't going to use it. It could go to somebody else. And these were the kind of people who would use that kind of thing.

25:45So I toted, you know, an extra bag with me all the way to the States just to take my washi so that other people could have it. But there was not a dedicated space to be able to do that. I was down in the lobby on the first day trying to like, you know, sell my wares for free, Free Bay. But you know, you get down in the lobby of a nice hotel and such and you dump a bunch of tape out onto a table. You know, people come over like, ma'am, could you please tidy up your mask kind of a thing. They didn't actually do that, but you know, it's kind of that vibe.

26:14So if you had kind of like dedicated spaces to do swaps in or dedicated like time to do that, that'd be really cool. I guess one of the ways that you could kind of get around people coming to the end of the event and feeling like they have a bunch of stuff that they don't want to go home with because that's typically what I would find would happen to go wild. It's like, wow, this is really exciting. There's so many things, but volume doesn't necessarily mean quality. And that's not to say that they were good quality. It's more so just like the qualities of those items were not aligned with how I like to plan. I'm not giving people trash.

26:45That's not the vibe. So the nice part about it was is that I could jump on to, I think they had like a Facebook group or something and say, hey, guys, here's a photo of all the stuff that I cannot or will not be taking with me. Who would like this stuff? And thankfully had some people reach out. I could, you know, organize and meet up with them and just give them all of those things before I had to get back on a plane to go home. But it meant that I knew that that stuff wasn't just going, at least not going straight into the bin.

27:10They throw it in the bin. That's their prerogative. But I gave it to somebody who said they wanted it. And I'm just going to trust that they actually wanted it, but it would be nice to have like a dedicated time to be able to do that. Coming back to the point I was actually making because woof, we went on a side tangent there. But I guess the way you could kind of get around that is just making the event smaller and more targeted. So then the right quote, the right people show up or the people who know that that's their vibe and that's the kind of stuff they want. And then they just get those things that could possibly be a solution.

27:41So it's like, you know, we have the group of people who like, I don't know, dark jewel colors, minimalist designs, gold accents or whatever, kind of a thing like you kind of design a plan a conference with those people in mind. You limit the number of tickets. Only those people kind of show up and sign up and get their stuff or whatever. And you know, I'm kind of aiming more so in in the thought of like, you know, planning the dream plan a conference.

28:04I want it to be big. I want it to be exciting. I want there to be a lot of people there. So you are kind of like not being as targeted in the way that it's set up in terms of like what's given out stuff wise or material wise. But yeah, balancing act with everything, right? Yeah. I mean, something else that could be kind of cool, this idea popped into my head as we were talking about this is it would also be cool like, you know, a lot of these cooking shows where, like, they don't give everyone all of the ingredients.

28:30You have to go into, like, the kitchen area and grab what you need. Like wouldn't it be cool if there was like a big room like that that had all those stationary supplies or like something for instance, like, you know, like you, you're taking pictures on your phone and stuff like that. And a lot of the times we don't have it, but like, wouldn't it be cool if there was like an area you could go to like print off your own, like sticker photo paper, right? Or something like that.

28:52Like you don't have to give away 1000 photo printers. Not everyone has to use it. But like if you wanted to go and do that for your journaling, there was a space to do that. Or if you needed like certain scissors or certain utensils or things like that, that that you weren't really sure that you would necessarily bring with you on a trip. Like let's say like for instance, you wanted to use like sticker tweezers, right? That you wouldn't have to bring your own or not everybody would get sticker tweezers.

29:16But like there was a space that you could like go and like borrow them. And if it didn't come back, it doesn't come back. Like there's also like a level of that too of like, hey, here's like all these different pens and cool things that you can use. So almost kind of like pick what you want, like a like a conveyor belt of stationary fun, but like you're picking and choosing the things that you actually want. Like that could kind of be cool too. So, so it's like a little bit of everything like that way you get what you want you or, or you try things that maybe you don't know that you want to with this very like open feel of like how that and what that looks like.

29:50But then also at the same time, like you've got some really like cool areas that still give you access to things without feeling like you have to like, again, donate it all or sit at the cool like thermal printer table to get a free thermal printer, you know, for your journal. But like different things like that. I don't know, I think there's like cool opportunities in it. I think that would be really fun. And again, maybe another way to get smaller brands or other brands into the conference without feeling like they have to donate a ton of stuff.

30:16Really just be like, hey, we set up six printers here. Come tap your phone. Oh, by the way, this printer is also for sale over here if you want it. If not, but here's your print out. You don't have to buy this thing, but have that. I don't know, something about that seemed really cool, just popped in my head like that would actually be really neat. Did. You guys at, I don't know, this might be a niche reference, have like sports shed or whatever when you're in primary school. And so you'd have like some of these older students at the school, they would like man, the sports shed and kids would come to the sports shed at the start of lunch and be like, I would like to borrow 1 basketball.

30:50And then like the person would write their name down and give them the basketball. And then at the end of lunch they had to return the basketball and get it checked off. Is that a thing you had? I mean, that was definitely something it was more like, like the gym teacher had all of that kind of stuff. So yeah, you kind of like, hey, we want to go play kickball during recess. And so like, OK, I'm lending you this. It needs to come back to us. I mean, I'm sure there's certain people who wouldn't like that idea of like a mass shared stationary space.

31:15Like I get it. But at the same time, like maybe it's not all like Sherry, Sherry, but it's just like pick and choose what you would like versus me giving you a 24 pack of markers. Pick your favorite colors that you would like to use during the session and come back and grab more if you really like them. You know, I don't know, something like it, but I'm not going to get into the specifics. This is all fantasy, but I still really good idea. I hope someone takes it and and I go to my next conference and they're like don't have the materials.

31:41We have them here for you. Come to our free shop. Yeah, it's like when you go to the Lego stores or whatever, or sometimes they'll Lego shows and they've just got those giant bins of Lego that are in the middle of a table and everybody's just building on their own little board. And then they just Chuck everything back at the end type of a thing. Maybe you had like a little Createspace or whatnot, so you have the kind of middle section with all of your different stationary pieces.

32:00So people can bring their notebook, bring their planner, bring their journal, sit down, work with other people and then put the stuff back can leave. Or what I was thinking is kind of like a pick and mix swag bag. So instead of just being given like here is your stuff, everybody gets the same stuff. Everybody has a purple and a pink glitter pen mark. You're just going to have to suck it. This is what it be. You could have some kind of like a walkthrough type thing where you have like, OK, well here are all of the notebooks. You pick a notebook.

32:25Here are all of the packs of stickers. You can pick 3 packs of stickers. Here are all of the pens. Try you can pick like a 5 pack or something like that. And they have like, you know, different options. Obviously there's going to be considerations with inventory around this because if everybody picks the green notebook or whatever, but you only bought enough for like 50% of the people who are coming, like there is never going to be a perfect solution, but this is like a possibility. It'd be kind of cute.

32:48I think it absolutely, and maybe you're right, like maybe it's more of a limited size kind of thing. You know, it could kind of work out. Well, this leads me into like the next point, which I think, well, you and I were guests and we got to present. But I think that's also a really important part because this kind of reminds me a little bit about like the, you know, like when I did it with Zebra, for instance, like that Friday night deal and you go into it. The wild crop.

33:11That's right. The crop, that's what it's called. So something like that. Maybe that's how this kind of gets put together where you're going through this stationary area and pulling that together to bring it together and and have fun with that. But I do think the type of speakers though, and the events that you have are equally as important. So like, what are some ideas that you would have around? Like what would the speaker lineup look like in your ideal planner conference? Oh, that's a good one.

33:37I think that less about people like who and more about what, because I feel like, you know, as a purpose first individual, I'm always looking to like, you know, what's the ROI? What what is the kind of like return that I get on this type of a thing? You know, what am I actually going to take away or learn from this? And I know that there's more to the conference and more to the experience than just the sessions, But in my mind I'm like, no, I'm coming for a plan of conference.

34:01The conference is like the main deal. So I feel like for me, it would very much be people who are going to give me tangible advice that has action steps that are actually applicable to me and my situation or whatnot, which of course everybody is different. So now we're getting into the territory of like, cool. So we want people who work on YouTube, work from their home, don't go out and see people, OK. But like I feel like it would be the kind of advice that is planner related because it is a planner conference, but is applicable to, you don't have to be in a very specific planner to do it. Like I wouldn't necessarily want somebody coming along to be like, here's how you use specifically the mild liner highlighters in this happy planner kind of a thing because I'm like, cool, I don't have a happy planner. I got rid of all my modliners.

34:49Whereas if you've got somebody who's coming along to say like, here's how you can use highlighters to make like banner headers for your planner or whatnot, you can use that skill in any type of planner and you don't have to use very specific materials to do it. So I think that would be kind of my preference. I think it would be also nice to have a balance between productivity focused, like, you know, getting things done with your planner because that's to be a main purpose of people's planner for a lot of people.

35:15But then also the kind of like decorative, creative fun side as well. Because if we're getting into the planner conference space, a lot of the people who are coming along do treat planning as a creative hobby. So it would be nice to have speakers that are going to either kind of encourage you to, you know, try different types of creativity, showcase different ways you can use creativity in your planner or in your planning. But I also want the tactical stuff, also want the stuff that's going to help me get things done.

35:41I don't know, I feel like that was an unsatisfying answer. What do you reckon? No, I I honestly think it's a really great answer because I kind of fall in line with the same exact thing. I love the functionality of a lot of what people are doing, but at the same time, I really enjoyed things that I didn't know that I was going to. So like when we were at Go Wild and crafty Chica, like she was up there talking about sticker journaling, right? That is not something I would ever in my entire life I figured out for myself. I don't know why, but I wouldn't. But I love the concept.

36:10I love the idea of that and just sticking things down and creating a visual story and doing that. You know, it's one of those things with like, well, if you don't use stickers inside of your planner or your journals, then you don't have those things. But again, you're at our Perfect Planner conference and we've provided you with all of these things to try to see if you like it first. So I love kind of a balance. I think that's probably the theme with like any conferences balance, but this his idea of having very tactical, tangible things that you can do and take away.

36:40And then also some of this inspirational, you know, brand new wave of journaling ideas that maybe you haven't considered yet. I mean, when we were presenting, for instance, and talking about bullet journaling and kind of that whole prospect of like how you do that or what you do, so many people that were like, oh, I don't use that method of journaling and I've never thought about that, but this is actually kind of cool. Or, you know, taking some of those other ideas and concepts into play and then utilizing them in their own planners. I completely agree with you that it shouldn't be a planner method or planner specific content because not everyone is using the same one.

37:19Unless you're going to like a happy planner planner conference and everyone there has those things, I think it's really important you're able to touch somebody creatively and inspire them in ways that maybe they didn't even know that they were ready to be inspired. Like that's the really kind of fun stuff. Or you give them an ink and you start writing inside of your reading books and things like that and you start freaking people out. Me of doing that. I just saw someone in Starbucks doing that the other day. They were like writing and highlighting and I was like, stop drawing in your book.

37:48It's so sacred. I think it's a great idea. It was cheaper than one of our notebooks, so why not go forth? Have at it. But the idea, though, is very much our fault in mind. They're making jokes about it, but kind of exposing people to things that they may not even know of or again, be like, Oh yeah, totally can put this into play right now. Awesome. I'm good to go. So I agree with you completely on where you are and has asked, you know, crazier all over the place as we might be in this conversation.

38:14I think we just want people to have fun and be inspired and have a good time, but also, like you said, be able to leave with some really good things that they can take home and continue to use. Yeah, I think that for me, the type of speaker, but I, I understand why they are at planner conferences and why they, you know, have a session or whatnot. But the ones that I always feel like I get the least out of are the ones who are just talking about their own personal brand journey.

38:38Half the time they're for planners that I don't use and thus don't really have a lot of a vested interest in. And secondly, I'm like, unless you're talking to a room of people who want to become brand owners or whatnot, I don't personally see the relevance. And while they are talking about, you know, very human experiences and stuff that people can relate to and such, I typically find that it feels semi self-serving, like a, hey, look at all of the stuff I did despite all these challenges I faced and less about like I face these challenges and I, you know, believe you can face them too. And here's like how I, I went about that. It's also like, you know, I don't want to have sessions where we're effectively giving counseling advice to people because that doesn't really seem like the vibe. Like it's a plan of conference.

39:23It's not like I have no a trauma dump session, which I feel like sometimes there are risks of things kind of falling into that category. And that's not to say that people shouldn't share their experiences and such. But if we're there for a plan a conference, I would like it to be more centered around planning, whether that be productivity focused or creativity focused and that kind of thing. But I think also the types of sessions that I liked the most are the ones where they are kind of workshop based. So rather than just like sitting and listening, which for some of us is very difficult to do.

39:56But you know, having those opportunities to really kind of like put the strategies and the things they're talking about into practice in the then and there so that you get the practice in, especially if they give you the materials to be able to do it. So like you kind of said with Crafty Chica, she gave us sticker sheets that we could use to kind of like make our little sticker stories or whatever. But also in our session we had. The notebooks that they could use to practice the techniques that we were talking about rather than just like, you know, flipping to the next available page in their planner and drawing in a rough Eisenhower matrix when it has absolutely nothing to do with what they were actually planning previously.

40:30So nice to have those kind of hands on things. Nice to have them at points where would be typically like an energy slump or like a lull. And I think a very good point, which we haven't touched on yet is the timing of the sessions. Not only in terms of like, you know, when are you putting all of your kind of speaking heavy speakers versus your kind of like workshoppy kind of things. And the start time. The thing that I dislike the most, I'm trying not to be negative here, but the thing that I would dislike the most about Go Wild is that it starts so bloody early.

41:00And I'm not a morning person, Mark. Yeah, it's one of those things where I get it because there's a lot to fit in today. An idea that I had about this topic was, you know, maybe there's opportunity where people can like sign up for those special kind of workshops, ish. It's hard because, you know, again, we're limited. We're well, no, technically we're unlimited in space. This is a dream conference. But like the idea is if you wanted to find something that was that inspirational kind of brand talk you wanted to go to that like you could sign up at certain parts. Like, I think if I were to kind of look at the programming of a conference, similar to what you said, I think that, yeah, thinking about like the UPS and and the downs and the highs and the lows and the slumps and what's happening are really important.

41:43But like, maybe some of those are just breakouts that are very specific to those pieces, you know, like an idea that like not everyone's on break at the same time. You can, you know, sign up to go to a certain topic, you know, but they're all happening at the same time. So it's like not, no one is left out if they don't want to be left out, you know, But like there are things to make happen. I don't know, again, logistically what that looks like, but that just kind of gave me an idea.

42:08That way you're not forced to sit through some something that like maybe really isn't in line with kind of where you are. Again, it's hard to know if you're going to be inspired by someone's story unintentionally when it happens. It's great when it does. But I also think people for the most part, kind of know. But yeah, kind of the programming of the day also is important. It's kind of like when you're a DJ and you have to kind of feel the room and know, like, what are the highs and lows?

42:35Like, OK, we're happy, we're jumping, blah, blah, and then we're going to cool it down because we're about to eat dinner and then we're going to come back slow after dinner. So no one's throwing up on the dance floor before we start to get wild and have drinks, right. So like, I think it's probably a similar thing, which then also leads me into maybe our our next point. I don't know if we're ready to go there yet because we also just talked about like this other side topic, but like the food and drink and like what's available also being really important.

42:59And that and I look at that as like part of the programming too, you know, like let's all get hyped up or whatever, but like let's have like dedicated times to eat because I'm a hungry boy, you know, like I like to eat and I don't like to have to pick through like the leftover cheese that fell on the floor because there was only so much in a 30 minute time span. Like I don't know what that looks like or how we solve for that. But I would like everyone to have the opportunity to like have something good to eat and provide them with food, like actual food during the conference, knowing that it is hard sometimes to go out or to kind of throw something in your mouth in between like a 30 minute break. Yeah, I think that food for me for pretty much any kind of like outing or occasion or event is like the highlight. She's snacking, she needs her for sustenance. But I feel like there's always so much consideration that goes into the type of food you're going to do. So for instance, if anything is like buffet style, typically speaking, you'd need to have somebody who is actually, they're kind of monitoring the

43:55buffet so that then people don't take too much because, you know, we want people in the back of the line to not have to eat the cheese from the floor or whatever. We want them to have some of the good stuff too. And typically when you're doing a buffet, I think that there's kind of like a certain percentage that you should expect like above the actual people who are there. So, you know, if you've got 100 people, you should be catering for like 130 or something like that.

44:19She doesn't know the actual percentages, but that's kind of like, you know, rough math, quick math, But because there is that tendency for people to take more because they don't have to get back in line and then, you know, if they're still hungry, having to line up again, like that's a faff type of a deal. So you can kind of limit it by having people serve up the buffet style thing. I guess the other option would be like snack packs or something like that.

44:40If we're thinking about, you know, morning tea, if we're thinking about like, you know, a morning tea break and then like an evening afternoon, what's the one? Lunch? Lunch is the worst meal of the day. That's an aside. But if we have those kind of like 2 set times in the assumption that we're having a kind of, you know, not early morning start, but like 9:00 AM start or something and going till about 2:00 or 3:00 or whatnot. Having those two step meals. Maybe one of them could be a pre prepared little snack bundle or whatnot where everybody gets the same amount of whatever else. And if they don't want their little slice of carrot cake, they can go and give it to somebody else or whatever. I love little bits of things.

45:16I love a high tea. I love it when you have a pick and choose kind of option. And the snack pack is like speaking to my heart in that way. But then when it comes to lunchtime, like do you do a similar thing just like more volume or what? Yeah, it's kind of hard, I guess, because there's like a lot of different ways you can go with it. But I'm 100% about the snack ability and being able to like grab something quick and kind of have it available to you.

45:39Yeah, the lunch thing is hard because there's, I also feel like you have to really accommodate like different types of dietary needs as well. And like, how do you figure that out? I guess, you know, you could do that during the registration, right, To kind of understand what, what's going on. But I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with, especially if it's like a full day of a thing like offering like a good lunch, you know, that way you're, you're not trying to like beat the clock and like go out or order food or try to make anything happen again. Like, yes, while we want there to be extracurricular things happening around the space, like on a really busy day. And that's how I would like to have like like again and ebbs and the flows of the things too and rest time and whatever else. I think just offering a lunch option is, is a great way to kind of do it.

46:22It like shows everybody like, Hey, we're thinking about you. We know that, you know, you're getting hungry because we've totally researched and timed this out and like figured these pieces and like have some fun, grab some food, talk with some people, like kind of have that before we all come back. I, I personally really like that idea. I also just like snacks and also making sure that like drinks are also readily available. It's it's one of those things too, like you're talking a lot. Also make sure there's a lot of breath mint and things like that too.

46:52Like you talk a lot. You're you know, you're eating food, you're gonna do it all of this. So I definitely want to make sure that we were sponsored by Breath Mint company or like little Listerine packs or whatever. But just this idea though, is that like we're kind of all, it's like an all inclusive resort when you come to our planner conference, like it's all there for you, whatever you want, whenever you need it, we got you. Oh, definitely. It needs to be like, yeah, fully catered.

47:15If we're thinking like the dream dream as opposed to the realistic dream, yeah, it's going to be like a all expenses kind of thing. We're going to have, you know, a buffet breakfast at the start where you actually just sit down the table and use proper cutlery, not the wooden fork because the wooden fork is so disgusting. Now it's going to be like that, right? And we'll have like a fully decked out lunch. Like what's it called, Churitzko? I can't remember that how you actually pronounce the Brazilian BBQ word that we're going to do that for dinner.

47:40It's going to be great. I'm so excited and now I'm hungry. Why did we talk about food? You're like, oh, Are you ready for your cut of meat? Please move your planner to the side. It's just slicing all pieces. Delicious. And bring it down when they're like big knife, like, yeah, just cutting off a piece of lamb, like, yeah. I love it. I love it so much. All right, so we've covered a lot of things here. I think one of the other things I wanted to mention that I know I would love, but also it's because like I love talking with people so much is like the opportunity for the meet and greets. And but like, again, I'm not speaking poorly of other things. How I would want an organized would be. Maybe it just would be like smaller group sessions, right? Like if you wanted to go and like meet and actually like talk with like Amanda, you know, Rachel Lee, for instance, I always think about her because people like love to see her. Like you want to come and talk to Jess and like have like an actual like like round table conversation, get to meet and like explore and do things together. Like maybe that's like a side

48:41space where you can sign up and like go and do those things. So you know what to get, I definitely think I would love that, especially like, you know, think like Martha Stewart was there. Not that I was too worried about meeting Martha Stewart, let's just be honest. But like, you know, but what if you were really excited? Like some people would like that opportunity to like meet those people and have a conversation with them. So I think at my Perfect Planner conference, I would have some type of setting or workshop or whatever where people could sign up and like do something like that with their favorite influencer or YouTube celebrity or planner celebrity, whatever it is. Because I just think again, if I'm adding to the experience of like what I'm paying for, like I'm getting cool swag, I'm getting fed very well.

49:25I get to actually meet like these really exciting people that for many times or what draw people to these conferences as well. I would definitely want to be able to like provide people with that actual opportunity. Also make sure the person that's presented like feels comfortable with that. Like I wouldn't want to put, you know, someone in a space where they were like, hey, piece of meat that I sold tickets to this thing, sit in this room and I'm going to bombard you with people.

49:49Oh, you have social anxiety. Sorry about you. They paid to be here. Like that's not what I'm looking for here. But I'm definitely looking for something where, like, again, it's like you're sitting down with the actual person that you watch on a weekly basis on YouTube and like plan along with like to be able to do that in person would be so freaking cool. I do also appreciate that when you have these kind of scheduled meet and greet times or vacations or whatnot, you are avoiding the possibility of people taking unflattering photos of you from weird angles because they spotted you across a room and didn't want to come say hello to you.

50:25I always remember, I think it was like the second go wild or something, somebody took a photo of me from like the side because we were lining up for something being like, oh, it's Jess, but I like don't want to go say hi. I'm like, please come and say hi. That is an awful picture. We will get a much better one together. Like, let's not do that. Yeah, just like having those opportunities again, it's hard to tell though, like going into those things, like I won't lie to you, I don't, I personally don't feel like a lot of people know who I am.

50:52I am pleasantly surprised when they do stop and say hello and do that. But like I'm not expecting it by any means. So like maybe there's a part of me and I don't again, what it looks like to, to have those opportunities, which I think are super cool. But it's just one of those ideas I guess where I'm like, I guess you would have to know that the person was like very famous or like very popular in that niche space to, to draw in the people that would want to even do that. Because how sad.

51:18Like Mark is sitting in a room and like 4 people show up and I'm just like, oh, this is very sad. Meanwhile, Jess's room people are like, knocking each other over to get in there to like, figure out what their citrical planning looks like. Yeah, eventually you will learn the word and you will be like fluent proficient at saying it. But no, I did very much appreciate having playing our little meet and greet for the last go while. That was a lot of fun because, you know, there's always that kind of like kneeling feeling in the back of your head, like, OK, nobody's going to show up. I'm just going to like stand here really awkwardly for half an hour or whatnot.

51:52But it got to the point where they kind of had to bring over another table because like, we were just like chatting too much, I guess, with the people who showed up just having some yarns, having our bands. And they're like, yeah, we actually have another one scheduled on the hour. So if you could like move to the side now because we need to bring another table over for them. That was really awkward. But it was really good getting to meet people. I think that's the the most fun with these kind of events and conferences and such is getting to meet people who you might have only interacted with online as well. Not even necessarily people who are like, I don't know, like content creators or whatever in the space. But more so just the people who like, you know, you followed them for ages on Instagram or whatnot. You know, just liking each other's stuff back and forth or like hanging out in the DMS or whatever else and being able to be together in the same space, even though you may not necessarily live close enough to each other to make that happen all that often.

52:44It's really cool getting to hang out with your online friends IRL. Oh, 100 percent, 100%. All right, so we have talked about a lot in our perfect planner situation. Anything that we haven't talked about just that is like an absolute must have for you at your Just as Perfect planner palace. I feel like it's going to have to be consideration of price point because I feel like now it's we're doing all inclusive and we're going to like, you know, have the five star hotel with the luxury resort feel with whatever it was Brazilian BBQ for dinner, which I'm like so excited for.

53:14This is gonna be great buffet breakfast. Yeah, cash me outside. How about that? Hopefully it's not gonna be too spenny because I still have to get my butt there on top of my ticket price. Yeah, it reminds me a little bit about like my wife is a big Dave Matthews Band fan and like every year he does this big concert in like Mexico at an all inclusive resort. And I was like, that would be so fun cuz it's like a vacation and a concert at the same time. But like it's always very expensive. But again, it's a vacation and a concert at the same time. So yeah, I don't know.

53:46I mean, cuz I'm even the type of person in the past that have like it seemed like a lot like when you were in DC, like I totally snuck in the side door to say hi. Like I did not pay to go to that conference because it seemed expensive for me personally. But I also didn't know really what I was getting or wasn't getting. So I couldn't really figure out like what that, you know, cost value kind of trade really looked like. So I do agree with you. Again, we're not that side of the table. We would hire business people and party planners to make this work for us to like make it happen. But I do think it's a very important part because, you know, I don't know how the business end of a conference works necessarily.

54:30This is why I don't have a blank check from anybody to do a thing because everybody would be broke, but we would make no money. I know it's also important to make a money at these things too. Make up money what the. Hell, make the money. Make the money, but this idea that, you know, you're getting the value for what you're paying for, especially if the travel is an additional cost on top of that ticket and you know that you're going to be spending money there, you know, and kind of all the other things. Yeah, it's definitely something that is not an afterthought for me, but I don't think I'm as thoughtful about it. But also most of the time, at least in my experiences, I'm not travelling halfway across the world to go to these things. Yeah, it's when the ticket price starts getting like too close to the actual airfares.

55:15You're just like, I don't know about this. It's kind of like anytime I buy a notebook from certain brands, it's like, so the shipping is actually exactly the same as the notebook. Do I really want this? The answer is yes. She still buys it. She still gets it. Same I do without Dream Planner Conference. Yes, she will still be there. It's going to be a great time. Just for reference, we're not actually planning a dream conference yet, like ever. I don't want to like put it out there because then people will start making like expectations around this.

55:43And all of this is hearsay because, you know, if we actually got into planning an event that we're not planning on doing, But never say never, I'm sure that then like, the realities of the situation would kick in and be like, yeah, cool, so you wanted XYZ, but you actually get ABZ and you're just gonna have to like, deal. But like, that's not a lamb of leg, that is a lamb of pigeon. That's all that we could afford for you to offer. No, we don't see baby pigeons.

56:08Pigeons are very secretive about their offspring. This is a complete random tangent thought, but yeah, truth. It is. That's very true. The pigeon. The pigeon conspiracy theory. Yeah, This whole thing together does sound like a lot of fun. And you're right. If there are any multi million billionaires out there that would like to, you know, go in on this, not really going if you would like to fund the entire thing, but you would like, you know, two people that aren't big fans of planners and planner people and planner pals, hit us up and let us know.

56:38We'll be happy to spend your money for an all inclusive planner conference. Yeah, and you can reach us at [email protected] or I think you're actually gonna do it, but it'd be pretty sweet. I don't know if I would trust me with that level of fundage, but it would be kind of fun. But of course, Planner Pals, we would love to hear from you. If you were planning your dream planner event or planner conference, what kind of things would you include?

57:00What would not be included? Let us know either in the comments over on YouTube or hit us up at [email protected] or over on Instagram at Planner Pals Podcast. We'll take all those into consideration as our sugar daddy or Mama gives us all the funds we need to make this thing happen. But as always, punter pals, we'll talk to you next time and thanks for watching.