Small Business Conference - Dallas TX

I had the distinct pleasure of attending eBay University's Small Business Conference in Dallas, Texas last week. Wow! Talk about an adrenaline rush...there's so much to see and do - general classes, Business Builders, eBay for Business Marketing, and Marketplace tools. Now throw in a little networking and a bit of chatter and you've got yourself two action-packed days.

Getting to all the classes was a bit of a challenge for some and in speaking with a couple of the members, they revealed their solution - come in pairs and split up. This was the case with two of the members I spoke with after the Financial Management class presented by KeepMore.net. They sent their husbands to the classes they couldn't attend while they attended the Business Builders classes.

As expected, there was plenty of enthusiasm and excitement with regards to learning how to buy and sell on eBay. I spoke with Micki (a brand new member) and with Ellie just outside one of the classrooms. Micki said she hasn't "done anything on eBay yet but was looking forward to it." She also added the classes were fantastic. Ellie shared that she had "bought on eBay" and had come to eBay University to learn how to sell. She added, "The presenters with PayPal were good," and "Griff is an excellent speaker and entertaining." 

While trying to track down one of my colleagues, I had a chance to visit with members beejaymktg   and eauctionsellers, who deal in vintage collectibles and golf products, respectively. After sharing a  few of my golf stories, I found out this was beejaymktg's first eBay University, while it was eauctionseller's second. They both commented on how well they like classes they had just attended. I even got a glimpse of how focused some members become when trying to attend eBay University. Take for example, member blueskyesenterprise - while en route to the Dallas Convention Center, she encountered "4000 walkers" participating in the 2006 Dallas Heart Walk and had to take a detour. Finding herself headed north, she called her husband at home and said, "Get me a map." (hmmm - doing I see a gifting opportunity here from the hubby at home - hint: look for GPS devices on eBay :-)

There were participants at eBay University that were new and hadn't established a User ID, as well as members like kredard who was there to take the advanced classes (their goal was to sell their RV). Members sjxparkersxgarage and carla66 were attending their first eBay University, focusing on the Business Builders section of the event. Not only did I find out they worked together for a local business, I received a few tips on where and how to find parts for the '69 Charger parked in my garage. Now how much sweeter can that get?

And what would the event goers and eBay University personnel do without the help of the event staff? These folks were diligent in handing out class material, surveys, providing directions to the various classes, facilities, dining area, you name it, if you asked, they were there to help.

Thank you each and everyone that took the time to speak with me and agree to 'appear in pictures.'  And for those of you that haven't attended an eBay University, give it a try. Learning has never been so much fun!