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I'm starting to travel for work again at the rate of a 90 mph where I arrive home just in time to unpack, do laundry and then turn around and hop on another plane. All the while planning additional trips because stress is so very becoming on me. But as I go through the travel process again and again, I'm realizing that since starting my job that requires more time being probed by TSA than actual work, that I do have some good tips on being able to afford all of this travel since it seems that I need to like eat and stay and hotels and stuff. That said this is going to be a two part series on business travel and how to determine if a trip is worth it and how to afford it.
The first stop on this voyage is based on a recent conversation about the fifth anniversary BlogHer conference. My friend Jodi found herself in a quandary that so many females online have suddenly found themselves in: To BlogHer or not to BlogHer; that is the question. What piqued my interest about her questions was the one on affordability. She doesn't feel that she is a big blogger and doesn't make money off of blogging because it's just a hobby for her. And I think that a lot of women are now facing this question as people start to talk about attending web conferences in the upcoming months: Is it worth it?
As much as I've been complaining about why we're already discussing next year's conference when I swear to God we just left San Francisco last week, on the other hand this gives people time to plan. Think about if they want to go, start looking at flight deals and upcoming points and really gauging if it would get a quality return from their investment. With the current economic climate I think that planning and having a broader future outlook and more time to kvetch is the way to go so kudos to whoever looked at a calendar.
I always look at trips to see if they really are worth it whether it be for my 'real' job or for any sort of web conference. Either way the money will come out of pocket at first. For work, I voucher all of my expenses including hotel and then submit and get a direct deposit. This literally takes 48 hours from the time I drop it off to accounting but I travel to not so inexpensive places and usually at the last minute so hotels can be upwards of $1,000 for three days. And for a geek conference the out of pocket expense comes waaaaay ahead of the future payback like writing opportunities or ad revenue from links to those I met while networking.
Either way the choice needs to be made and for something like BlogHer with so many thinking that blogging is 'just a hobby' it might be a little harder. I think it's worth it. Or so I would have told Jodi had I decided not to write about it here. My reasoning is because I like personal interaction after an extended period of impersonal interaction. There's something about being able to network face to face which removes that air of formality and allows each individual to get to know each other better. It's why I enjoy fundraisers with the mingling and ability to be casual with the option of getting meeting under more formal circumstances over emailing back and forth or phone calls. Even better the mingling more often than not leads to other opportunities. I've survived BlogHer and various other conferences leaving with a renewed sense of faith in what I'm doing and an air of confidence because of the people I have encountered thus leading to other opportunities. Being able to plan this far in advance also gives the opportunity to think about BlogHer volunteer work (sign up early!) and live blogging which would help alleviate a good chunk of the costs.
So in the long run does the benefit outweigh the cost? I would say yes. But I would also be interested to know if any others have had the same experiences as so many go through the hemming and hawing of deciding whether or not a conference for a 'hobby' is worth it and could eventually lead to being more than just a hobby.
Laurie at Halo Secretary comments on the BlogHer 2009 location
