Freelance Camp and Other Conferences for Freelancers

A few months ago a friend and I jumped on the ferry and took a day trip to beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada, to experience our first ever Freelance Camp.  The event was touted as a chance for freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone interested in learning more about freelancing to discuss ways to start, expand, or improve their business. Turns out there are dozens of these events going on across the world, making for fantastic opportunities for freelancers.

Due to the ferry schedule we missed the beginning of the event.  Had we been there, we would have been able to participate in choosing what the day’s discussions would entail.  There were four discussions scheduled to take place simultaneously in different rooms, by different presenters.  A panel of presenters had to pitch their topic to the morning crowd, and the pitches that received the most votes were the topics for that day.  This method ensured that the audience was able to get the most value out of the event.  If you wanted more information on a pitch that wasn’t successful, you knew who would be able to help you with that, since they had just pitched it.

What I loved about Freelance Camp:

• Variety of topics to choose from for the day, as there were four presentations going on at any time.
• Quality of the presenters.  Each session I went to was led by an expert with real world experience.  Since I was still new to freelancing, this was valuable information to me.
• Reminder of just how friendly freelancers are.  Polite, engaging, and genuinely interested in what you have to do or say.  It was great to find people who understand what freelancing is, and that they have been doing it for years (and in some cases – decades!).
• Lunch was included!
• Coffee was included!
• The proceeds went to charity.

What I didn’t like about Freelance Camp:

• The topics were outstanding, but sometimes you had to choose between two topics that you were interested in.  It would have been nice to have an encore of the popular presentations or a video/podcast of each discussion.
• Pretty hard to complain about an event that is reasonably priced and designed to help you become better in your chosen field.   Add in free coffee and lunch – ‘nuf said.

There are a variety of Freelance Camps and other freelance conferences coming up, so I’ve shared a selection below.  I hope your experience is as positive as mine was.

October 2, 2010 – Freelance Camp Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz, CA, USA

October 3, 2010 – Freelance Camp Toronto – Toronto, ON, Canada

October 9, 2010 – AIW : Going Freelance – Washington, D.C., USA

October 23, 2010 – Freelance Camp De Moines – Des Moines, IA

November 13, 2010 – Indie Conference – Raleigh, NC, USA

Check here to see when future Freelance Camps are coming to a city near you.  I will try to be there for the first part of the session – looking forward to meeting you all!