You guys, ICON is nearly here, and this year’s event promises to be better than ever.

Bustling Convention Center with lots of peopleIn case you’ve never been to ICON, picture this: You show up, and you’re greeted by thousands of small business owners just like you. You’re surrounded by the spirit of entrepreneurship, and the hunger for information. Every single one of the four-thousand attendees is looking for new ways that they can grow their business. And each person is happily sharing the milestones they’ve already hit, and the obstacles they’ve traversed in the process.

I love ICON, not just because of the valuable content delivered by the 80+ speakers, but also because I love the Infusionsoft community – and seeing a large part of this community in the same place at the same time can really be inspiring.


With that being said, here are the 6 things I’m most excited about for ICON 2016:

Partners. Infusionsoft has a partner ecosystem unlike any that I’ve ever seen before. And that ecosystem is on display at ICON like nowhere else. I love browsing the vendor area and meeting the different partners, and seeing demonstrations of what they have to offer. I’m also particularly excited about a handful of partners speaking at breakout sessions this year. If you can, carve out time to see Greg Hickman, Tyler Garns and Brad Martineau.

Networking. I love the content at ICON, don’t get me wrong, but I really love the networking aspect as well. I believe that anytime you get that many entrepreneurs together in the same space you can’t help but have something great happen. I’ve watched some really powerful connections be made over the past few years, and I love seeing the conversations that take place in between sessions, at lunch, or over a pint after-hours. Every single attendee at this conference has at least one-thing in common with you.

Infusionites. Infusionsoft really does have a unique culture, and this culture attracts a specific type of employee. As such, they’ve got some really intelligent and capable people employed inside the Infusionsoft headquarters. I’m really pumped that this year they’ve giving many of those rockstars a platform to share their brilliance. In no particular order, I definitely recommend making time to see Paul Sokol, Justin MacDonald, Brina Kaiser, Jordan Hatch, and Scott Richins.

Guy on stage presenting with four pint glasses on screen next to him - ICON15Me. I know this one is kinda cheap – listing myself on my own list, but get over it. It’s my list, and I’m pumped. I’m excited about my first opportunity to speak as an Infusionsoft partner. I was fortunate enough to speak at ICON in 2014 and again in 2015, and as I’ve been working on my presentation for the past few weeks, my excitement for this year has been rapidly building. This year I’m presenting 5 productivity tricks that you can use to get more out of your Infusionsoft application. This will be one of the more technical presentations of the week – and I would venture to say that every single person who attends my session will leave having learned at least one new thing (even you Paul Sokol).

Product. It’s the 10th anniversary of ICON. you’ve gotta believe that Infusionsoft has something big up their sleeves for this event. I love hearing Clate Mask speak each year – but this year I’m particularly excited about hearing the new Chief Product Officer, Terry Hicks take the stage. In addition to Terry, Justin Topliff and Tyler Zeman have a session called Product Showcase. ICON is usually where Infusionsoft rolls out their product roadmap, and tells us all the cool stuff they have in store, and personally, I can’t wait.

Black and white picture of Guy in turtleneck sweater - Gary VaynerchukGary Freaking Vaynerchuck – are you kidding me? This man is the unofficial small-business spokesperson. He lives and breathes entrepreneurship and delivers his insightful perspectives with a refreshing authenticity that is hard to find. I was lucky enough to hear him speak at ICON in 2012 – and just as my story has continued to evolve since then, I feel confident that his has too.


 

So that’s my list, and I’m 100% confident that there will be some awesome sessions delivered by people I didn’t mention, or people I hadn’t heard of. For that reason, I’d spend some time pouring over the agenda and highlighting the sessions that you plan to prioritize.

Everyone approaches this conference differently, and that’s perfectly fine. There is tons of value for business owners, employees, partners, or aspiring entrepreneurs. If you’re interested in some technical tricks to get more out of the software, save space for my session on Wednesday at 11 am!