What LuAnn Live Virtual was REALLY Like

I love a good “what it’s really like” post.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to share the real, behind-the-scenes insights about my virtual LuAnn Live: It’s About the Conversation experience last week.

As you may or may not know, this was the second LuAnn Live ever. The first was in person in Short Hills, New Jersey where 100+ designers came together for three full days of speakers, discussions and personal growth. Even though the event was large, it was still intimate and personal, but the ENERGY in the room was next level—much like LuAnn’s podcast conversations that we know and love so much.

Everyone longed for the next time we could get together for such a powerful and inspirational gathering and then…COVID hit. 

After postponing and planning, re-planning, adapting and adjusting, LuAnn decided that she would proceed with a virtual event like no other—an event that could meet or exceed the expectations of the first one, even though we could not be physically together.

In true LuAnn fashion, she did it again!

She essentially hosted a virtual conference on steroids (I say that as lovingly as possible,) meaning that she brought in the best of the best production team that took Zoom meetings to a whole new level.

There were green screens, producers, cameras, ethernet cords, timelines and logistics, but it all worked.

The virtual conference bar was raised and for the first time in a long time 150+ designers came together and felt connected, courageous and inspired to build businesses centered around the mindset, lifestyle and dreams that we want for ourselves.

I happened to be a panelist at the event because I am one of the co-authors in LuAnn’s latest book: A Well-Designed Business®: The Power Talk Friday Experts Vol. 2. I knew more than most about the planning that went into this three-day event. Test calls, dress rehearsals, backgrounds, mic checks, timing, and logistics were all fast moving parts in the planning process and even I was thinking, wow, this is a lot!

I never doubted how it would all come together because I know LuAnn—she won’t settle for less than amazing. But I have to be honest, I was thinking: How is this going to be different than any other of the ga-billion Zoom meetings I’ve had in this past year? And although I can’t quite articulate it to you, it just really was incredible. 

Trying to summarize this event into a paragraph or even a blog post was tough because it was that off-the-hook, so instead I came up with these 3 E’s that represented my experience at Virtual LuAnn Live: Educational, Energetic, Excellence.

Let me break it down for you…

EDUCATIONAL

I think that’s always the common thread among the listeners of LuAnn’s podcast and readers of her books. We all come wanting to learn more and be better. So it was no surprise that LuAnn brought in amazing professionals who were experts in their arena and able to talk candidly about their experiences and journey that lead them to where they are today.

And that’s the thing about this incredible event—you gain access to the top industry leaders in the most approachable, unifying way possible. Case in point, at the last LuAnn Live I met HGTV star Taylor Spellman in the hotel lobby and chatted with her all throughout the event. Fast-forward a couple years later and she is one of my very good friends! 

There is something so powerful and uplifting to see those you idolize sit at the same table as you and knowing that you both have the common goal to grow personally and professionally. It’s validating and motivating at the same time.

The insight that the panelists and speakers shared was invaluable. One panel alone is worth the price of admission and you get about ten of them! Many attendees left with notebooks FULL of great ideas, insights and action items to put it all to work.

This kind of learning all in once place and in this way is absolutely something you can only access at LuAnn Live events. 

ENERGETIC

How is a virtual event going to make you feel energized when you are setting in an office, bedroom, or hotel room alone?

I think that’s the question we were all asking ourselves. But those who attended trusted LuAnn would bring it and that’s exactly what she did.

The feedback across the board was that the “Zoom room” had the BEST energy. Each panel discussion brought a different perspective and energy level. Some were on mindset and productivity and some were on finances and law—the cool thing was that even conversations about contracts and accounting still felt insightful and exciting. 

Each panel discussion motivated you to want to do better, to rise up and improve your businesses. And, on a surprise note, an element of the event that nobody expected to be such a hit was “the chat.” It had a playful and supporting vibe to it making it an excellent source of connection and networking that is hard to achieve during virtual events.

The last day of the event is always a VIP day where you get to attend small breakout sessions. In these sessions, you can get one-on-one time with the presenters to ask questions, throw ideas off of and personally connect with them. I’ll tell you, these breakout sessions are GOLD!! 

So whether you are an introvert, extrovert or something in between, everyone was able to feed on and take away a tremendous amount of valuable education and energy as they start setting the tone for 2021. 

EXCELLENCE

Would you expect anything other than excellence from LuAnn Nigara, really? From the production, to the crew, to the content, and even down to the outfits, LuAnn really brought her “A” game.

I think that’s what makes any kind of LuAnn event unique and different: there is a real, authentic drive to bring excellence in everything she does and it shows. Each presenter and author LuAnn brought in was prepared to share their expertise in a way that was approachable for attendees who are at various experience levels in their design business.

LuAnn even had emcees who engaged with everyone in between sessions throughout the day, allowing for a casual yet professional flow. My favorite part of LuAnn’s events are always the breakout sessions and the roundtable conversations. I think those are where you get the opportunity to connect with people you don’t know and take away great nuggets of information that you were not expecting.

I’ve made so many connections in these moments throughout the years and I just love the relationships I’ve made! 

If you didn’t attend LuAnn Live and don’t have pure FOMO (fear of missing out) after reading this, then I didn’t do it justice!

LuAnn did an amazing job bringing the energy, education and excellence to her live event once again. The amazing part was that it was all virtual—it takes some real talent to make that happen.

But don’t worry, there will be more LuAnn Lives to come, I’m sure of it! So stay tuned to her podcast, email lists, and all things social media to get connected so you don’t miss a thing. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to run and start applying all of the amazing information I learned last week—you can’t just keep it in a notebook!

Just like LuAnn says, you have to use it, apply it and decide to be excellent.

SLB