Last month, I attended PressConf in Tempe, Arizona. PressConf is a spin-off from PressNomics, a business-focused conference for WordPress. Back in the day, it helped people learn how to make money in the WordPress ecosystem. And so, I signed up for PressConf expecting I’d learn a lot about the ins-and-outs of running a business in WordPress. 

Boy, was I wrong right!

But there were no ‘how to make money’ talks

Contrary to my expectations, there weren’t any “how to make money in WordPress” talks. Instead, many of the talks at the conference were much more ‘personal’ than ‘business’.

Instead of talking about their financial achievements as a business, tips and tricks to maximize revenue, and marketing hacks, they told about themselves. They shared their personal wins and their struggles; ranging from having to do the dishes to recovering from a severe burnout.

Human to human

There are a ton of articles on the internet saying that the concept of B2B doesn’t exist. That every ‘business’ transaction should be classified as H2H, human to human. And it does make sense. Because decisions aren’t made by companies. Decisions are made by real people in a company. People with hopes, dreams, and fears. People with ambitions and (ulterior) motives. People with real emotions that affect their decision-making. 

Having those business leaders share their personal stories on stage created a vibe that allowed for open and honest conversations. And because the conference was rather small (~140 attendees), you’d run into the same people frequently, and thus have multiple opportunities to get to know them. This, in turn, created more space for contentful conversations. 

Business advice by the pool

When everyone is relaxed and open for conversation, the most valuable ones happen at interesting locations. One evening, after a day of driving go-karts, throwing axes and riding a swan-shaped pedalo, a whole group of people sat by the pool.

Sitting at the pool with two established business leaders was probably the most valuable moment of the entire conference for me. They gave their honest opinions on what they’d seen from Progress Planner and gave advice on how to move forward. How to grow, how to attract new customers, and how to position our business. It is right then and there that I realized that business really is about people. 

Thank you PressConf

I’m convinced that this conversation, and many I had like this one, would not have happened without the atmosphere Raquel and her team created for PressConf. They realized that business is all about the people, the community, and the like-mindedness. And that the best place to gather people is in the scorching hot desert, so that many would default to sitting in or at the pool, together.