Tory Johnson is the visionary behind Spark & Hustle a national conference for business owners.   I was delighted that one of the stops on the tour was local for me in Washington, DC.   Here are a few highlights from this 2 day conference.

At the registration table there were tons of Sharpie markers in different colors to sign our badges… of course I had to take advantage of that 😀

I decided to take a break from drawing sketchnotes during this conference, so I left all my professional supplies for drawing at home.  I just wanted to focus on connecting with people and learning strategies to grow my business.   But… I couldn’t help myself.  I’m a visual learner and before I knew it, pictures were popping up in my notes!  Take a peek.

I think everyone in the room got a chuckle from hearing Tory’s networking strategy in her early days of business.  The WAITERS don’t count.

Sarah Chapin from Hail Merry  shared so many tips and quotes that I loved.  Sarah told us “It doesn’t matter how small you start if your dream is BIG.”  I also loved the chocolate macaroons that were placed at our table, compliments of Hail Merry!

Lena West  and Coach Jenn Lee did a fantastic job during the pitch session.  They helped many of the women in the audience iron out a crystal clear pitch.  I love how they both made themselves available to answer questions even after the session was over.

Sam Horn showed us the power of using stories.  Sam advised instead of asking someone what they do, say “give me an example of what you do?”  She also said “It’s time to evolve our marketing” and go from explanation to examples.

During the 2 day event, Tory strongly encouraged and reminded us to sit at a new table after each break and meet new people.  I took her advice and it made all the difference in the world.

So I want to give a shout out to just a few of the many fabulous entrepreneurs I met like Tceniccola, SunshineHope,  ElegantGranny, AdtechConsults, TheDesignHall, NextBrides, Heidi Pommer, Saralyn Collins, Scribbles and Works and Linda Pritchett.

What was your biggest take-away from Spark and Hustle?  Please share and comment below.

Tory Johnson is a speaker , author, and contributor on Good Morning America.  Tory is the visionary behind Women for Hire career expos and Spark & Hustle a national conference for business owners.  Tory is passionate about small business owners succeeding and her advice is to work from a Top 50 Prospect List.

Tory says, at all times, you should be adding people. companies, associations to your Top 50 that you want to do business with in the future.  This should be a living list, meaning you keep adding and taking away names as needed.  When you have your Top 50 you can be laser focused on who you will market to and how you will serve them.

That advice gave me the inspiration to draw this picture and start my own Top 50.

Who do you put on your top 50 list? How do you generate leads?  Well, let’s step back.  You provide a service/product that solves a problem.  Who is having this problem? Who could use your help?  The answer is your top 50 prospects.

Now I have to admit, I was happy with my list of 5 prospects.  When I heard 50, I thought to myself “Aaargh.”

But you know what?  I’ve been chipping away at it, and I have 46 now.  I’m on a roll.

You can use any tool to keep track of your top 50.  My favorite method right now is using the Twitter list feature to keep track of mine.

By the time you read this, I may have my 50 already.  Woot!  You can do it, and it’s soooo worth it.

Don’t forget the Spark & Hustle conference, it’s a sure-fire way to build your  Top 50 list!

How do you find names for your Top 50 Prospect List?  Comment below.