This past weekend I was honored to speak at SQL Saturday Dallas. I had the chance to meet some awesome #SQLFamily, a few of them I have interviewed for my blog. Mindy Curnutt (organizer), Tim Mitchell, and Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman.
I initially picked Dallas because my cousin lives there and thought it would be a great reason drag him along with me to attend his very first SQL Saturday event.
SQL Saturday Dallas
I had no idea that SQL Saturday Dallas is one of the largest events (along with Atlanta, NYC, and Silicon Valley).
900+ PEOPLE REGISTERED!
Never Give Up
My session was the last one of the day. This was the first time that I had a session at the end of the day. Despite the extremely long (and hot) day, and after lunch slump, my attendees were extremely engaging. They asked very interesting questions and shared their personal experiences.
There were 2 attendees that came up to me after the session and asked very interesting questions that I would like to share below:
Attendee #1 (software developer) – This gentleman thanked me for the talk then asked for some “final words of advice” so he can take with him on his journey into consulting. I told him, “Never give up!” I know that sounds extremely cliche but when the “going gets tough” we tend to give up. I told him to hang in there and to build a website and start speaking at local groups.
Lesson Learned: Some times it takes someone or something to remind us of the most simplest thing/saying, etc that creates that fire in us to keep moving forward. Successful people are those who never gave up! Keep moving forward.
NEVER. GIVE. UP!
Attendee #2 (software developer) – This young man had at least 8-10 questions written on back of the event schedule. While we were talking he mentioned his next door neighbor (a business owner) mentioned a “pain point” that this young man could solve very easily. One thing led to another and he had his first client. I congratulated him for getting his first client and encouraged him to get his website built and business cards created.
Lesson Learned: Some of the easiest opportunities are right “under your nose.” You don’t have to go from “zero” to having a multi-million dollar contract. Word of mouth is crucial! Provide great service and your first client can turn into many more!
A Rickshaw?
Now, you might be wondering “what the hell does a rickshaw have to do with anything?” Well, during the SQL Saturday lunch, I went out with my cousin to grab something to eat. As we were walking to the restaurant, I saw the most ‘gangsta’ thing ever…
Just when you thought you have seen it all.
Shout Out!
I want to give a big shout out to the Ignis Images photographer who took some really awesome pictures of the event. You can find all the images he took here.
That’s a tuktuk.
Same thing :)