As I write this, I’m aboard a flight home from one of the best conferences I have ever attended. I had the privilege of attending Jim Cockrum’s CES VI e-commerce event in Indianapolis, Indiana these past few days. The event was held at the Downtown Indianapolis Marriott and over 700 highly motivated e-commerce sellers descended on the property for the event.
I arrived at about 5:30pm in the late afternoon and regretted not getting into town earlier. People had started arriving as early as Tuesday in anticipation of the Thursday morning start time.
I had purchased a VIP ticket to the event and there was a reception for this smaller group on Wednesday night at Punch Bowl Social in downtown Indianapolis. Of the overall 700-ish attendees, about 150 people were attending as VIPs. This fun venue was perfect for mingling.
Everyone attending CES was incredibly friendly and went out of their way to make my acquaintance. It was refreshing to be around so many people passionate about e-commerce and business.
I woke up super early Thursday morning due to sheer excitement and hit the hotel gym to kill time. It was obvious others felt the same way and there was quite a few of my fellow attendees getting in a pre-conference workout.
Day 1 was led off by Jim Cockrum welcoming everyone to the event and giving them some tips on how to get the most out of it. His business partner Brett Bartlett spoke next and provided some great information about their Proven Audience Formula and Facebook marketing.
One of the things I liked most about CES was that the subject matter was pretty diverse. They covered everything from marketing tactics to retail arbitrage strategies to selling Amazon FBA businesses for 6 figures. Other topics included wholesale, online arbitrage, and private labeling products.
After hours networking was probably my favorite part of the event. Hanging out with such positive minded entrepreneurs and talking about our common interests was a phenomenal experience. At home there are few people I can talk to about my business. I don’t really know any local e-commerce people in my area, so being an e-commerce entrepreneur can feel kind of lonely. Getting to connect with people who share my interests face-to-face was motivating and refreshing.
Some of you might be interested in hearing what other perks came with the VIP ticket. A big one was that I got early access to the ballroom each morning and this got me sitting in the 2nd row. Not only did it help me stay more engaged, but also it had me sitting next to people who were very serious about the business. Just because of where I was sitting, I ended up making friends with one of Jim Cockrum’s coaches.
Another perk for the VIP ticket was that we had access to some bonus events. The VIP reception on Wednesday night was the first one. Beyond that, there was a VIP networking event on Friday night, a VIP luncheon on Saturday, and there will be a post-event webinar for us as well.
Whether you decide to go to the event with a regular ticket or a VIP ticket, I highly recommend Jim Cockrum’s CES conference. If you’re not familiar with Jim or his core product, the Proven Amazon Course, it is hands down the best training available at a reasonable price for e-commerce sellers. The “PAC” as it is called, is worthy of its own article, but it suffices to say that a one-time fee for a continually updated program is a rare value proposition in this space.
Whether you choose to go CES VII in 2019 or another networking event, just get yourself out of your zip code and comfort zone. So many positive things come from changing up your routine and I think it is absolutely crucial in business. One of Jim’s philosophies is that God created business to bring us all together in the form of relationships and I agree with that sentiment. CES was an experience of learning and business fellowship that I will never forget.
Want to join me, Peter, and 35,000 other motivated entrepreneurs for the world’s biggest business conference? Come hang out with us in Miami this coming February at Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference 3. Tickets are reasonably priced and sure to go up before long. If you’re coming to 10X Growth Conference 3, be sure to comment below!
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