Atomicon - Top tips when booking!
Last June I stepped into the pre-party for Atomicon* in Newcastle and knew I’d found my people. There were over 1000 people all there to work on their business and meet other likeminded entrepreneurs - it also helped that the sun was very much out to play so it felt like a mini holiday! Andrew and Pete, the organisers, have done a wonderful job of organising an inclusive, informative and fun event for entrepreneurs and freelancers.
Full disclosure - I was pretty nervous about going as I didn’t know many people attending, but it has this magic to it where lots of people are open to chat and welcome you with open arms - I didn’t know 75% of the people in these photos, and now a lot of them are firm friends!
Atomicon is a conference created with small business owners and freelancers in mind - the official talks centre around marketing and sales but there is also a lot on mindset and specific topics such as using AI in your business. You’re buying a ticket for “one day” but it’s so much more than that - before the conference starts you have access to a community Facebook group, virtual networking events, pre events (I’m already signed up for the pizza and marketing party with Rob & Kennedy!) and pre and post parties too! The Atomicon website does a fabulous job of explaining it but I wanted to give you my top tips for booking as someone who has been and already booked my ticket for next year!
Book your hotel at the same time as you book your ticket - hotels get snapped up quickly and you’re going to be want to be close to where the action is, whether that’s to be with everyone at breakfast time, or go back to your room for a little rest between the conference the party!
Plan to go from at least the Monday to the Wednesday morning (the conference is on Tuesday 18th June). There are a lot of really cool fringe events on the Monday to attend and the post conference party is a lot of fun! Some people met up on the Sunday night - if I didn’t have toddler responsibilities I’d be going on the Sunday!
Plan in some time afterwards to decompress and work on the ideas that have sparked - I only planned in half a day last year and this year I plan to take 1-2 full days to work on my ideas afterwards when I’m back home.
Look up fringe events straight away - some of them have limited tickets and are likely to be snapped up! Some of them are paid add-ons, but most of them come included with your ticket.
Connect with people beforehand - it really does feel like a community, so if you spot someone going on social media, reach out and say hello! Laura from the Doing it for The Kids community made a little group for us over email and it was such a big help!
Try not to worry about going on your own - I knew very few people last year and came away with a firm set of friends and lots and lots of new contacts to keep in touch with. If you’re worried about coming on your own, say hello to me and I’ll introduce you to people!
That’s my top 6 tips for booking Atomicon - fancy coming along? Grab your ticket from my affiliate link here!
Closer to the time I’ll be sharing my top tips for attending!
*all of the links within this blog are an affiliate link, which means I get a small kick back if you buy a ticket.
