Big hearted pearls of wisdom #BHB2014

This weekend I’m attending Big Hearted Business (un)Conference 2014 — an annual event run by Big Hearted Business (BHB), designed to ‘teach creative people about business, and business people about creativity, in ways that makes sense’. BHB is the work of well-known and widely-loved singer, songwriter and actor Clare Bowditch, who is also hosting the two-day event at Northcote’s Regal Ballroom in Melbourne. Aimed at creatives, entrepreneurs, and those who are both, the theme is ‘Courage, courage, nuts & bolts’. 

I decided to be part of it because thought BHB 2014 would be a good opportunity to hear stories, and learn lessons from, those making money from their talent and passions, so I can do the same. 

As I type, we are only at the halfway mark, and much that has been discussed has given me a few ideas for blog posts I’ll write and share here in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are some of the ‘day one pearls of wisdom’ (and great insights) I liked and jotted down, and you might like too:

• ‘Too many people take action before getting clear on the “why?”‘ — Correne Wilkie, Manager of The Cat Empire
• ‘Luck is where being prepared meets opportunity’ — Correne Wilkie, Manager of The Cat Empire
• (When working out what to tell a journalist about your business or product) ‘What are the 3-4 things you would tell your friend at the pub about it?’ — Jo Walker, Editor of Frankie Magazine
• (When asked what keeps him motivated) ‘Being frustrated by others doing things badly’ — Joost Bakker, in the business of all things sustainable
• (On creating an online/blog community) Be: brave, curious, supportive, humble, delightfully informative, relatable, innovative, collaborative, selective yourself — Pip Lincolne, Creator of Meet Me At Mikes
• ‘Don’t be a tosser’ — Pip Lincolne
• ‘Don’t chase numbers, chase the relationship’ — Kylie Lewis, digital strategist, from Of Kin, on social media
• ‘Joy is being in the right spot, at the right time, with the right people; wearing the right clothing’ — Fabian Dattner, leadership expert and business consultant, Dattner Grant
• ‘Don’t compromise your values and what is important to you, or it will come back to haunt you’ — Fabian Dattner
• ‘Money for money’s sake is pointless and is killing us’ — Fabian Dattner
• ‘Purpose matters deeply; too many don’t develop a deep purpose professionally’ — Fabian Dattner
• ‘Women need to ditch metaphors around balancing and juggling. If you are worried about balancing and juggling, you aren’t clear why you are doing what you are doing’ — Fabian Dattner

They are some of the pearls of wisdom from day one — I’ll share those from day two, tomorrow.

You can follow the conference from wherever you are on Twitter, Instagram, and the like, using the hashtag #BHB2014.

*Cover photo is of Clare Bowditch on stage, welcoming the 500+ participants.