Whew and Wow. Our AZVAs Fall Retreat in Phoenix was a terrific success. In fact, it appears that the genesis of many new projects and collaborations has already begun.

Format

The format allowed for both education and unlimited opportunities for networking. Our small contingent of Arizona VAs hopped on board and embraced our attempt to give them a sneak peak both the IVAA Online Summit and the IVAA Live Summit, while strengthening ties with local colleagues.

Even though some attendees were skeptical about presentations delivered by speakers joining us remotely via GoToMeeting, that approach enabled us to provide a greater range of topics and presenters during our breakouts. Including top talent from within our industry that way also exposed some participants to a new way to work virtually using online meeting rooms. (read more about other online meeting options here).

In planning this event, we speculated that if you gather together in the same space with others for a seminar, regardless of the delivery method, the main benefit of being in a room with other live bodies is the opportunity for immediate interaction and idea germination during and after the activity.

And in fact, that’s exactly what happened after every breakout.

Location

The design of the Biltmore Embassy Suite’s public areas was spectacularly conducive. The many tables and chairs scattered around the atrium served as a magnet for those fresh from their breakouts. All you had to do was step out of the guest room where your session took place and scan the vast atrium to spot others gathering below near the on-site Starbucks. In fact, we even scheduled one breakout in the atrium, and that attracted a potential client who was drawn to our meeting when he overheard the term “virtual assistant.”

Working in isolation as VAs do most of the time, we take pride in all we can accomplish on our own, despite the distance between us and our clients. This gathering gave us all a chance to tap into the flow of energy that can only come from people connected in real time and space.

Outcome and Outlook

Now that the dance is, in fact, over, I hope that those who attended will carry on with the new ideas and relationships begun in Phoenix.

Next up: marriage of great minds and birth of dynamic new projects and partnerships.

Next challenge: figuring out the best means of staying connected while back at a distance from one another. That will mean everyone organizing and attending local VACs (Virtual Assistant Connections), and learning to use FaceBook (event and biz pages), Twitter, Yahoogroups listserv, Ning, Linked In, and/or one another’s blogs.