Hi Everyone!
You have undoubtedly read or heard the news by now that I'm attending this year's "QuickBooks Connect" in Las Vegas. In fact, by the time many of you read this, I will be in between Oklahoma City and Las Vegas via SW Airlines.
I will be staying at the Aria, so you can look for me at some of the hospitality offerings the hotel offers.
On Wednesday 12/7...
You will find me at the "Welcoming Event" sometime after 11 a.m. This is a perfect opportunity to reconnect with some of you over lunch in the QuickBooks Bistro.
Much of the afternoon you will find me in the Exhibit Hall checking out various vendor apps. Unless, of course, if I'm actively engaged in a conversation with a vendor. But don't hesitate to stop and say hi.
At 4 p.m., I will be down front at the Main Session in the press section to hear the opening welcome by Ted Callahan and Ashleigh Sutter, which will kick off this year's live QBC after two past years of virtual events.
The Opening Reception begins (around 4:30 p.m.) in the Exhibit Hall, giving us another opportunity to meet up and chat about the time we've been apart over the last few years while I was unable to attend live events.
Thursday 12/8...
I'm an early riser, so you will find me at the morning breakfast either at, or shortly after, it opens at 7:30 p.m. If you don't see me grabbing my coffee and juice in the Bistro, look for me at some of the exhibits.
At 9 a.m., I will be attending the "Selling Vertical Solutions with QuickBooks" session, which is scheduled for Breakout Room 3. Perhaps I will see some of you exploring ways to expand your QuickBooks Online client base into new market niches, or bring your QuickBooks Desktop specialized clients over to QuickBooks Online applications.
After the mid-morning snack, you again will find me down front at the 10:30 a.m. "QuickBooks Innovation Spotlight," where Alex Chriss will keynote some of the latest product innovations along with members of his senior leadership team.
The "Innovation Spotlight" is followed by the fireside chats with Serena William and Simon Sinek.
After lunch on Thursday, I am booked with some Intuit executives for one-on-one interviews. You will see the results and reveals from those meetings in future articles.
I should make it back from my interviews in time for Malcolm Gladwell's 6 p.m. "Keynote" presentation.
I'm confident I will see many of you at various receptions and the official "QuickBooks Connect Party," taking place Thursday evening/night. By the way, the "Connectfest Party" is being held at JEWEL Nightclub starting at 8 p.m. Be sure to wear your own jewels to sparkle in the club's neon.
Friday 12/9...
Despite the hangovers many may experience, I hope to see you at the late breakfast Friday morning, which starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Bistro.
At noon, I will be attending a QuickBooks Commerce session titled, "Supporting Your Clients Transitioning from Brick-and-Mortar to ecommerce." This should be an informative class about a product, which has started to be incorporated into QuickBooks, and also is being expanded in functional offerings in the near future.
At 1 p.m., I'm looking forward to the session being instructed by my very good friend, Esther Friedberg Karp, on "QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise: The new DNA of your accounting workflow."
If you didn't know, Esther is the only QuickBooks ProAdvisor (I know) who is certified in three countries. She is what, in my day, we called a "whizz kid."
The last official opportunity to meet-up occurs with the final lunch at 2 p.m. in the Bistro. Those of you still hanging around can sweeten my tea (spoonfull of sugar, and all of that) by stopping by to say, "Adieu, so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye"1 before you head back home.
Just a note, all times shown within this article are Las Vegas local time.
1 - Taken from the "So Long, Farewell" lyrics of the song, "So Long, Farewell" from the "Sound of Music" by Rodgers and Hammerstein (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II), an American Musical first produced on Broadway in 1959, and adapted in 1965 as Disney film. "The Musical and Film" were based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp ("The Story of the Trapp Family Singers").