I sat down with Wendy Rohrssen, COO and Producer of Scaling New Heights, to see if she could provide some insight from someone who has been there since the beginning.
Hard Stats For the Event:
The schedule for the event is at www.woodardevents.com with a final update taking place around April 30th. The conference officially starts on June 21 at Noon.
- The attendee portal is now available for session selection. 166 sessions are being offered at the conference this year.
- The tracks have been reorganized into paths this year allowing the attendees to discover a new business segment. The paths are QuickBooks & QuickBooks Desktop Core, Desktop - Industry Specific, Client Accounting Services, Mid-Market, Tools and Utilities, Practice Growth and Management and Certification. We are also offering one pre-conference session entitled Gateway Course: Professional Growth and Development (a NAN Institute course) on Saturday, June 20th from 8 am to 5 pm.
When asked to provide her key suggestions for planning your trip to Scaling New Heights 2015, Wendy responded, "Come well rested as we will have in-depth training, exhibition and networking from 7 am to 9 pm daily. We will host our attendee webinar “Maximize Your
Experience at Scaling New Heights 2015” on Tuesday, May 12th to help you plan your detailed educational experience. I suggest attendees arrive on Friday or Saturday to see some of the city (we have arranged with a tour company to offer 4 different tours of New Orleans on Saturday), attend the Gateway Course and acclimate themselves to the conference area."
Wendy Rohrssen, COO Woodard Events
I also asked why she believes the show has grown into the largest event in the ProAdvisor space and she replied, "I think the show has grown because of the in-depth training we offer around QuickBooks Desktop and the wide range of training on practice development and its third party software products."
Who are the key note speakers?
- Jon Taffer, host and executive producer of Spike TV’s Bar Rescue
- Dan Wernikoff, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intuit Small Business Financial Solutions Group
- Jim McGinnis, Vice President, Intuit Accountant and Advisor Group
- Luis Sanchez, Leader, QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program
- Frank Abagnale, Security expert and author of Catch Me if You Can
- Les McKeown, President and CEO, Predictable Success
- Ron Baker, Founder, VeraSage Institute
- Joe Woodard, CEO, Woodard Companies and host of Scaling New Heights
"There are many learning opportunities being offered at Scaling New Heights this year", she said. "Depending upon your interest we offer a wide range of learning opportunities from QuickBooks and Intuit Products, Third Party Solutions that integrate all the way to Practice Management and Development topics.
- The QuickBooks offerings range is wide from basic certification in QuickBooks and QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Desktop Industry Specific.
- Practice Management and Development courses to help attendees take their practices to the next level.
- Third party products that integrate with QuickBooks that will allow the attendee to expand their practice."
When asked about the social side of the event, she offered a full list of opportunities to network and experience some of New Orleans.
"On Saturday we have made arrangements with a tour group to provide attendees the opportunity to see Boats, Mansions, and Cooking, Oh My! Come experience the French Quarter, the Garden District, or the Swamp! New Orleans, where there is always more than meets the eye.
Our first official social starts with the First Time Attendee Orientation on Sunday, June 21st at 10:00 am. This provides first time attendees the ability to meet seasoned attendees and orient themselves to our conference experience.
On Monday evening the National Advisor Network Banquet will be held at the Court of Two Sisters Restaurant on Royal Street from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
An after party at Spirits on Bourbon formally known as Turtle Bay on Bourbon, it was transformed into the successful Spirits on Bourbon thanks to Jon Taffer of Spike TV’s Bar Rescue will be hosted by TSheets and Avalara on Monday from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm
Our final social is hosted by Intuit on Tuesday evening from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. It is always a great time to see different offerings from Intuit.
We will also be providing shuttle bus service from the hotel to the French Quarter for conference attendees on Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm."
Rohrssen further stated, "We are excited to have the Intuitive Accountant’s Top 10 ProAdvisor’s of the Year announcement made from the General Session stage on Monday, June 22nd. It brings me great pleasure to see all of my friends and colleagues walking around with their Top 100 ProAdvisor ribbons. I encourage all of the Top 100 to come to the conference to share in the excitement of the announcement on Monday morning. Being part of this group is an honor and being there to share it with friends and colleagues makes the moment all the more special….the group photo also is a great treat."
When it comes to food, Scaling New Heights has always provided well. What can attendees expect this year? "As with every year, we try to provide a wide variety of dishes for our attendees, always including local specialties. So, yes, you can expect beignets, jambalaya, gumbo and muffulettas. We also try to meet all the attendee’s dietary requirements….except calories don’t count!!"
Let's talke CPE's. How many sessions and CPE’s can a person obtain at SNH 2015?
"10 Breakout sessions, 3 Power Breakfasts and 5 General/Keynote sessions for a total of 33 CPE hours."
When asked what people need to do before arrival, Wendy provided some good advice:
"Attendees need to get plenty of rest before attending the show…..our famous saying is sleep when you get home. Bring comfortable shoes and a light jacket as conference spaces are known to be cold. Finally don’t forget the chargers for your cell phones and tablets. Seriously, pick your sessions before coming to the conference from the attendee portal.
While the training is intense and the days are long, you get to spend it with likeminded people who enjoy being there. We encourage attendees to review their client base and see what sessions would provide great value to their clients and what third party products could also provide a benefit. Create a game plan and set objectives for their own practice and personal development and attend courses in our practice management path to gain more knowledge in those areas.
Lastly, get on the conference app and start networking early."
Want to learn a little more about Scaling New Heights? Visit www.woodardevents.com.
You may also want to check out my interview with Joe Woodard for a short "history lesson" and update by clicking here