I attended my first web conference in 2004, and I spoke at my first one in 2005. I’ve been going pretty regularly ever since.

That’s 21 years of conferences, some years as frequently as one every month.

For 90% of those, I’ve been a speaker, workshop teacher, or otherwise somehow involved. Because of that, I’ve never really had to worry about why I was attending or what I wanted to get out of my time there. The answer was predetermined: to speak and to get paid.

I’ve largely stopped speaking at conferences in the last few years, for a number of various reasons. So I’ve been there mostly as an attendee. For a lot of them, as I sit in an audience chair with my mind wandering, I wonder why I’m there. What did I want to get out of that experience?

So I started the practice of defining my intention for attending in advance, often writing 1 or 2 big goals for my time there. It’s been a really helpful practice for me to make decisions easier to make—should I go to the after-party or try to go to bed early?—one I recommend to any conference goer.

Config 2025

Next week is Config San Francisco, Figma’s annual conference, and I’m pretty excited to go again.

I spoke in 2023 and hosted the design system stage in 2024, along with hosting a basketball game and an exclusive 3-Michelin star dinner, both of which attendees called the best conference event they’ve ever been to.

One of the big downsides for me is that I felt like I was working the whole time last year, mostly hanging out backstage to prep notes, talk to presenters, and make sure I hit my cues. I felt like I didn’t get a chance to see or hang out with anyone as much as the A/V team. (Who were great, by the way.)

This year, I don’t have any part of the event, and I’m excited to be able to hang out with people. In fact, my plan is ditch all of the talks (except maybe the opening keynote) and squat a spot in the common area for the whole time to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

One of the big perks of being a speaker or a host for a conference is that (most times) your airfare and hotel fees are covered. But this year because I’m not involved in the event, it’s all on my dime. And it’s quite a few dimes. A round-trip flight from Philly was just shy of $1,000, and 4 nights in a nearby hotel is just shy of $2,500. (I’m also hosting another basketball game this year and an exclusive dinner for freelancers & agency/studio owners, but most of that cost is offset by sponsors.) Not to mention all the small one-charges that add up: rideshare trips, meals and coffees with friends, etc.

Perhaps it’s all the years of doing value-based pricing, but, in most scenarios, my mind goes very quickly to whether or not it’s worth it for me. A lot of that comes down to the break-even price.

The main thing I’m doing this year is my group coaching of freelancers and agency/studio owners how to make more money. Last year, I heard there were 12,000 people at Config. I imagine that some significant subset of them are people who could use and would love to be in my program. The regular price of the 3-month program is $4,999, but I’m still offering a pre-order price of $3,999 as major parts of it are still in-progress. If I sell 1 seat at Config, it will have paid for my trip.

But you probably don’t care if I recoup the cost of my trip. (I wouldn’t if I were you.)

So let me tell you what’s in it for you.

Make More Money at Config 2025

If you’ve been thinking about joining my program, I’ll make it worth it for you to sign up with me in person at Config.

My trip costs $3,500. I’ll give you that special price to sign up with me in person: $3,500. (That’s even $499 off the pre-order price.)

Come find me at Config; I’ll be at on the floor in the common area for most of the time. Or DM me on LinkedIn, X, or Instagram that you’re looking for me. Talk to me about the program, tell me you wanna sign up, I’ll send you the Stripe link, and you book right there. Easy peasy.

If I sell 1 seat, I break even. So my intention for Config this year is to sell 3 seats to people who need some help leveling up in their business. That way you make more money, and I get a 200% return on investment on my trip.

I hope you see that as a win-win.

Other Config 2025 promos

Maybe you need some help or tips with your design business, but you can’t afford my program. That’s ok! This is the beauty of conferences where we can meet in person.

I’d be happy to give you 15 minutes of free business consulting. And if 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, ask my students how much I can help in 15 minutes. Feel free to come up to me and say, “Can you give me 15 minutes of consulting on my business?” And I’ll say, “I’d be happy to!”

I also have a bunch of other stuff for you.

I’ll be bringing 10 copies of my Pricing Design paperback with me, 5 to give out each day. Find me in person to ask for one and it’s yours. First-come, first-served.

I’ll also be bringing stickers. Lots of stickers.

All of this to say: I‘m not great at introducing myself to people but I love meeting them, so I’m trying to give us any excuse to meet and talk.

See you there

Even if none of that interests you and you just wanna say hello, please do so! Reply to this email and let me know you’ll be there so I can look out for you.

Next week is gonna be fun!

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