This post by Richard Hebert, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week Coordinator, originally appeared on ideavillage.org.
This week on #IDEAinsider, we’re getting ready forNOEW! As the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week Coordinator, Richard W. Hebert spends most of the year preparing for what he calls an ‘epic’ week of innovation, entrepreneurship, and forward-thinking. For your convenience, he has established a list of key tips to help ensure a flawless experience for you during – and after –NOEW.
Before NOEW
Map It Out
Make your NOEW gameplan in advance using the “My Calendar” feature on NOEW.org. With a calendar packing 100+ events, it would be easy to become overwhelmed, so plan out your time and make the most of NOEW 2015.
Know the Show Before You Go
While planning out your time at NOEW, do your due diligence and research speakers, presenters, and organizations that may be of interest and relevance to you. Not only could you find some otherwise unrealized gems to speak with or hear from, but you may have some great common threads to break the ice with!
Juice It Up!
If there has even been a time to have a fully charged cell phone, it’s NOEW. You’ll be emailing, tweeting, snapping pics, sharing ideas, taking notes, and conducting business like a total boss, so don’t find yourself with your phone battery at 15% and mounting anxiety. But if you forget, have no fear! Inside of the NOEW HQ, MobileQubes will be set up to rent out portable phone chargers, alleviating your stress and ensuring no missed Tweets or emails.
Carry Bountiful Biz Cards
Over 10,000 people are expected to attend NOEW 2015, so you never know who you’ll run into. Come locked and loaded with plenty of business cards to make sure you’re not remembered as “Oh, ya know, that person with that new company that does that cool thing”, and no way to get in touch.
Prep that Pitch
Entrepreneurs should know, but let me remind you once again: always, always, always be prepared to pitch. Even though you might not be pitching your business or idea to a room full of VCs or angel investors, having a polished pitch in your back pocket is key to networking.
During NOEW
Dress to Impress but Don’t Get Crazy
This year, NOEW has events occurring in multiple venues on Fulton Street in downtown New Orleans, so be prepared to move! NOEW may not be the time to break in your new kicks or rock your favorite pair of stilettos, but you should definitely bust out your best entrepreneurial chic attire to impress.
Diversify Your Time
So, you have a fantastic concept for a new business and you’re looking for expertise on web development? Awesome! NOEW has that! But don’t forget as you’re mapping your schedule that it may be beneficial to drop in on sessions covering one of the many areas from technology, to branding, to pitch prep. Soak it all up!
Save Some Money | Save Some Time
Run a lean NOEW 2015 experience! This year, all of the bars and restaurants on Fulton Street will be running deals exclusively for NOEW attendees. So, grab a bite, and save a dime!
Join the Conversation
Further your engagement at NOEW by connecting with NOEW and NOEW attendees on Twitter and Instagram (@helloNOEW) and on Facebook (New Orleans Entrepreneur Week). Share your thoughts using #NOEW2015!
Enjoy The Happiest of Hours
You brought all of those business cards, so now let’s use them! We have open happy hours and social events brought to you by our sponsors almost every single day of the festival, so meet, mingle, and connect at NOEW.
Drink Up, H20
Sure this isn’t Jazz Fest, but you’ll be moving about and consuming copious amounts of free French Market Coffee in the FMC Cafe located in The Hub at The Chicory. Hydrate with water to stay focused and on top of your entrepreneurial game.
After NOEW
Link In and Follow Up
Take time, either each evening or post-NOEW, to send out LinkedIn invites and follow up with people you’ve connected with during the week. You’ll come out a winner.
Continue the Conversation
Just because NOEW 2015 is over doesn’t mean that the conversation stops. Keep following @helloNOEW and engage throughout the year with a national network of entrepreneurs, professionals, and entrepreneurial enthusiasts!
Join us for NOEW 2016
New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, presented by IBERIABANK, will be March 11-18th, 2016 on Fulton Street!
Follow along with Richard during NOEW on Twitter and Instagram at @pardonmycajun and followNOEW at @helloNOEW