IMU event 2019 recap: Was it worth the €750?

Ab-so-lutely.

There's the answer to your question.

Now you don't need to read the rest of the blog.

Just kidding, of course.

I was present during the IMU event and so I give you 4 reasons why this event is well worth the €750.

Disclaimer: as an official event blogger, I did not have to pay for the ticket, but with all the reasons below, I absolutely would have.

Reason 1: The speakers and their content was fantastic

To be perfectly honest, I did not know (well) most of the speakers beforehand.

I had heard of some, but did not know the details regarding their personalities and areas of expertise.

But what quality, what knowledge and what personalities have been on that stage.

They were:

• Mitchell van Duuren
• Zarayda Groenhart
• Chris van der Krieke
• Tonny Loorbach
• Martijn van Tongeren
• Thijs Lindhout
• Albert Sonnevelt (My absolute favorite)
• Martin van Kranenburg
• Youri Meuleman
• Bart Boonstra
• Simone Levie
• Mark Tigchelaar

If you would like to know what the speakers talked about and what I thought of them, I would like to refer you to IMU's website.

Because there I posted a report each day about the content of that day.

Reason 2: The speakers and entrepreneurs present inspired me tremendously

Besides the quality, I was also inspired by the presentations.

Fantastic, for example, to see Mitchell van Duuren (Nickname: Hippie Millionaire) come in in jogging pants with hideous flip-flops, yet briefly talk about how he made his business great.

And by big I mean €20 million turnover in 15 years :).

But besides the speakers, I was also greatly inspired by all the entrepreneurs present.

Small and large.

From music school owner to copywriter.

From campground owner to marketer.

It's very cool to see the passion and drive that goes into a venue like that.

You don't come across that in many other places.

Reason 3: The event gave me a lot: leads, connections, opportunities

I hadn't thought about this beforehand, but I go home with several leads in my pocket!

Many of the attendees are in the room to improve or start their online marketing.

And of course I can help them with that just fine.

Well I certainly didn't walk around saying "THIS IS MY SALESPITCH," but since you already have a common thing with everyone (online marketing), making contact and having a good conversation is very easy.

From unexpected quarters, after a few conversations, I was asked if she wanted my business card.

Of course, I did have that one in my right back pocket.

After the event, I am also about 30 LinkedIn connections richer and also discussed some potential collaborations.

In other words, an IMU event is a very good networking opportunity!

Reason 4: The event was well organized

Last week was unique for me, as I was in Zeist every day.

Monday and Tuesday with clients and Wednesday through Friday for the IMU event.

Zeist, of course, is centrally located in the Netherlands, so it is relatively "easily" accessible to everyone.

The Figi Theater is a beautiful venue with ample space and facilities.

There was plenty of parking nearby, good and tasty food and friendly staff (those in attendance will surely have remembered the nice Italian man).

In addition, there were plenty of breaks between speakers and the event did not really run out of time.

Conclusion

For me, the conclusion is very simple: I will attend every IMU event from now on.

Of course next time I hope I get to be there again as an event blogger, but if not then you will still find me there.

Finally, I want to give you and myself another tip:

Next time, sleep at the hotel!

This gives great peace of mind and allows you even more time to network!