#megaphonesummit

Photo credit: Megaphone Summit 2018 attendee @modernmomlife

Do you have your tickets for this year’s Megaphone Summit, hosted by The Scout Guide Northwest Arkansas member/business Soapbox Influence and presented by Kimberly-Clark? There’s no time to lose, as tickets are flying fast and it’s only two months away! Megaphone Summit will take place August 9 - 11 in Bentonville, Arkansas. (Don’t miss the chance to use our special TSG discount code, available at the bottom of this blog.)

“Megaphone Summit is about inspiring creative conversations and harnessing the positive power of social media. Attendees can expect a welcoming environment, an approachable crowd, a uniquely local experience and unparalleled creative inspiration. We send attendees home with full hearts, meaningful connections and an overflowing list of ideas to make their businesses and brands better.” - Bethany Stephens, President, Soapbox Influence (pictured above, at 21C Museum Museum Hotel Bentonville 

Entering its ninth year, the Megaphone Summit gathers influencers in every niche: lifestyle, parenting, food, fashion, travel, decor, health, fitness and beyond to share ideas, develop their skill sets, nurture relationships and learn from women entrepreneurs who are at the tippy-tops of their games. 

We have countless reasons to be excited about this year’s Summit, including the fact that The Scout Guide founders Susie Matheson and Christy Ford are joining the lineup, and the opportunity to meet up with TSG NWA members, followers and friends together in downtown Bentonville. We could go on and on, but we thought we’d let Bethany Stephens, Soapbox Influence President, fill us in on the reasons she’s so looking forward to Megaphone Summit. Below, read Bethany’s reasons to attend Megaphone Summit this year:

“Susie and I started The Scout Guide with a mission to support small businesses. That has stayed true for more than a decade but over the years we have also realized that our passion is supporting women. Through TSG, we have collected all these amazing women in 60 cities across the country, not to mention the women running so many of our TSG businesses, who have grown their businesses into amazing success stories. What drives us is supporting these women and empowering them. I look at The Megaphone Summit as a wonderful opportunity to continue that conversation.” - Christy Ford, Co-Founder, The Scout Guide 

photo credit: Kate Thompson/Betty Clicker

1. A Conversation Among Women Entrepreneurs with The Scout Guide Founders Susie Matheson and Christy Ford

It goes without saying that having Susie (above left) and Christy come to the event is a perfect fit. I recently met them in Charlottesville, Virginia and we spent a long time telling stories about our experiences building our own businesses. While at Soapbox we talk a lot about digital, The Scout Guide has been able to make a permanent and important place for print in today’s marketplace, especially for our treasured local businesses. What I love about TSG is how each city guide is a distinct, inspiring publication with stunning photography and original editorial content. The Scout Guide proves there is a place in today’s digital world for print, and that a beautifully-curated guide to living and loving all things local can thrive and inspire. I cannot wait to introduce these women to our Megaphone Summit crowd and to ignite an intimate and inspirational conversation with them.

Photo credit: Past Megaphone Summit attendee @dixieanddot

2. Being a part of a supportive, empowering community of bosses.

This event is about so much—learning important skills and staying on top of our game in the fast-paced world of social and digital influence, celebrating and enjoying Bentonville, creating brand and business partnerships—but most importantly, it’s about building a community of empowered women and entrepreneurs that builds each other up. Every year I look forward to watching those friendships form, and being a part of this wonderful energy that we all bring to Megaphone Summit. About half of our sessions are led by everyday people sharing their own experiences. Those sessions are a perennial favorite because we all really like hearing from someone just like us who have the same challenges.

3. Foodie Friday featuring the best of Bentonville!

One of our favorite add-ons for the conference is Foodie Friday. This year, we’re going all out to highlight the amazing emerging arts and food culture here in Bentonville, and Foodie Friday will bring the best of the best to Megaphone attendees. We have partnered with Brightwater - A Center for the Study of Food and local chef (a season six finalist on Next Food Network Star) Aria Kagan to lead a tour of the 8th Street Market and talk all things local food! We will also have a local wine expert partnering with a cheesemonger and there may even be an opportunity to open a champagne bottle with a saber! We’ll have a session on entertaining and how to assemble a charcuterie board and just immerse ourselves in the local foodie world and be surrounded by experts we will learn from.

4. 21C Museum Hotel Bentonville is an experience in itself!

21C Museum Museum Hotel Bentonville is our host hotel for the Summit and a true partner to us. Just staying at this hotel or perusing the onsite museum is an experience itself, but to be there together will be incredible. Serendipitously, the current exhibition that will be on display during the Summit is called “The Future is Female.” Pretty perfect, if you ask me!

Photo credit: Past Megaphone Summit attendee @deltamoxie

5. It really is an unconventional convention.

This is not a convention center experience by any stretch of the imagination. We really embody the mission of TSG, Live. Love. Local., with how we organized the Summit. Megaphone will be headquartered in downtown Bentonville, but we intentionally arranged to have each of our events hosted at an array of really interesting and unique locations across the city. It’s a conscientious effort to push people into the community. Our kickoff party will be at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, we will have lunches and dine-around dinners with local restaurateurs, and we will have our breakout sessions at The Record, some classes at both Brightwater and  21C Museum Hotel Bentonville.

“I have been attending Megaphone Summit since 2013, making this my 7th year, and at that very first conference, I connected with a community of bloggers and influencers in Arkansas (and the states beyond) that really launched my business and paved the way for my success. I will always continue to show up because it gave me my start. What I love so much about Megaphone is that it has stayed so unpretentious over the years. I’ve been to a lot of conferences where there is no connection and you are just a name. But this is about actually forming a community of women. You’ll walk away with connections, nuggets of wisdom and your soul is lit back on fire. Plus, it’s at the perfect time to get yourself recharged before the busy season in the blogging and influencer world!” - Taylor Bradford, The Scout Guide Fort Worth member, Sugar Creek Event Rentals and the Boss Girl Creative podcast.

Photo credit: Past Megaphone Summit attendee @modernmomlife; “Enjoy Local” mural by artist Jason Jones.

6. Rockstar speakers.

When it comes to our speakers, I am not shy about saying I reached out to people I wanted to hear from—people who are really inspiring. We have Jordan Jones, the Millennial CEO of Packed Party, Quinn Tempest, a local-vore in Phoenix who happens to be a digital marketing genius, and the founders of the wildly popular The Everygirl and The Everymom, Alaina Kaczmarski + Danielle Moss . . . and of course, Susie and Christy from TSG! The approach speaks to our mission. We are building brands through authentic conversations and this conference has a reputation as being approachable and friendly and not stuck up. We make sure the entire time is welcoming and never cliquey. The speakers are mingling and part of the crowd or sitting on a couch. If we have you over breakfast, we may stick mimosas in your hands. After all, this is a conversation among friends.

TSG Northwest Arkansas will be there with bells on, and hope you’ll join us! Megaphone Summit is limited to just around 200 attendees, so don’t hesitate to register. This event customarily sells out, and 21C will book up, so make sure to register soon. Use the discount code TSG for $30 off your ticket price. Tell them Scout sent you!