Laurie... I attend events.

I find terrific value in them. I even attend events (like real estate or gaming) that are major conferences but have no direct relation to my own businesses.

Many events are pitch fests but that's almost preferred by me (if I'm the attendee, not the host). As an attendee, the worse the presentations, the more people are in the lounge. And 90% of the reason I attend an event is for the networking. That being said, as a host... I want people in seats so I aim to create the opposite.

Events build friendships, rapport, get your name out there... while also giving you privy to insider information from others you meet in lounges who had a few too many cocktails. And the networking can often produce IMMEDIATE sales that greatly outweigh the money and time costs of attending.

One of the reasons I don't attend as many as I should is I'm not a big fan of traveling the world. If I do go to a place, I'll fly there and aim to say a month or three... but the 3, 5, 7 day trips for conferences aren't appealing to me.