For most Solo PR Pros, we’re always experimenting with our businesses. That’s part of the fun! We’ve talked before about the importance of taking time off, but when you’re out there pushing the envelope, it’s also OK to occasionally hit the pause button, adjust, and have some Hammer Time.

This is the situation the Solo PR team finds itself in when it comes to in-person events. For the past two years, I experienced two separate major family emergencies in Q3 that required enormous amounts of work on my part, both of which lingered into Q1 of the following year. Coincidentally, these were also the two years we’ve held the Solo PR Summit in February. At the same time, this year my trusty Solo PR sidekick Karen Swim was also experiencing her own tragedy.

When you’ve stared into the abyss of an all-consuming family emergency, you learn what you’re made of, and you come out the other side with newfound wisdom. At Solo PR, we’ll never ask you to lay down your hard-earned money unless we can provide the best possible experience, with content you can’t find elsewhere (as was the case in 2013, 100% of 2014 Solo PR Summit attendees said they would recommend the event to a friend, and we continue to deliver high value indie-specific content to the paying members of Solo PR PRO Premium).

Though Karen and I soldiered through our challenges in February to put on a highly successful Solo PR Summit, we don’t feel confident we have the energy reserves to do the same in February of 2015.

What’s Next
As we hit the pause button, we’re considering all of our different options. A lot of effort goes into the Solo PR Summit, and the attendees who benefit are a small percentage of the thousands of professionals who make up the Solo PR community as a whole. Could that effort benefit more people if it went toward other activities? Are there ways we can be more efficient with our in-person events by partnering or co-locating with another event, and just move the date? Would a virtual/online conference be better? Should we still host the full conference in Atlanta, but do it every two years? Should we host a series of evening programs around the country, so people don’t have to travel as far and more folks could benefit? See below for a quick survey, so you can let us know your feedback on these questions.

We don’t have all the answers yet, but we wanted to let our community know as soon as possible in case it impacts your plans for Q1 2015. Though I know some in our community will be disappointed, one thing we know for sure: if Karen and I die there definitely won’t be any more Solo PR events! J

Will Solo PR have in-person events in the future? Yes! And in the meantime, we have some exciting new offerings in the works, including free webinars for the entire community, and other new ebooks, templates and special offers for Solo PR PRO Premium members.

Please answer the following quick survey and/or comment to let us know your thoughts about what you’d like to see in the way of in-person events from Solo PR Pro – we’d love to hear from you. After all, you’re why we’re here!