THE MICHIGAN HYPNOSIS CONFERENCE

A hypnosis conference in Michigan that will never work!

Written by: Dan Goyette

Why? Why would anyone start a conference in Michigan? This was the question. I mean, what is the point? Well, I can say that I had no real plans or intentions to ever start or form a hypnosis conference, this was just something that was not on my radar. I have been a practicing Medical Clinical Hypnotherapist for over 11 years. having started Houghton Lake Hypnosis in a small office in my house to my first studio office where I would change the name to Houghton Lake Hypnosis Therapy Studios and finally moved to a large office in 2019. While I was busy working as a Hypnotherapist I was also traveling to many conferences as a presenter from Hypnothoughts in Las Vegas to St. Louis and Canada and even England as well as participating in one virtual conference for the Australia hypnosis conference. I would continue doing this throughout the years, starting in 2015 I would come to call this making the loop.

But as the years went by, I, as you guessed it, I did not become a famous speaker. I was sort of on the outside just one among many, which was fine 26 with me. I saw myself as what I was, a practicing hypnotherapist. not a professional speaker or event coordinator.

But in 2021 that all changed. I know what you are saying to yourself right now, “How Dan, how did it change !? Tell us.” Well ok, I will. In 2021, my Executive Manager, Heather Carpenter, asked the all-important and life-changing question: Why is there not a conference here in Michigan? I did not have an answer for her. I simply said “I don’t know”, Heather then said something that put it all in motion which was “we should start one”. I told her that this was something that was a lot of work and that it was a huge undertaking and that I did not think that this was something I wanted to even go near. She just looked at me and said “you didn’t hear me. Why don’t we start one!” I said, “that’s a great idea Heather, I will get on it right now.”

Great now I have to start a conference. I can do this. How hard can it be? Well yeah pretty hard. So let us start with the beginning which is where would we hold it. We need a conference center, which let me tell you, was not an easy find in Michigan. I looked online for weeks. Emails were sent, phone calls were made, my fingers typed to the bone and all to almost no avail. There was no real interest in a hypnosis conference, especially when it was the first one. As this was going on, I was also building a website, a Facebook page, an Instagram page, and a YouTube page, all so that a perspective venue would see that we were a real organization.

There were more than a few challenges to overcome. As anyone who has ever created or managed an event, it’s not just getting a venue and selling tickets. there is so much more than this to consider. What are those things you might ask? Well ok, I shall do my best to shed light on them. First, how much do we charge to attend the conference? What should we include in the conference price? How do we want to set up our conference? And so many little questions and big questions. How do we help people get from the airport to the hotel and conference center? Will there be raffle prizes? How many do we want? Food and water stations for the conference rooms. Swag bags! Vendor spots were just some of the things we had to deal with. It was a long road for sure.

At the time it felt like trying to raise the titanic with tweezers. And at other times it seemed to flow as smoothly as water over a Petoskey stone.

On The Day

It happened! After months of preparation, looking over the website, all the social media, all the equipment, the menus, and so much more. The Michigan Hypnosis Conference finally happened. People actually showed up. They came! So you might be asking, why so excited Dan? Well here is why.

When you start working on an event you never really know what’s going to happen. Are people going to be interested? Is anyone going to come, and will there be an event at all? You have to believe that they will create it from the ground up and then recreate it. That is the best way I can put it, it is a tremendous amount of work. It takes a team working together to make it happen. It is all about a good group of people coming together to bring about success. And it was a success in many ways. First and foremost was that we had it, second that everyone who came had a good time. The presentations went well, the awards banquet went well, all and all it was a success.

Why We Gather

I have said that there are many seasons, and one season is well, conference season, which starts in April and goes through October. So the question is why go to a conference or to more than one conference? The answer is a bit more simple than you might think. We are social creatures, we like to be around others, especially those who share our thoughts and interests. We come together to be able to share our stories, to help each other grow and learn, as well as to help promote our business, our practices, and even our own brands. This is why we travel. You might be thinking, we can do all that online and you would be right to a certain degree but there is nothing quite like being there in person shaking a hand and seeing a friend be involved in the energy of the event. The sights, the sounds, the very texture of things make the experience so much richer than any zoom or online event could hope to do. So in closing, let me just say “I will see you out there”.