My first Dreamforce Experience
I went to Dreamforce in 2017 and had NO clue what I was doing.
I was a beginner in Salesforce.
At the time, I had 4 months of Salesforce experience.
The company had an extra conference voucher for me to go.
So when my manager asked if I wanted to go…
Of course, I said yes!
The company paid for me to stay in an $800 per night hotel room in the middle of San Francisco.
I felt like a boss.
The only problem was…
I had no idea what I was doing.
I didn’t even know what Dreamforce was about.
I sure as heck didn’t know anybody at the conference.
And nobody knew who I was.
I was going to sessions because people told me to go.
I was copying what other people said was important.
I didn’t talk to people cause I was afraid of rejection.
I went to sessions but didn’t know what anyone was talking about.
I forgot almost everything I learned.
It felt like I was drinking from a firehose.
It’s safe to say…
I got lost in the Dreamforce sauce.
The whole conference was overwhelming for a newbie like me.
But…
Being a Salesforce newbie also gave me a lot of freedom.
I walked to every Dreamforce convention center I could.
I went to as many booths as possible.
I went to the Alicia Keys & Lenny Kravitz concert at the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium.
I went to panel discussions, workshops, and keynote presentations.
My company even took us on a boat ride to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The trip was an experience, unlike anything I’d seen before.
But I was still missing something.
My manager asked me to create a “Lessons Learned” slide show after Dreamforce.
I gave your typical presentation.
My presentation was “How Einstein is changing Technology” or something like that.
But that PowerPoint presentation didn’t show what I REALLY learned at Dreamforce 2017.
I was in a weird situation.
Here I was.
I had just visited the biggest tech conference in the world.
But I didn’t feel like I learned a lot.
Maybe it was because I was so new to the Salesforce world.
Or maybe…
Just maybe…
I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.
Fast forward to this year’s Dreamforce - (Dreamforce 2023).
I’ve been in the Salesforce world for 6 years. (2017 - 2023)
I’ve been a Salesforce Admin.
I’ve been a Marketing Cloud Admin, Email Specialist, and Consultant.
I have 7 Salesforce certifications
I’m a certified Salesforce Instructor for Trailhead Academy.
I’ve created a YouTube Channel and Website.
I’ve spoken in a Salesforce Keynote.
I’ve connected with over 5k people on LinkedIn
Salesforce did a film about my Salesforce story.
And I won a Golden Hoodie at Salesforce Connections.
It’s safe to say that a lot has happened since my first Dreamforce in 2017.
With that said…
Here are 3 Things I hope you take from this letter today.
Number 1 - I hope you destroy the “Reasons,” you think you shouldn’t go to Dreamforce:
Things like:
Dreamforce is too big.
San Francisco is too dirty.
The homeless population in San Francisco is too much.
It’s too expensive to go to San Francisco.
There are no hotels in San Francisco - They’re all sold out.
It’s just a big networking event.
It’s not for technical people - it’s a big sales event.
I don’t know anyone there.
It’ll take time away from work.
Whatever reason you have for not going - drop them.
You could make a lot of reasons not to go to Dreamforce.
But let me tell ya...
Just go!
It's totally worth it!
Number 2 - I hope you learn WHY you should go to Dreamforce
Here are a few reasons you SHOULD go to Dreamforce:
To gain more skills - so you can get paid more.
To come back with more connections - so you can open up opportunities.
To learn from Salesforce experts (in person) so you can learn what to focus on.
To open up your career opportunities so you can get paid more.
To gain new life experiences so you can experience life from a new angle.
And to propel your career forward so you can live the life YOU want to live.
Number 3 - I hope you take the 6 lessons below and use them in your own life.
So here we go.
6 Lessons I Learned at Dreamforce 2023
Lesson 1 - Your Community is your strength
The people you know will introduce you to topics and conversations that you wouldn’t get if you didn’t go.
The people in your network will introduce you to people in THEIR network.
This is crucial - because now you’re increasing your chances for new opportunities.
People who are moving forward in life will give you ideas.
When people talk about problems, listen.
Then create content from that.
A lady said;
“I know what a developer does, but I don’t know what an architect does”.
So I thought about writing this article: → “What does a salesforce architect do?”
And this article →, “What does a marketing cloud architect do?”
There are countless content, business, and career ideas you can take and run with.
People are telling you what they want; you just have to listen.
This lesson applies to CEO’s, VP’s, and Employees.
Lesson 2 - Everyone goes to Dreamforce for a different reason
Content Creators:
To build partnerships.
To speak.
To interact with the community.
To learn from the community.
To get feedback from the community.
CEOs and VP’s:
To build partnerships
To hire people
To promote their Business
To get new leads
Consulting Agencies:
To hire people
To promote their Business
To get new leads
End Users:
To learn from experts
To meet their friends
To see what’s coming next in the Salesforce world.
Recommendation (Before Going To Dreamforce)
Know what group you fit in and WHY you’re going to Dreamforce.
Everything you want is there.
You just have to know what you’re looking for.
Lesson 3 - San Francisco is a BEAUTIFUL City
San Francisco get’s a bad reputation.
All I ever heard about was crime, taxes, cost of living, and politicians in San Francisco.
So I went to the city with a certain thought process.
Pre-conceived notions, if you will.
I showed up to the city, and it was a chilly 65 degrees. (Which I loved).
They even had a Trader Joe’s downtown!
I became an instant fan because of that, lol.
As I was walking, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the city.
As the day went on, it warmed up in San Francisco, and it felt amazing.
All day long, the only “Out of the Ordinary” thing I saw was a guy yelling at the wall.
Other than that, the city seemed fine.
Around 6 p.m., I went to Sausalito with my girlfriend.
On the way to Sausalito, we saw a cool area of San Francisco called the “Marina”.
The Marina looked like Newport Beach with the sandy weather vibes.
By this point, I was thinking to myself:
"San Francisco is actually pretty nice."
Fast forward about an hour, and we were eating pizza at a place called Bar Bocce by the sand in Sausalito.
One of the coolest things about Sausalito was that it had this warm, cozy vibe to it.
The type of vibe you get around Thanksgiving or Christmas time.
If you’ve been to a ski town in the middle of the winter, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
It’s the Pacific Northwest (PNW) vibe you get in Oregon and Washington.
The huge pine trees make you feel like you’re in a majestic green forest.
After dinner, my girlfriend dropped me off at my Airbnb.
The view was breathtaking.
I felt like I was in Medellin, Colombia, looking at homes in the green mountainside.
If you want a glimpse of the view - watch this TikTok video.
I slept in the coziest bed ever, and I woke up to rainforest vibes.
I ordered an Uber, and the driver told me about all the cool spots in San Francisco.
He said to go to a Korean BBQ place in Japan Town called Daeho
He also said that Japan Town is a safe place to be.
So after my 2nd day of Dreamforce, my girlfriend and I went to Japan Town and got Korean BBQ.
We went to the place next door to Daeho called YakiniQ Korean BBQ
It was such a cool experience to do that with her.
These are memories that we’ll remember forever.
I don’t know about you - But Korean BBQ is always a memorable experience.
After Korean BBQ - I went back home and went to sleep.
And on the 3rd day of Dreamforce - I got an Uber to Dreamforce in the morning.
My Uber driver had this cool Italian accent and European swag.
The dude was a cool guy.
We started talking about his experience living in San Francisco.
He said he liked San Francisco as much (or more than) Italy.
That’s why he decided to move to San Francisco over 22 years ago.
He told me about the good and bad parts of San Francisco.
He was my tour guide during my Uber ride.
Here are 2 lessons I learned while I listened to him talk in the Uber:
Lesson #1 from my Uber driver: All cities are the same
You have to visit a city to see what it's like.
Every city has good parts and bad parts.
There are suburbs outside of each big city.
Each of those suburbs is their own little world.
You can escape San Francisco and go to a new world just by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
So don't write a city off until you've at least visited it yourself.
You never know what you'll like until you try it for yourself.
Lesson #2 from my Uber driver: Dont listen to the news
Don’t watch the news.
Don’t read the news.
And don’t listen to people who talk about the news.
The only job of the news is to scare you into doing something they want you to do.
99% of the time, the news isn’t informing you of anything relevant to your life.
The news will scare you into not wanting to visit a city.
Before going to Medellin, Colombia, in 2013 to represent Team USA, lots of people said how scary it was.
When I went, I saw normal people just like you and me.
I saw a dad driving his son to school.
Just like my dad did with me.
Everywhere is the same.
Don't listen to all the scare tactics.
Be smart and blend in with the locals when you visit a city, and you'll be good.
Lesson 4 - We all need each other
Nobody is doing all the work on their own.
Batch the work you can do.
Delegate important work that you can give to someone else while saving money.
Managers and Execs have teams.
They are delegating.
Everyone has a job that can (and should be) systemized.
The more you batch your work - The more free time you'll have - (And the more productive you'll be).
Lesson 5 - Great ideas come to fruition at Dreamforce
When you talk to people - new ideas spark like wildfire.
You can sit with someone you’ve never met before, and start talking about ideas you’ve never thought about.
That’s what happens when you get around other driven people.
People may not be on the same path as you at Dreamforce, but they’re hungry for more.
The conversations spark new ideas even when you’re just chatting.
It’s important to get around like-minded people and pick their brains.
You never know what ideas might come up when you’re having conversations with like-minded people.
For a long time, I’ve thought of MinuteAdmin a certain way.
I have Marketing Cloud information that I share with the world.
But the way I share that information (And the order I share it in), could look different.
For example - I thought to myself...
Who am I speaking to in my YouTube videos and on LinkedIn?
People beginning their journey in Marketing Cloud?
People who are already established in Marketing Cloud and want to learn from experts?
CEOs that want to connect with other Marketing Cloud AppExchange companies?
The answer might surprise you.
I realized that I could talk to all three of those types of people.
But the sequence that I talk to them in makes all the difference.
I don’t think I would have come up with that realization if I didn’t go to Dreamforce.
There’s a Dreamforce electricity that pulls good ideas out of your brain.
Lesson 6 - You can do anything in the Salesforce ecosystem
Continuing with lesson number 5.
Once a great idea comes to your mind, you realize you’ve been looking at life from one perspective.
Once a new idea pops up - so do the opportunities.
Once you recognize a new opportunity, you think to yourself.
Is this new opportunity something I should pursue?
If it is, how should I pursue it?
Then you start to get creative and come up with new ideas on:
How to integrate those new ideas into what you’re already doing.
Once you go through the thought process, it can be a lot to handle.
Which is why I encourage you to write as much as you can.
Journaling every day helps clear your mind from all the good and bad clutter.
You might be wondering…
What were the new opportunities that showed up at Dreamforce?
Here are just a few ideas I had after having conversations with people at Dreamforce.
I can work with recruiters to help people land Marketing Cloud jobs.
I can work with AppExchange companies to help get their amazing products out to the world.
People need to see the cool tools out there.
It's hard if someone isn’t sharing those tools with the general public.
People want to increase their influence and brand.
But there’s nothing out there about that.
I found myself thinking:
What if I made a course about:
"How to get your first 5 thousand followers on LinkedIn"
or
“Your first 4 thousand subscribers on YouTube”
They're both interesting concepts that I've already accomplished.
I don't know if those new ideas would have shown up if I didn't have the conversations that I had at Dreamforce.
Companies already come to me to increase their Brand awareness.
And people come to me to increase their personal Brand awareness.
I help people increase their exposure so they can increase their opportunities.
So why not turn what I already do into a product or service that people can buy?
It was there all along, but I didn't think about it until Dreamforce.
What ideas could show up for you when you go to Dreamforce?
Dreamforce 2023 Highlights:
Before finishing this letter to you, I wanted to share my Dreamforce 2023 highlights!
Some of these things wouldn't have happened if I didn't go to Dreamforce!
Highlight # 1:
I met SalesforceBen
This was super random.
My Italian Uber driver dropped me off in a weird location.
As I was walking to Dreamforce, I saw a delicious breakfast spot and walked inside.
The breakfast was presented by OwnBackup.
The food was AMAZING, by the way.
I was getting some fruit when a lady was smiling and started asking about the Golden Hoodie.
We started talking, and all of a sudden... Ben from SalesforceBen walks up.
I was a little starstruck, lol
We started talking, and I got a picture in.
It was so random but so cool!
Highlight # 2:
I met Gillian Bruce - Principal Admin Evangelist at Salesforce
Gillian Bruce & Kaelan Moss
It was the last day of Dreamforce, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gillian Bruce.
A couple of things about Gillian:
Gillian is the co-host of the Salesforce Admin Podcast.
I used to listen to her podcast in the car every day when I started my Salesforce career in 2017.
She's the person that motivated me to start doing YouTube.
I saw her doing an interview at Salesforce Connections in 2018 and wanted to be like her.
I wrote about that in this letter.
PS - You might be wondering what a Salesforce Evangelist is.
Don't worry - I got you!
Here are 3 resources to give you more context about a Salesforce Evangelist.
Highlight # 3:
I did a Roving interview with Salesforce+
There's a Salesforce TV Show called Salesforce+
During the commercial breaks, Salesforce shows interviews with Trailblazers.
The interviews are 2-3 minutes long and are broadcast on the Salesforce+ livestream.
They're fun and quick interviews in between Salesforce's larger segments.
I was one of the Trailblazers that they interviewed.
Salesforce reached out before Dreamforce and asked if I wanted to speak in the interview, and of course, I said YES!
You can watch this TikTok video to see what the Salesforce interview is all about.
And this TikTok video to see behind the scenes of the Salesforce interview!
Highlight # 4:
I did a Panel discussion with 3 other Golden Hoodie Winners
This interview was about:
"Finding Career Success and Community with Salesforce"
I got the pleasure of speaking with 3 other Golden Hoodie winners.
And Sasha Taylor - Our Panelist Moderator.
It was cool to see everyone in person and listen to their thoughts on:
How to propel yourself in the Salesforce world.
One of the questions that Sasha asked me was:
What cert are you studying for next?
And my answer was EASILY Data Cloud.
Data Cloud is about to be intertwined into everything we do in Salesforce.
Get on the cutting edge of the software.
If you do, you'll be in high demand when companies everywhere start using it.
See how Data Cloud is going to take over the Salesforce world.
Highlight # 5
I met a lot of new faces
One of my favorite highlights was asking someone if it was okay to sit down next to them.
As I was sitting down, this lady named Faith said, "Kaelan?!"
I said, "Yeah!"
She said, "Oh my gosh, this is crazy!"
She said that she's been learning Marketing Cloud from my YouTube channel.
She said that she was not expecting me to sit down right next to her and that she was shocked.
It was a humbling moment because she was so kind and grateful.
It's amazing to see that people's lives are actually changing because of the knowledge that I'm giving.
So a big shoutout to Faith for blocking time out to read the newsletter each week and supporting the MinuteAdmin movement.
I also met Matthew Watson.
Matt is the Global Head of Training and enablement at Revolent.
This guy is a boss when it comes to enabling L&D departments.
Matt leads the design and delivery of Revolent's training department.
He's been impressive at work, and I've learned a lot from his ideas in the short time he's been at Revolent.
Conclusion
Why did I write this?
Well...
Let me explain.
At Dreamforce, I met people who inspired me to create MinuteAdmin.
I also met people who inspire me every day to be great.
My main purpose for writing this is:
I want to inspire YOU to go to Dreamforce.
I want to see YOU become the next speaker on a Salesforce stage.
I want to help YOU become the best version you can be.
It's all about giving back in life.
To whom much is given, much is expected.
These letters are my gift to you.
I hope every single one of these letters inspires you to create the life you want.
Dreamforce is a place where you go to dream big.
Everyone has a different reason for attending Dreamforce.
My biggest piece of advice:
Go to Dreamforce with a plan
And be flexible with that plan.
The sheer number of people at the conference makes it easy to get lost in a conversation.
So do it.
Get lost in conversations.
Miss a session if it means you get to spend 20 minutes talking to someone you can learn from.
That’s why we go to conferences like Dreamforce.
To learn.
As long as you’re learning - You can hold your head high and know that you
accomplished something.
Let me know if you learned something from this letter or if you plan on going to Dreamforce next year.
If I’m there - let’s meet.
Cheers 🥂 and until next week, my friend.
Kaelan Moss - MinuteAdmin out ✌🏽
