This year the theme for #Xerocon was #Community
We are lucky to be part of some wonderful community groups inside the bookkeeping world. There are the online facebook groups (xero partners, xero mastermind, bookkeepers in practice) and the IRL face to face groups like ABN coffee clubs & Heather Smith’s PreXerocon cloud apps meetup and informal groups of like-minded bookkeepers.
But its not just luck that makes those communities great, its the people supporting people. We need to give to others to receive benefits – both in receiving support, but also learning how to help others. Sharing our knowledge cements what we already know, being able to distill issues and communicate with others is invaluable to our development.
Support can be as simple as a listening ear. And this segues into the secondary xerocon theme of mental health. We heard a brave first hand story, and received insights from Nigel Later, a psychologist (spoiler alert: its be kind), Emma Murray, a psychotherapist, shared the secrets of bringing your A game. Leigh Sales spoke about imposter syndrome and resilience, a panel discussion about well-being with a speaker from Beyond Blue. We need to fit our own face mask before we assist others.
Xerocon 2019 really was about community for us – it was wonderful to catchup with & meet new members of our community IRL – both at the main event and at the ecosystem satellite events.
This was our 7th xerocon and between now and when we come together again at xerocon next year – we will continue to build & support our communities.
