Getting Smart With SkillPop

This past week I had the pleasure of taking not one, but two SkillPop classes! SkillPop is new to our area and just started hosting classes in here this August. They started in Charlotte last year. Based on my experience, though, they are off to a great start in the RDU area! Their mission is to provide pop-up classes taught by local professionals in cool places within your community.

This is A.J. She was so sweet and clearly passionate about what she does.

My first class was on photography with A.J. Dunlap at the Glass Box in downtown Raleigh. A.J. is a wedding photographer here in Raleigh and is also a wonderful teacher. She was so patient and clearly wanted to be sure everyone in the class really understood how to use their camera to achieve the style of photo they wanted.

Ta-Da! Barely did any editing to this photo! Shot in manual mode like a beast. 

Having taken that class, I feel much more confident using my camera now and look forward to using manual mode. Isn’t that crazy?! But it’s true. This girl who always kept her camera in “Smart Auto” mode may never do that again. I also left the class with a strong desire to purchase a nice Nikon DSLR. Luckily, A.J. gave us tips on how to do that on a budget as well! 

I took my next class the following evening with Sarah Faucette of Native State Design at Loading Dock. This was a class on branding your business. It was awesome to see so many entrepreneurs in attendance to learn how to brand themselves better! Sarah did a great job explaining the process to us, providing DIY resources, and making a somewhat tedious task more fun. I'm already thinking about re-branding as my business has gone a slightly different direction than I originally thought it would (and I love that!). I feel more confident about the re-branding process having taken this class. Although I may still end up hiring Native State Design to help with the re-branding because they're awesome at what they do. 

A room full of entrepreneurs learning from Sarah!

So far I have loved my experience with SkillPop. I chose these two classes specifically to help me with my business. There are others coming up that look equally beneficial, such as Blogging Basics and Intro To Social Media for Business. But don’t worry, it’s not all work no play with SkillPop! Their first class was on hand lettering and they have a calligraphy class coming up soon! You should check it out! Leave a comment and tell me which class you’re most excited about or what you'd like to see them do next!