>> Why haven't you registered for CFUN-02? >> > Because I don't have a current contract and this freelancing is not > what it's cut out to be. My technical skills are okay, what I cannot > seem to be able to do is drum up the work -- I guess i'm not a > salesman I am running low on money and this is no time to be treating > myself to a conference.
No, I don't understand at all. you shouldn't consider this conference as a "Treat" it certainly is not that. Being in the position you are in, especially if you are freelancing, you need to do a few things to keep building your future (ColdFusion aside for a sec). - Market your skills: CFUN-02 will be a fantastic place to market your skills, connect with other freelancers, or small companies. Talk about the market, and talk about where it is going, and what you can offer it. - Upgrade your skills: CFUN-02 really is cheap when you consider what we have there. ColdFusion courses (2-Day) start around $1200. The scope of people we have coming to this conference represent all that is the internet today - starting with ColdFusion, but really goes beyond that. JAVAONE in SanFran will run you around $2000 after travel, fees and hotel, and the FlashForward is over $2000 !! -- really, $200 is not much. - Look for work: Yea, the market is tight, there is no question about it. Everyone is taking a hit, but there are companies that are looking for people, and investing in a conference of this type demonstrates your willingness and commitment to the market and the community. The CFUN-02 weekend should not be considered a "party" or a relaxing time. It is a time to learn and to mark your place in this industry and put one foot in front of the other. Freelance work can not be achieved if you make appearances and get your name out there. At the end of the day on Sunday, you will be exhausted. Your mind should be running off in all directions and you should have a pocket full of business cards. You will be tired from preparing your position before the conference, perhaps setting up a portfolio, and you will be tired from following up with all the leads you are bound to get. This is just my opinion, Family and living is always top priority and by no means can I relate to your position, but if you are in this industry, and want to stay in this industry local events like this one, FlashInTheCan, IMAT, MDCFUG, SIGGRAPH and all the others are extremely important. The reason we are putting so much energy into this conference is to bring the big names, authors and developers to our city to provide an opportunity for those folks who don't have the luxury of going to the big conferences to experience what they offer in spirit, motivation, education and most importantly to bring the local communiy together for a weekend to "connect". I believe in this community and this industry and we feel that an event such as this is really needed right now, for more reasons then we can list. So, with all of this said, I really hope that you would re-consider you position, and I really hope we will see you at the conference, but if not, then I wish you the best in your freelance work. (copied from CF-talk Toronto list with edits for CFUN-02) ----------------- Get great CF knowledge at CFUN-02. Learn more about ColdFusion MX. Hear more from famous CF authors and speakers Ben Forta, Charlie Arehart, Michael Dinowitz, Steve Drucker and Hal Helms plus many more... You get two days chocked full of hidden CF tips and methods and learn about the new version of ColdFusion - CF MX - that will change our programming lives. Don't get left behind in the MX revolution. Macromedia ColdFusion MX represents many months and many developer-years of work. The CF MX team took many programmer requests for new features in ColdFusion to produce the most revolutionary release of ColdFusion ever. CF MX lets you - moves CF to a standards-based architecture - creates exciting new features - CF Components, true Functions - integrates ColdFusion with Flash and Dreamweaver - runs on J2EE java platform for speed and features - call java routines from CF - create web services in CF ColdFusion MX also includes innovative new features like ColdFusion Components, built-in XML handling, great support for web services, and native connectivity to the Macromedia Flash Player. The MX family of products - Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, Fireworks MX, and ColdFusion MX - now offer an integrated environment for creating the most exciting applications on the Internet. **************************************** * The best way to learn about * * ColdFusion MX is to come to CFUN-02! * **************************************** - Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc http://www.teratech.com/ CFUN-02 http://www.cfconf.com/cfun-02/ -------------------------------------- The Fourth Annual TeraTech ColdFusion Conference $199. Saturday, June 15th - Sunday, June 16th, 2002 Rockville Double-Tree Hotel (opposite Twinbrook metro) http://www.cfconf.com/cfun-02/ Sponsored by TeraTech and MDCFUG Speakers include well known CF authors and speakers: * Ben Forta "XML" * Charlie Arehart "CFMX Hidden Gems" * Michael Dinowitz "Regular Expression Power tips" * Steve Drucker "Printing, Reporting, and Graphing" * Raymond Camden "Security in CFMX" * Sandra Clark "Migrating from CF 5 to CF Mx" * Adam Churvis "Leveraging the New MX Functions and Components" * Benjamin Elmore "Leveraging Java in CFMX." * Shlomy Gantz "Project Management for the MX generation" * Hal Helms "Implementing model view controller with Fusebox" * Kevin Towes "ColdFusion Mx and FlashMx Integration using Salsa" * Robi Sen "Web services and CF" Includes CF party and networking event Saturday night - you change to chat with CF's hottest speakers! Quotes from last year's conference "This is definitely beneficial to ColdFusion developers or wannabes. I went last year and not only was it great fun, but I learned more there than I can express, as well as made invaluable contacts with CF gurus. Hope to see some of you there!" - Bonnie E. Betts "You and TeraTech deserve a lot of credit for hosting these conferences and being a driving force in the CF community. I believe that the local CF community wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for these efforts." - Don Neizer Please tell your CF friends about CFUN-02. Thanks! - Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc http://www.teratech.com/ MDCFUG http://www.cfug-md.org/ -- Michael Smith, TeraTech Inc VB, CF , SQL, Math programming 12221 Parklawn Dr Ste 200, Rockville MD 20852-1711 USA Voice: +1-301-881-1440 x110, 800-447-9120 Fax:301-881-3586 Web: http://www.teratech.com/sig/ Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ICQ: 66057682 ______________________________________________________________________ Structure your ColdFusion code with Fusebox. 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