and looked forward to meeting them. Friends and family would often giggle whenever


I mentioned my plan to attend the #hugeconvention. They were surprised that there even was such a thing, and amused at the idea of a bunch of squeegee-nerds hanging out together. “Whoa …that’s gonna be some party,” one of them joked. Of course, all of this doubtful banter made me even more determined to go, and even more satisfied when I returned and reported that I actually had a good time and accomplished a lot.


Initially, I was encouraged to attend the


#hugeconvention by another Midwestern window cleaner I’d connected with through Facebook, and my gut decided the rest. But as the convention dates came closer, my own personal intentions began to solidify. I don’t know how this compares to the typical attendee, but I had some unique goals in mind as I set out for my trip. First, I’ve always been a writer, and with a polished collection of window cleaning stories in hand, I hoped to meet editors of trade magazines and, if possible, get my writing exposed to at least one relevant person in that part of the industry. Second, I was really hoping to meet other female window cleaners. A part of me has always been self-conscious about being a woman in “a man’s industry,” and I wanted to find out if other women felt the same, and hoped for some moral support to face the alienation I was fearing. And third, my grasp of advertising and my overall plan for the future of Window Ninja were both in question. I hoped to gain some wisdom on both counts.


In retrospect, my one mistake was driving to DC


instead of flying. It seemed like a great idea at the moment: I’ve spent so much of my time travelling the world, and I love the heck out of driving in general, so it seemed logical to take a long road-trip with the intent of seeing and appreciating the landscape and the capital of my own country. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate how much of that journey would be


negatively affected by both construction and rain. But these lessons come with the territory of taking risks and embracing new experiences. No big deal. The drive did have its beautiful moments, and I had an amazing time exploring DC.


Walking into the Gaylord National Convention


Centre, I was blown away by its size, stature, and views. I had certainly been making assumptions about window cleaners in general by expecting something a bit more humble, but at that time I had no idea that there would be over 500 attendees, and that the large space was absolutely necessary.


Within minutes of finding a seat near my fellow


window cleaning buddies from Madison Wisconsin, I was on my way to accomplishing one of my goals. I met two women in the industry who happened to be sitting at the same table, alongside their spouses. Within a few minutes more, a third woman (a solo business owner like myself) bee-lined right for me and introduced herself, drawing me into a friendly and welcoming conversation. Suddenly all of my shyness and feared alienation was gone: I was in my happy place.


The keynote address by Howard Partridge was a


nice surprise. I was thrilled to get up and out of my seat to participate as he rearranged all 500+ people to physically represent the four personality traits of the


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