In case you haven’t heard, Forcelandia is almost here! What is Forcelandia? For those who don’t know yet, Forcelandia is a one-of-a-kind conference put on by the Portland Developer User Group and the Portland Salesforce Women in Tech group. The first Forcelandia was just last summer, was held at a small local brewery, and was booked to capacity. This year there is a slightly larger venue, but it will still be an intimate event in a cool local spot.

With Forcelandia almost here, I’ve been reflecting on my local community and how amazing it is. Most of my blog posts are about pieces of Salesforce functionality that inspire me, but the local Salesforce community inspires me just as much – so I wanted to share what makes it so great!

It’s a connection.

I am a huge fan of the Salesforce Success Community because it connects me with other Salesforce admins/developers/users all over the world. Local user groups are a piece of the Success Community pie, but in person! I began attending the Portland User Group about five years ago, as a solo admin. I didn’t have other admins in the office, my boss worked remotely, and I just wanted to geek out about Salesforce with other people. I’m still attending, and still geeking out! Two of my favorite admin jobs that I’ve ever had would not have been possible without the people I met at my very first few user group meetups (shout-out to Angela and John!).

It’s a safe place.

We all love Dreamforce, right? I really do love it, and this year will be my 9th Dreamforce in a row! But I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I’m an introvert. I get anxious in huge crowds. This is one of the reasons I love my local community groups. I may never speak publicly to hundreds of people – but my User Group and my Women in Tech group have really built up my confidence, and I have presented at both groups. (If you knew me five years ago, you know that this is a bit of a miracle.) Local user groups are such a great place to ask questions, build your skills, and voice your opinions without judgment.

It’s SO MUCH INSPIRATION.

One of the reasons I have worked with Salesforce so long – and still love it – is because it is constantly evolving. One of the things I love about my community groups is, it’s way more fun than reading release notes by myself! We demo our own personal tips & tricks. We talk about new features. We tell each other about our favorite tools and AppExchange apps. We share workarounds for common problems. We inspire each other, live and in person, and there is simply no substitute for that.

If you have not attended a local User Group, it’s never too late to start! Look for your local User Group, Developer User Group, or Women in Tech User Group in the Success Community – and if you don’t see one, ask around. If your area does not have a user group, reach out to the Success Community to start one. Because no one should miss out on the connections, inspiration, and feeling of family that comes from a strong local community.

Want to get more involved in the online Success Community? Check out this blog post.

Want to meet the Portland Salesforce community in person? Register for Forcelandia here!