It started with a bad idea.
Not bad in the way that it was wrong. Bad in the way that it was too small. I had been running retreats, helping financial services professionals think deeply about their personal brands, their purpose, and their presence. Small groups. High price tags. Lots of intention. And I kept trying to figure out how to make it happen again.
Then one day I thought: what if I just… did a conference instead?
I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had done events before, but always alongside an employer. Always with a safety net. This time, I was signing on the dotted line for everything. The venue. The speakers. The whole thing. It was a very trippy feeling. A mix of responsibility and fear, and something I can only describe as nervous excitement.
I’ve always loved creating experiences. I love thinking about every little detail that goes into making something really special. It’s one of my zones of genius. It brings together my deep desire to be generous, my love of gifting, and my desire to share the stage and amplify others. It just puts it all together.
So, I picked a venue. Then I built a website (well, mostly).
I still laugh about this. I was sitting with my laptop in the back of a big ballroom at a major industry conference in April of 2023, surrounded by hundreds of financial services professionals, putting the final touches on the SWAY website. Nobody around me had any idea. I was quietly finishing the website. Creating something new while everyone else was focused on what already existed.
That felt right.
The first ticket sold to someone I didn’t know.
His name is Kevin. He’s a dear friend now. But at the time, he was a stranger who believed in an idea. When he bought that ticket, I remember thinking: Holy shit. Now it’s real. Now I have a person I’m responsible for.
Kevin will always hold a special place in my heart because of that moment. There is something profoundly sweet about a stranger saying yes to something that doesn’t exist yet.
Twenty-seven people showed up to that first SWAY. One dog, too, named Bodhi. We were in a small conference room with a very bad speaker. I showed a video of Prince and the song “Let’s Go Crazy.” I was nervous and excited and completely present. Nobody moved. I couldn’t, I was too nervous.
Looking back now, I know I didn’t fully understand what I had started. What I do remember is the bonds that formed in that room. Bonds that are still in place today. The web started really small, and it started there.
I came home thinking: Oh my god, what have I done? Also, when can we do this again?
The second SWAY was supposed to go back to San Diego.
The hotel had other ideas. They made it clear we weren’t big enough to block rooms for, that maybe if we could wait until June to commit that would be convenient for them. I hung up the phone and laughed. We are nobody’s second prom date.
So we went to Palm Springs. In the middle of summer. A hundred and twenty-five degrees outside.
We went from 27 people and one dog to 80 people and two dogs. That felt like an explosion.
And that was the year I danced alone to “Let’s Go Crazy” in front of 80 people. The whole song. By myself. HA. This made me deeply uncomfortable and deeply vulnerable. But I did it anyway. Because that’s what SWAY asks of people, and I had to go first. (Wow. That song is super long when you’re dancing by yourself.)
That was also the year I introduced the doodle tables, where people could color together while they talked. Small idea, huge impact. People leaned in. People connected. People actually played together.
But the moment I knew SWAY was real? Really real?
We were on a bus at 4:45 in the morning. Twenty-four other people were on that bus with me, sleepy and happy, heading out to Joshua Tree to watch the sunrise. We had coffee (thanks to Susan!). There was a bus. We had arranged it. It was happening.
I got goosebumps sitting there thinking: look. Look at this. We’re official. We’re on a bus. 😂
By the time we got to Milwaukee for SWAY’s third year, something had shifted.
We had 120 people. I still danced to Prince, but this time a friend jumped up and danced with me. At five in the morning, a group of us bundled up, grabbed coffee, and walked out to the lakefront to watch the sunrise together. People wore silly hats. Christopher and Katherine brought mimosas. It became a thing.
And at the end of that conference, we turned the room into a campfire sing-along. Sparkly lights. Little lanterns. Blankets on the floor. Bandanas. Songbooks. We sang together.
I remember looking around that room and seeing my friend Patrick holding his songbook, singing a Leonard Cohen song. The thought of it still brings me to tears. And Yolanda, with her bandana tied around her neck and that enormous smile on her face, just singing.
You don’t get to see that at conferences.
This wasn’t karaoke. It wasn’t performative. It wasn’t competitive. It was people being human together, fully and without pretense. It was magic.
I’ve thought a lot about why SWAY works.
I think it’s because I’m a quilter. I quilt glass in my studio, and I quilt ideas together, and I quilt people together. I take things that might not seem to belong with each other and find the pattern that connects them. SWAY is quilted from purpose and vulnerability and generosity and joy.
I used to think personal branding was just about visibility. SWAY taught me otherwise. Personal branding is about purpose. It’s everything you are and all that you believe, poured into all that you do. It’s the ongoing discovery of what you’re here for and who you’re meant to serve. That is a journey of a lifetime.
Which is why I’ve come to think of SWAY less as a conference and more as a community. Not a garden you tend only in summer. A garden you tend all year long.
And my role in it? I’m a fairy godmother. A maximizer. I see what people are, and I see more of what they can become. SWAY is the place I’ve created for people to step into that more fully, even if just for three days.
If they can be themselves, really be themselves, just for those three days, that is enough. That is the whole point.
It is my sacred duty.
If you’ve never been to SWAY, I want you to know one thing.
If you have a small idea, the only way to know if it’s real is to do it. And then do it again. The first time is just a lesson. It’s not done yet.
SWAY isn’t done yet either. See you in Boulder.
Interested in SWAY?
Learn more here: https://swaylive.sherifitts.com
FAQ 1: What is SWAY?
SWAY is a purpose-driven conference and community created by Sheri Fitts for people who want to explore personal branding, vulnerability, connection, and authentic presence in a deeper way.
FAQ 2: How did SWAY begin?
SWAY began as a small idea after Sheri Fitts had been leading retreats for financial services professionals. She decided to create a conference experience that could bring more people together around purpose, personal branding, and community.
FAQ 3: What makes SWAY different from other conferences?
SWAY is designed around human connection, generosity, creativity, and emotional honesty. Rather than focusing only on performance or visibility, it creates space for people to be fully themselves and build meaningful relationships.
FAQ 4: What is the purpose of SWAY?
The purpose of SWAY is to help people explore who they are, what they stand for, and how they want to show up in the world. It supports personal branding as a journey of purpose, not just visibility.
FAQ 5: Who is SWAY for?
SWAY is for professionals, creatives, and leaders who want a more meaningful experience of community, personal branding, and authentic connection. It especially resonates with people who value purpose, vulnerability, and belonging.