During the opening Creative Freelancer Conference session on Wednesday afternoon, I noted that when Peleg Top, Ilise Benun, HOW conference director Sara Dumford and I met one year ago to discuss an event for freelancers, we thought we were on to something.

Yesterday, I KNEW we were on to something. The 225+ people in the room were so eager for information, so energized by making connections, so encouraged that they aren't alone in their business joys and challenges. It's a great group.

Our conference co-hosts started off with a session that spotlighted the myths and realities of being a successful (emphasis on that) solopreneur. They went through 8 essential elements of a freelance business, from client relationships to business policies to work/life balance, and offered one key takeaway for each. The session was essentially a preview of the marketing, pricing, client relationship and time-management sessions to come.

Then, Dyana Valentine led a terrific workshop about creative collaboration. Collaboration? At a conference for freelancers? Of course: You may not have office-mates, but you certainly have collaborative efforts, with vendors, clients -- and, most important (as this conference is hammering home) with the myriad other freelance creatives with whom you can connect.