How to Host an In-Person Retreat

I am writing this blog post-t-minus 24 hours before our first in-person retreat with the Collective Mastermind, something that has been in the works for a LONG time. And when I say long, I mean like 5+ years. 

If you follow along with my journey, you know I got my start in network marketing. About 2 years in I earned a trip to Sundance Utah. I had not met ANY of the ladies I was going to stay with in person, I had NO idea what this “retreat” experience was going to be like, but I knew in my heart I had to go. I also had 3-year-old twins at the time, so leaving the house itself was a big undertaking. 

The retreat ended up being life-changing.

And honestly, it wasn’t because of the leadership training we had or the time I had to work on my business. It was the connections. And the experience. 

After I left that retreat, it took me about a year to change my business vision but within that vision, I always knew I wanted to host retreats.

And now we are about to do it. I am going to share my tips for how to host an in-person retreat!

 How to Plan for an In-Person Business Retreat

1. Define what you want to accomplish. I have planned quite a few retreats in my corporate career. The first thing I would recommend doing is define what you want to accomplish. 
   
   
2. Set a budget. Once you have a goal or theme in mind, set a budget. And this is where it gets tricky because I would say that you honestly probably can’t pull off a 7-10 person retreat for under $5K. Define what you need, what you need to outsource, and don’t forget to have a little extra for those unplanned resources.
   
   
3. Set your Timeline. For our retreat, we aligned on two speakers and one guest coach plus myself. We also included a photographer to do a video of the retreat (for future marketing) and photos of the guests. 
   
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4. Think about marketing. One of the bonus things we are doing during the retreat is filming a marketing video. If you are hosting an event, plan ahead and think about what photos and pictures you would want in the future.
   
   
5. Location, location. When you host a retreat your location makes a big difference. I decided to have it local to Columbus since when I started planning this, much of the world was still on lockdown from the pandemic. Plus I know the area so it took some of the stress out of finding vendors, etc. Other options include Airbnb, hotels etc.
   

   Have something that will set your retreat apart.

When you are a working mom (and if that is your audience), getting out for a 3-day retreat is a big deal. So when we planned our content we made sure to work in some downtime. Because as you know, white space is important. And having time to just think and process. 

You will have to follow along and take a peek at the retreat as we share it. And if you are interested in attending one, we have a few options coming up in the next round of the mastermind. Retreats will change your life. If you are feeling stuck or not sure what the next move is in your business or life, take yourself out of the day-to-day. And really give yourself some space to be creative. I promise it will be worth it. 

Looking for more on this topic (including 3 more tips)? Check out the Strategy Lab in the Crush the Rush Club!