Your work is deeply valuable. You are intentional about every little detail, and it shows. You are changing your client’s lives, one at a time. Retreats will allow you broaden and deepen your reach, establishing your business as a step above the rest. Here are my top 5 reasons why retreats are essential to your wellness business.
1. In a busy world of quick, shallow exchanges and endless Facebook groups, many women are craving in-person community support networks. Even if your attendees only stay in touch via social media after your retreat, giving them a chance to connect deeply with each other in person will help them forge online friendships that go beyond emojis. Our Mindful Mama and Mindful Women retreat attendees engage regularly in a very active Facebook group open only to women who have attended one of our retreats, and many relationships have moved offline into play dates, pot luck dinners, and shared glasses of wine.
2. Retreats offer a longer timeframe to get deep with each other than one session or class. Whether you decide to hold a one day, overnight, or weekend retreat, moving through a series of experiences together will allow for the development of a deeper connection between you and your community, and within your community itself. Waiting for the bathroom during a break, negotiating yoga mat spacing, sharing art supplies, sitting down for a meal together, holding hands during a meditation, hearing each other’s stories and being present for each other in person – these are moments where new friendships are born, where wounds are healed, where people take the next step in their journey. Your retreat will facilitate this kind of magic!
3. Live events are so much fun, both to plan and to attend. Extrovert or introvert, being with each other in person gives people a chance to connect for real. There will be laughter, tears, hugs, story telling, and if you’re anything like me, probably dancing. Planning events is also a blast. I cannot get enough of all the little details; signage, branding, sessions, partners, sponsors, meals, swag bags, name tags. Each piece of planning a retreat is a chance to have fun and make it your own.
4. During a retreat, you get a chance to strengthen your audience's connection to you. Time together changes everything. You are no longer the professional at the desk, on the computer, or on the yoga mat at the front of the room; you are a living, breathing, perfectly imperfect person who will unfold in authentic ways throughout the day. They will watch you share your knowledge, facilitate conversations, and manage mishaps, and your grace and power will forge a deeper connection than you ever thought possible.
5. We need to get off of our computers and into shared physical spaces with other women who are also mindfully journeying through this beautiful, messy life. Retreats give us a chance to do it!
Now more than ever, creating a retreat series will give your business the advantage of growing a deeply connected and flourishing community of people who can benefit from your work, share their experience with others, and help your tribe growing roots & wings.
XOXO Lizzy
PS - Ready to dive in? You can get get Retreat Ready in 5 Days my mini-course, Rise Up With Retreats. It takes you through the 5 steps I use every time I am getting ready to plan a successful, sold out retreat. I want you to have the same results!
