SHOWNOTES
What? Schedule a live retreat in the middle of a pandemic?
Yep. Great deals are to be had right now.
Platforms like Pinterest and Google report that they have NEVER seen so many searches for travel-related content like they have seen during this pandemic.
People are desperate to plan a trip, even if it’s well in the future.
But what if you schedule something and the pandemic is still here?
I’ve got your answers in the episode.
I also share:
👍Why hosting retreats is one of the best things I have ever done for my business.
👍Why if you are trying to create a community and establish deep relationships with clients who will be with you for years and years there is nothing better than a retreat.
👍How to price your retreat to make it very lucrative.
👍How to make sure you don’t lose money on a retreat, with my refund buffer month.
👍What to include in a retreat to make it no-brainer, “Yes! I’m in!” to your clients.
After you listen I’d love to hear your ideas for a retreat. Let me know what you’re thinking about. Let’s brainstorm!
RESOURCES
Front Row VIP: The Retreat 2021 - Get on the waiting list
TRANSCRIPT
(00:03) Hey, guys, it's Gary Vaynerchuk, and you're listening to the Front Row Entrepreneur Podcast with our girl, Jen.
(00:12) So in this episode, I am so excited to talk to you about why I think right now is the perfect time to schedule a live retreat for 2021. Yep. Right now, in the middle of this god forsaken pandemic, I think it is the perfect time. Hosting retreats is probably one of the best things I have ever done for my business.
Read more...
(00:33) If you're trying to create a community, if you're trying to establish deep relationships with clients who will be with you for years and years, then hosting a retreat is something you really might want to consider. And on top of that, if you do it correctly, it can be quite lucrative. And there are so many other extras that come with hosting a retreat, like all of the amazing photos in the B-roll video and the video testimonials and the written testimonials that come from an event.
(01:06) Also, even though there's a lot of work on your part when it comes to hosting a retreat, if you set it up correctly, you will enjoy the event yourself as much as your participants. You're going to walk away feeling nourished, inspired, exhilarated, energized. Now, obviously, nobody is really thinking about scheduling live events right now. Most people are thinking about how they can pivot an existing live event to zoom or how to create an event on Zoom.
(01:34) But I'm going to invite you to think about this another way. First of all, all the social channels are reporting a massive, massive exponential increase in search that relates to travel and planning for travel.
(01:47) Pinterest just did this amazing sort of I guess it was an infographic of how never before in the history of Pinterest have they seen so many people searching for travel related stuff and pinning travel related stuff. And I am probably like me. You're not surprised because I think we've all sort of echoed the sentiment that we will never take travel for granted again. Right. I think we're all dreaming about the day when we can get back to travel. And it is so important to have something to look forward to, to put something in the calendar and say, OK, things are bad right now, but I can't wait.
(02:25) Or a year from now I'm going to be on a sunny beach or the desert or in Italy or whatever. And as it turns out, with regard to planning or treats, the way that I do it, even before this pandemic, has always been a way that protects me and protects my participants in case something comes up in general like a hurricane or some other catastrophic event. And most resorts and other retreat destinations offer generous refund policies, meaning if something goes wrong or you can't make it for whatever reason because maybe you didn't get enough people to participate or you change your mind or there's a pandemic, then most places will allow you a window of something like a month prior where you can get your full deposit back.
(03:11) And the way to really leverage this so that you're protected and you don't lose any money is you bump up that deadline for refunds. So like maybe a month earlier than that. OK, so let's say they give you a month to cancel. You're going to bump it up and say that it's two months to cancel. So if somebody does cancel with you two months prior, you technically still have another month to find somebody else to fill their spot. And so this protects you in a number of different ways.
(03:40) So let's say you need 10 participants to make this worth your while, but you only get six people who sign up. You can wait all the way until like two months prior to the event or even all the way up to a month, if that's when their cancellation is. And if you don't have enough people, you can refund everybody who did sign up and also ask for a refund of your deposit from the resort. And also right now, because these destinations are really desperate to get back to pre-covid capacity, there are some amazing deals to be had.
(04:15) And they themselves are adding in more protections for you, the consumer, so that you won't be nervous to visit. So I called a resort recently to ask some questions about this, and the government actually has stepped in to say that in a situation where you are booking and this might be true for plane travel as well, but you can cancel actually up to the day of you're supposed to arrive because if you booked when it was a pandemic. So that was the thing.
(04:46) If you booked during the pandemic, then you're basically if you have to pull out at the very last minute, you still get your deposit back. So that is something to ask the destination about when you ask what their COVID clause is, because that's the only way this will work. People have to feel like they can book. And, you know, if COVID hasn't gone away or it's gotten worse or whatever, or God forbid they get sick, then they need to be able to opt out without any penalty.
(05:22) So now let's talk about how you actually make money with a retreat. So let's say you pick a spa destination and this destination is all inclusive and they're going to charge you two thousand dollars per person, which includes all room and board. And they usually throw in some spa treatments and other goodies and maybe like an activity or whatever, and you're going to provide all of the content that weekend. Maybe you're going to do what I've done and work on content or teach people a certain skill or whatever.
(05:52) But you are providing the content and maybe you bring in some guest speakers or something like that, but you're going to create what is really going to make this retreat so special. So essentially you can double the two thousand dollars minimally because people they're thrilled about this destination that you've chosen. But that's not why they are coming. They are coming for the access to you and your expertise and what the promise is of the weekend or week or however long you're going to make your retreat.
(06:21) So the resort is charging you two thousand dollars, but you can charge five or six thousand dollars for this experience easily. So if you book 10 people in your retreat and let's say five thousand dollars, that's fifty thousand dollars, your overhead is twenty thousand dollars. So you're going to net thirty thousand dollars for the weekend. And I know this is possible because I have done this a couple of times now. Obviously, the key is making this an experience.
(06:48) When your guests leave, they are leaving with something beyond good spa treatments. They have learned something new. They have gained clarity. They have gained inspiration. They have made valuable new connections. They've gained confidence. They have a plan. They have a blueprint. They've learned something new. When they get on that plane, they are full of hope. The other thing to consider is now that we've all gotten kind of used to this new normal, at least in that we don't think twice or I hope we don't think twice about putting on a mask and keeping our distance.
(07:20) We've been practicing and we're getting better at it. So the truth is that it's now possible to host a retreat during the pandemic, just making sure that you've got everything set up in such a way to keep everybody safe. So, for example, if you pick a place like Arizona, like I just did in the fall, it is completely feasible that you can have your classes or group sessions open air, you can dine outside and everybody is going to have their own hotel room.
(07:46) And the resort itself will be one where you can make sure they are taking all the safety precautions in their spa and other facilities. So not only do I think a retreat will work right now during these pandemic days, I think people are so hungry now for such an experience that it will likely sell out faster than it would in normal times.
(08:09) This episode is brought to you by the Front Row VIP, a private membership hub for entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses with smart marketing strategies, productivity hacks and solutions for systemizing.
(08:21) This high value membership includes twice monthly strategy calls, monthly content planers, special events, monthly guest experts and a networking community of the smartest entrepreneurs on the planet get started today at frontrowvip.Com.
(08:38) So I just booked my fall retreat for 2021 this week, and right after I booked it, I posted about it in one of my Facebook groups with a form that they could fill out to get on the waiting list. And in less than two hours, we had thirty five people on the waiting list.
(08:57) So this event is going to be incredible. And something like I mentioned earlier that I think is so important at retreats like this is to go beyond theory and beyond the spa treatments to actually spend time creating something or building something so that by the time people get on the plane to go home, rather than a really long to do list of shoulda, woulda, coulda things to add to their already giant lists is that they're actually getting on the plane with that deliverable in hand.
(09:27) So one of my last retreats was completely devoted to content creation, so in addition to a lot of other things that we learned and plan and the obligatory hotseat sessions, that's also something really important to do. And I'll talk about that in just a second. But the big promise, the big take away was that they would have 90 days worth of strategic content completely planned out in these calendars that I gave them by the time the weekend was over. So they got to check that off their list and they all really loved that.
(10:06) Retreat prior to that, again, we had lots of takeaways and deliverables that they got on the plane with, but something that was really special was that I brought in the people from a platform that hosted flash briefings and we guided all of our attendees step by step in setting up their very own Amazon Alexa flash briefings. Imagine going to a retreat with no podcast and leaving with a podcast. Or maybe you're a book coach and your attendees come with no book and they leave with a book or at least the beginnings of a book or a book outline.
(10:46) So back to the hot seat session, so if you've ever attended a mastermind or retreat, this may be a familiar word for you, but if you're new to retreats and that sort of thing, let me just tell you quickly what a hot seat is. So sometimes when you go to a retreat, there are these hot seat sessions where you literally are in the hot seat. Well, not literally, because then the seat would be hot, but your seat is not actually hot.
(11:10) You're just sort of in the middle of a circle, let's say, or you just get the microphone or it's just your turn to talk and you have the floor. Everybody is listening to you. And typically you'll talk about something you're struggling with or something you need feedback on. And either the group facilitator will be the only person who answers you or they can open it up to the circle and everybody goes around and maybe shares their feedback. This is incredibly helpful.
(11:40) I can't tell you how game changing this has been for my own business, even at my own retreats. A couple of years ago, I was at a retreat on Alabama, South Carolina, and it was somebody else's hotseat, but they were struggling with how to present this new online course. And it was suggested from one of the other people in the circle that she basically launched the course live. And I'm not going to go into all the details, but for me, with what I was working on at the time, it was exactly what I needed for where I was stuck.
(12:11) So that was amazing. And and, you know, mastermind after mastermind, retreat after retreat. It usually is just that one nugget that just really makes everything shift. And that's what you're looking for at these events. You want to Number one, like I said, so important to walk away with like an actual deliverable. I like to have something sort of tangible for people to walk away with. But then also like that one thing that gives you so much clarity, maybe it's 10 things, but usually it's just like one thing and it presents itself just like that one idea did for me, it was somebody else's hot seat session.
(12:51) The other wonderful thing about starting this far out, like going ahead and scheduling your retreat for 2021 is that you can offer extended payment plans to everyone, which makes it so much more affordable for a lot of people. And planning this far out really makes it so much less overwhelming. So we always start a Trello board. First, it'll start with like just basic logistics. But then as we get closer, we leave space for, like the tiny details and, you know, our agenda and our activities and all the contact information for any guest speakers or special services that we're going to have.
(13:28) Where are we going to get our swag? What kind of swag? What are we going to roll into the weekend that is just going to blow our attendees minds? I mean, basically, we have a year to brainstorm and we can do it gradually. Plopping things down on the Trello board as we get closer and closer to the event that by the time you get to the event, there's really not a lot of work to do. And again, if you're doing an all inclusive place, like the place where I just booked, well, all you got to do is show up and they do everything else.
(14:00) So if you like to get on the waiting list for this retreat that I'm hosting at the amazing Miraval Resort in Arizona, it is a five star, jaw dropping, amazing, amazing place. Then just text all one word, retreatwithJen to 44222. Again, text retreatwithJen to 44222. And if you have some ideas for a retreat, whether it's subject matter or a destination, pop it into the chat underneath the Instagram post for this episode.
(14:34) So my Instagram is @jen_lehner and go over to find this post and let me know. I would love to hear your ideas and I'd love to hear also if you have any reservations or doubts, because I'd love to chat with you about this. I think that, you know, another reason hosting a retreat is so great is that you don't have to have a ten thousand person mailing list. You don't have to have a huge community.
(15:04) You just need a few people to show up and away you go. Thanks for joining me today.
(15:10) And remember, if you're not already a member of my free online classroom, The Front Row head over to frontrowclassroom.com and join us. And I'll see you next time.
