How to use retreats to build your Uncaged business
It’s no surprise that I love to travel, and one of the ways that I make sure I got to travel while I was building Uncaged, was by running retreats.
For 5 years in a row I teamed up with a past client and retreat partner Kate to take a group of women to Belize to explore the jungle, work on business, and have a sweet entrepreneurial vacation with other people who are psyched about what they are creating in the world (because sometimes friends and family just don’t get it). 
I love retreats so much that I even created a course teaching other coaches how to run them!
Retreats are magical for your business for so many reasons and as you think about what you want to create in your business in 2020, I wanted to share some of why I LOVE retreats so much, to help inspire you to run your own (maybe sooner than you think??).
REASONS WHY RETREATS ARE AMAZING FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Changing people’s lives yo
By gathering a group of people and swooping them away to a sweet destination, you have the power to really effect change in your clients.
Sure, your online/phone coaching is great and helps your clients immensely, but there is something about being on location, with group of likeminded people, experiencing coaching in the flesh, that is life-altering.
The retreat space acts as this magical bubble where shifts happen WAY faster than if someone was sitting at home (sans-pants), thinking or talking about how they want their life to change.
On retreats, they are actively DOING it, which is where the transformation happens.
Closer connections and new BFFs
Skype video chat can only take you so far, and getting to meet your clients in person is one of the coolest feelings ever. It adds a whole level of depth to client relationships that is hard to achieve online.
You also get to meet new friends on retreats and build a community that is super tight-knit!
Sure, you can do this in Facebook groups, but there is nothing quite like drinking rum together under the jungle canopy, slogging through a tough hike together, or having cozy morning tea chatting about your biggest dreams, to help create a bond that just doesn’t happen online.
Getting paid to travel
If your goal is to live an Uncaged life, travel is probably part of the equation. Retreats not only allow you to travel, they also let you get paid! Your costs will all be covered for your own travel on your retreat, plus, if you play your cards right (ie. do your panning properly), you’ll always be walking away with a pretty penny in the bank.
Don’t get me wrong, retreats are a LOT of work, but the benefit of getting a paid-for travel experience is hard to beat!
New clients!
Many people use retreats as a way to connect with new clients, and then enroll them in higher-paying coaching programs after the retreat.
This is a natural progression → client goes on retreat with you → has the best time ever → gets to see you in action and see how damn smart you are → wants to work with you after retreat is over.
It’s WAY easier to enroll someone after they have already worked with you, and being in the flesh with your clients builds the know/like/trust factor like whoa.
Hellooooo full client roster after retreats!
Fun fact: I ran my first retreat wayyyy sooner than I thought I could! I had always had it in my head to run retreats and was excited about it, but NEVER thought I’d be “ready”.
