Relax, Rejuvenate, Learn: The Entrepreneur Retreat Guide

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to relax, rejuvenate, learn, connect and network with like-minded individuals for a couple of days? How about a “Business Bestie” get away where the two of you can collaborate, inspire and motivate one another with no distractions? There are several entrepreneur business retreats focused on empowering, inspiring and motivating entrepreneurs in various aspects of their business and personal life. While they can be a bit pricey (prices start at $4,500 up to $30,000), some even have an income minimum requirement in order to participate, the investment is worth it. Don’t have the funds to drop on a business retreat but still want to take part one? No problem! Here’s a few ideas on how can create your own business retreat.

Who to invite?

I think that’s open to whomever you think can benefit from the business retreat. If you have a “business bestie” or an entrepreneur support group you’re a part of, you can start there in terms of attendees. This can also be a great opportunity to get together with people outside of your circle if you don’t have a group in which you’re a part of. Reach out to your online circle of friends and followers to see if they’d like to participate and ask if them what they’d like to learn and what they’re ideal business retreat will entail.

What is the overall goal of the business retreat?

A good way to find out what your overall goal is, is to either ask fellow entrepreneurs what they’d like to learn at a retreat, your peers who are entrepreneurs or research entrepreneur retreats to find out what information is provided. Reaching out to your fellow entrepreneurs, while also doing research on entrepreneur retreats, will give you an idea on where your attendees are at in their business and what topics the retreat will be centered around.

Agenda

Once you’ve complied what topics to discuss, create an agenda for organizational and informational purposes. Here’s a helpful tip: having a facilitator helps eliminate the burden of one of the group members having to do so. There are consulting agencies that specializes in facilitating business retreats and they also offer services which includes creating curriculum, workshops and team building exercises or leadership exercises.

Learning Environment

Once you’ve finalized your agenda, think about what type of learning environment you want to create. Will you conduct hands on workshops? Master Mind Classes? An Ecourse? Or will you present on a power point presentation? How long will the sessions be? Will there be Brainstorming sessions? Share and Learning sessions where entrepreneurs are allowed to be transparent about their journey, sharing what they’ve learned along the way. Note: allow enough time in between sessions for R & R and for the participants to be able to truly connect with one another.

Location

An ideal setting would be some place that may have less foot traffic, isn’t in a faced-paced setting, so as to set the tone for relaxation. If relaxation is one the key components of your trip, try booking space at a wellness retreat, hotel, small bed and breakfast or if you’re on a budget try Air BnB for large rental homes that will house your attendees. If you’re renting a house that isn’t easily accessible to nearby restaurants, you may want to look into hiring a personal chef for a few days, it might be less expensive than going out and more convenient. Tip: ask your guests in advance if they have special food dietary restrictions. During your location search, make sure that the location in which you’re having the retreat is functional including work spaces for entrepreneurs who want to catch up on work, check if there are conference rooms available, outdoor spaces if hosting an outdoor session. Note: If you’re booking a hotel, please keep in mind that there are check out times. If you’re hosting an event and check out time is at 11:00am you may need to rethink what that day’s activities are. Bring your business bestie, your entrepreneur support group, suitcase, an open mind and have a wonderful time!