All About Retreats

What is a retreat?

In our industry, a retreat is usually a bonding and learning experience for a group of like-minded people.

Network marketing coaches, business coaches, and leaders in their field host retreats for a variety of reasons. Each Retreat is different, but the first part of the planning process is deciding what type of retreat you want to host.

Types of Retreats

The options are endless, but here are the most common places to start:

BONDING RETREATS: These are all about building or reaffirming relationships. You might host a retreat like this with other leaders in your industry, your work team, or just a group of close friends.

The goal is to create opportunities for conversations, and experiences that your group will always remember. At a bonding retreat, you can plan excursions or activities that spark relationships.

A group hike or escape room are great options for a more adventurous group, while a more relaxed group might enjoy a bonfire or intimate dinner.

COACHING RETREATS: If you are hosting one of these, your goal is to give value to your attendees. This Retreat is all about learning and growing.

This type of retreat usually has a specific theme or mindset that will be achieved by the end of the retreat. Work-Play balance is super important for this type of event.

Try to alternate between teaching and coaching. Try putting people on the hot seat and giving them advice.

MENTOR RETREATS: This Retreat might be similar to a Coaching Retreat when it comes to content, but it specifically designed for people who have been working with you on a consistent basis.

A mastermind retreat for members of your mastermind group, or a retreat for a larger membership base, would fall into this category.

What makes this type of retreat different from a Coaching Retreat is that you really want it to be personal and luxurious. These are the people who are consistently paying you for your time, and you want to show gratitude and deliver massive value. Make sure you Include the opportunity for some face time and deep coaching.

Make sure that each day you have something relaxing to do that also provides the opportunity for bonding and answering questions.. A reception or dinner following each session is the perfect relaxing activity that also allows people to connect with each other. You may even want to plan an extra “fun” day where you do a group activity together. Remember, people stay in memberships and have positive memories of programs because of the camaraderie they feel. The goal of this retreat is to reaffirm this feeling.

WORKING RETREATS: These are all about getting things done and productivity. This is a retreat that, like the Bonding Retreat, is among your peers or team, but there is a significant amount of time carved out for production.

This Retreat is a Power Center of action, mixed with some feedback and maybe even a guest session to guide your group on a specific task. At the end of this retreat, attendees leave with a jump start on a project or a specific accomplishment in hand. Power hours and skill swaps are great activities for this type of retreat.

Where to Host Your Retreat

Where should you host your next retreat?

There are options all over the world, it just depends on what you’re looking for and who your guests are.

Think about the type of weather you want Do you want warm weather and beaches, or is a beautiful Autumn retreat in New England a possibility?

What is your budget, versus that of your guests? Are your guests the type who can afford to travel internationally, allowing you to choose tropical locations where your money will go much further? Or, will you have a better turnout if you plan a domestic retreat?

Budget isn’t the only factor- availability counts as well! An international trip to an exotic location in September may not be the best idea if your retreat guests are parents.

What Type of Activities Should You Plan for Your Retreat?

It's super important to know what the goals of your retreat are. From there,your activities will be based on that.

Some groups may want just to relax, recharge, and refuel, because we're go-go-go all the time! When you have to take time away from your family, your kids, sometimes that guilt is on us. We think, “we need to be at home”. We just make excuses. So, the goal of the retreat may be just to get away, and reconnect.

In that case, you may want to just have everything brought in for your guests. Meals, a masseuse, or a yoga instructor.

It's a different experience than if you want to plan activities in the area you’re visiting. If you have a group that doesn’t know each other that well, the goal is to create memories and connections that will last. You can do this by planning experiences.

For example, if you went to Arizona, you may want to adventure. Visit the Grand Canyon, or do a Pink Jeep offroad tour. You could visit the Farm Foodie Trail in Mesa. It all depends on your group!

For off-site activities, it's always based on the area you're in. We love to find that unique thing that they do in that area that you can experience while you're there. So, whether you've got like a sporty group or a group that's looking for luxury, you can kind of base those activities around that group and what they want.

As far as the business side of things, if you're doing a workshop or a focus-based retreat, then you probably want to do some power hours. You want to get some work done. If you're amongst your peers, if you're doing more of like a teaching workshop, you want to have that time to actually do training, sessions and coaching and maybe some one-on-one activities.

If you're doing a peer retreat where you're at a higher level, and you're not there to focus on business, you could do a fun photo shoot and give your attendees something that says, “Hey, here we all are just kind of feeding off the wonderful information that we have to share and connecting with one another.” It’s great promotion for their business, and something special for them to take away!

The right activities and itinerary creates an atmosphere where you can just naturally relax and conversation flows. Masterminding starts naturally. It’s important when you have a group of people who are entrepreneurs or who are in the same business to have that connection time.

At the end of the day, that’s what retreats are all about. Connection. That’s what people remember, and that’s what changes lives and businesses.