As wellness entrepreneurs, we are always busy serving our clients and managing all aspects of our business. Add to the mix everything else life throws at you, family, groceries, bills to pay, and things can get pretty hectic!
When we get lost in the day-to-day business operations and busy personal lives, we sometimes forget to zoom out, look at the big picture of things and ask ourselves:
Where am I heading?
It's so important to periodically zoom out to assess and reevaluate where we are with our business and retreats and how that aligns with our goals and dreams.
You don't want your business or retreats to run on autopilot. You want this journey to be intentionally designed and anchored in your goals.
This only happens if we MAKE TIME for the high-level perspective. The bird's-eye view.
Taking time to zoom out allows us to find ways to level up, tweak, pivot, re-commit, and improve things in our business and retreats as needed.
Here are four important questions I think every retreat leader should ask themselves to level up their retreats (and business).
I reference retreats in these four questions, but you can insert any other wellness offerings or services. For example, you could also look at your 1:1 coaching program if you are a nutrition coach. You could look at your teacher training or workshop series if you are a yoga teacher.
Q1: What is my retreat niche?
When planning a retreat, you always have to consider who you are planning it for, and you want to be as specific about it as possible.
To make sure you create the most high-quality experience with your retreats, you have to know what type of client or student you are shaping that experience for. If you don't, your retreat can become too general or watered-down.
Are you helping athletes recover from an injury at your retreat?
Are you helping busy entrepreneurs learn how to incorporate a daily mediation practice?
Are you helping women in their 40s and 50s balance hormones and navigate menopause?
Are you helping overwhelmed moms learn to journal to find more presence and peace in their lives?
Not only is this aspect important to design an amazing retreat experience that truly responds to the needs of your target audience, but you will also have a better idea of how to communicate this information in your marketing.
Your retreat marketing becomes more clear and more concise. This, in turn, helps you attract the right people to your retreat.
Another key reason to have a clear and defined retreat niche is to make sure you deliver the results your target audience wants and needs. If you know that your retreat is for a specific group of people looking for specific results or benefits, you will be able to cater to those needs to have your retreat truly serve those clients.
Ask yourself, am I being specific enough about who I'm serving with my retreat?
Q2: How do retreats fit into my current business model?
Do you know how do retreats fit into your business model? What role do retreats play in the structure of your offerings?
Do you want your retreat to be a core offer in your business or just an add-on or occasional thing you offer?
How often do you want to plan retreats, i.e., yearly or quarterly?
Are they part of a course, mastermind, or an existing wellness program?
How much of your revenue comes from retreats? What are your financial goals with retreats?
It’s important to also ask yourself:
What can I improve on to plan, market, and lead my retreats more effectively and profitably?
In what areas do I need help with my retreats? For example, marketing, accounting, logistics, travel planning, leadership, or customer service.
Q3: What is my USP?
When it comes to your retreats, you want to be very clear on your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Your USP sets your retreats apart from similar ones out in the market and helps you position your retreat well.
There are so many retreats out there, and it's no doubt a crowded market. If you are unsure about what makes your retreats unique and stand out in the sea of other retreats, you will struggle to fill them.
You can view your USP as your proprietary method, framework, or unique approach to helping your ideal clients.
It's what I like to call your "magic sauce," and it can be a blend of skills, education, personality, experiences, approach or perspective, etc.
The success of your retreat is knowing three things:
Your Ideal Retreat Client: really understanding who specifically your retreat is for.
Your Retreat Promise: the benefits and results you promise your clients with your retreat.
Your USP/”Magic Retreat Sauce:” What's unique about your retreat offer, and how is it different from others out there?
Q4: Am I pricing My retreats correctly?
I know pricing can be a headache when you first start out planning retreats.
You have all these questions swirling around your head:
Would people pay X amount for my retreat?
What are other people charging?
Will I even make money on this retreat?
Knowing how to price your retreats appropriately is one of the most important elements of hosting a successful experience. I've seen people lose money just because they don't know how to do this calculation correctly.
Pricing your retreat starts with understanding your business revenue goals and how your retreats fit into that equation.
You have to consider the minimum number of people you need to make your retreat financially viable. You also need to make sure you are factoring in all the expenses and projecting potential future costs so that you don't get surprises at the end.
Ask yourself, am I pricing my retreat right and in alignment with my financial goals for my business?
If you want to learn more about pricing your retreat right, I have a retreat budgeting and pricing tool I use with all my clients called The Budget and Pricing Formula. You can learn more about it here.