I did it! My First Live Retreat is in the books!

It was everything I hoped for and some huge a-ha moments for me personally.

I'm going to share how it came about (Finally! This has been on my list of things I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember), taking imperfect action, the work involved, the event itself, and how I'm feeling a few weeks later.

Even if you don't want to host your own retreat, I'm hoping this will give you some insight and clarity into how your business should support your personality, strengths, and how you want to feel.

I had some huge epiphanies that, in all honesty, really surprised me.

Including, "Do I really want to do in-person events?" 😲

How the event, IGNITE Women's Business Retreat, Came About

As I mentioned earlier, hosting a live event has been on my list of things to do for as long as I've been in business (almost 16 years!).

After a couple of months of living in Costa Rica, I knew that's where I wanted to host an event. At the time, I had mentioned this to someone I had connected with in my building (that didn't last; she was just too much for me), and suddenly I found myself planning an overwhelming event.

Fortunately, that friendship ended, and I stepped back and knew that what we had started planning was nothing like any event I'd want to host.

Fast forward to June 2023 (five months after moving back to California from Costa Rica), and I was planning a visit back for October with a friend. I connected with this online years ago, and we have stayed in touch on & off throughout the years.

I wanted to rent my friend's beachfront house that I had stayed at a few times, but the discounted price for me had gone up (rightfully so; the house is impressive, and she's actively renting it), and my friend said it wasn't in her budget.

I wasn't interested in pivoting plans and going somewhere else because my initial goal to return to Costa Rica was to visit friends, which feels like home to me. Plus, it became apparent through our conversations that we had different ideas about what we wanted.

That's when the idea hit me.

Why don't I see if I can host a retreat instead?

I called my friend and asked if she could give me a week (she gave me two); I reached out to a couple of people and got a yes immediately.

So... my first-ever live retreat in Costa Rica was born.

One of the 'yes's' came from a dear friend, Liz Weaver, who jumped in to co-host with me (best decision ever!).

What started as a vacation back to the place I called home for almost two years quickly became a Women's Business retreat, and it was to happen in 3.5 months. Not a lot of time in the bigger picture of retreat planning, but that brings me to my next point.

Imperfect Action

You've probably heard the statement, "Imperfect action beats no action," which is 100% true. It can also bring a little bit of chaos into the mix.

That said, sometimes I think this is the best way to make things happen.

Because you don't have time to overthink, you jump in, say yes, and make it work.

The house we were renting is an incredible beachfront property in Play Potrero,...