As the leader, your retreat is not a vacation. People will say all the time "how was your vacation in Costa Rica." They just dont know how hard this work can be. With the right mindset you can have so much fun, make positive change and fulfill your purpose. But it will never be a vacation. It's legitimate work and if you approach it that way, it can be the most meaningful work of your life. But don't try to also get your vacation in with it.

Dealing with difficult customers can make or break your experience. Here I get into some strategies to preemptively gel your groups.

I didn't realize how much potential the retreat had when i first started out. In this episode i want to encourage you to go bigger in the thinking of what you're doing. Do that specifically by tuning into the why of the group.

It's possible you're at a level where you dont need to take risks. You can cruise on what you've already done. That's comfortable. But my argument here is if you want to continue to evolve and serve at ever greater levels, you have to take risks. In the podcast I get into my thoughts that perhaps once a day you try something new. Perhaps a new excursion, workshop, journal exercise, bring in a new teacher or something that puts you just outside your comfort zone as a leader.

This demonstrates to your clients that you are learning. It shows them that its ok to open up.

I dont suggest doing this with your whole event. I suggest 80% of what you do, you have down at the expert level. That will set the table for the breakthrus.

Be sure to send me a note on instagram or facebook if this resonates in some way. xoxo

and how to keep them both engaged so you work for your creative future and execute on the task at hand.

Here I break down how 35 people showed up for Tuesday yoga in a pretty remote area. Its pretty simple. Make it worth travelling for.

So stoked to share this interview with you.

I've had so many questions I've wanted to ask an expert about podcasting for yoga teachers. Who should do one. When in your business cycle - (when you have a product to sell) to launch. Best practices for running your podcast. When to launch yours ( maybe start by getting on other peoples podcasts first)

And way more.

Jessica Hurley is the ownerFounder of Instapodcasts, a podcast media agency that provides content strategy and high-level production for many of your favorite podcasts!

She writes

"I found a passion for diving into fascination and pulling out share-worthy stories that create viral content for our hosts. Believe me when I say, you have experienced something that when shared correctly is someone else's survival guide. Before doing this for others, I did this using my own show that I launched 5 years ago, The Stranded Phase, and recently promoted to Rich In Real Life.

In this process I found my voice, my tribe, and connected with sooo many incredible people. I've duplicated this same strategy with my clients and we've seen the same results, so I want to give this gift to you too because I KNOW you have a story to tell."

So many people have a totally shortsighted mindset when running their first retreat. No business on earth would expect to make money in their first week of business. Expecting to crush it on your first retreat is an equally misleading thought. Instead I recommend you approach your first retreat like you would any business.

With a 3-5 year outlook. Or even longer because you are really building your personal brand that will serve you for the rest of your life. So think about this like you are building assets. Your pictures, videos, testimonials, testing your content, developing your teaching, creating a new service that will set you up for lifelong success.

Do it the right first. And always the money will follow.

The crux of my argument here is simple. 

Don't plan retreats for other people. 

If the retreat leader is good, they don't need you. If they aren't good, then you don't want to work with them. 

What I want to say to my friends in retreat planning businesses, is don't hide in logistics. Put your face out there and stop being scared. You're already doing most of the work and its time to step into leadership front and center. 

If you are new and thinking about hiring a retreat planning business to host your yoga retreat, I encourage you to just go on a retreat at the place you want to go. 

The venue should help with a lot of your planning. Then you should come to a place where you've been on the journey and are ready to lead others to an experience you've had. That's the real formula for success that I've seen. 

On my retreats the guests often keep a running list of potentially bad advice I give. Topics range from posture cues, quotes from ancient scriptures taken out of context, relationship advice and more. While I say this tongue in cheek, I've grown up in the yoga world and seen so much contradiction that the "right way" might just be subjective. 

In this podcast I go deep into why I love discounting and how its contrary to what most marketing guru's advise. The reason I share this though is because its continually worked for me. And deep down I love love love the idea that I am providing the most value for the best price. It comes from a place of deep love for my clients and frankly it just works for me. I think you'll get something out of this... but then again I could be wrong.