Reclaiming Retreats
Have you ever been on a retreat?
If so, you know that retreats are…
**record scratch
Wait. What is a retreat?
This is a conversation I recently had with a friend of mine. She’s a fellow retreat host and was in a comment thread about pricing for retreats. Some folks were ASTOUNDED at how/why someone would charge $___ for their retreat.
But the thing is, “retreat” doesn’t MEAN anything. Not anything universal, anyway.
I’ve known people who have gone on solo retreats for spiritual study, to write a book, or just because they wanted some alone time. Hell, I went on two different solo retreats to research and write my master’s thesis before I even knew “retreat” was what that would be called!
I’ve attended low-budget working retreats, high-end luxury retreats in foreign countries, and everything in between.
I’ve hosted retreats of 20+ women in my actual home, small group retreats in hotels, and 1:1 retreats with swanky and bougie everything at every turn.
There are retreats in castles and retreats in what feels like summer camp cabins.
“Retreat” is kind of like “coaching” or “healing” in that way. It’s such a vague concept and encapsulates so many variances that when you say it, everyone relates to the word based on their unique experience.
So when I say I’m hosting a spiritual retreat in France, a healing retreat in Austin, and a working retreat here in KC, and NONE of them are remotely close to the same concept (or price point), I have to wonder: Is there a better word than “retreat” for some (or all) of these?
If you have attended a retreat of any kind, I’m curious about what that word means to you.
For me, the generality of “retreat” just means an immersive experience offering something antithetical to daily life.
So, for a spiritual retreat in France, that includes a generally slower pace of life than we typically operate with here in the US, some sort of communing with spiritual concepts (which may not be the same for all attendees), the ability to absorb (not just observe) some of the French culture (which includes a very different relationship to time, space, and even food than here in the US), and plenty of quiet built into both the venue selection and the schedule of events.
For a healing retreat in Austin, the focus is more on nourishment, movement, and connection to self to understand what needs healing and be able to appropriately decide what modalities to utilize for said healing to take place.
And for a working retreat in KC? That’s an entirely different vibe altogether. Excellent food breaking up exciting goal-and-vision-work that transitions to planning sessions followed by execution strategy. Add in profesh photo and video shoots, content creation for courses, modules, or marketing (whatever applies), and you’ve got an entrepreneurial DREAM of dedicated time to get shit done that always takes a back seat to client-facing and IRS-required tasks.
France is lux. Austin is summer-campy. KC is productive.
All three are dedicated. And focused. Because they’re immersive experiences that are antithetical to daily life.
Hosting retreats has long been one of my favorite parts of my business. There’s nothing like an in-person event to foster community. And, as one of my retreat attendees from last summer’s Reclamation Weekend said, “Healing happens in community.”
But again, that word “retreat” just has such a wide-ranging definition that I’m starting to wonder about how the word itself does a disservice to those of us who host them and those who attend them.
Every entrepreneur knows (or quickly learns) that clarity is essential for business growth. If your audience doesn’t know what the fuck you’re doing, they won’t buy it. As one of my business mentors from years ago used to say, “A confused mind says no.”
And if the word “retreat” creates confusion rather than clarity, what else could stand in its place?
Or perhaps there’s not actually a problem here. Because, again, one could say the same thing about “coaching” and “healing,” both of which are commonly used in my industry. I don’t generally focus so much on “healing” in my marketing, but I certainly call myself a coach! In fact, I call myself both a life coach and a sales coach. Which are two very different things!
So maybe “retreat” is fine as it is, and it’s up to the rest of the marketing content and sales copy to define the word for each event.
But I am super curious:
When you hear the word “retreat,” what comes to mind?
Have you attended a retreat? And if so, what was your experience like?
If you haven’t attended a retreat, what has held you back from doing so?
Seriously. Email or DM me. I want to know what you think!
