The Value of Immersion: Keys to Planning Successful Retreats

[00:00:00] Alison K: I've always loved and embraced the the last minute opportunities to just go and explore because there's so much out there. Right. And you're not gonna see it if you stay in your same four walls. Right. And so much of my message, as you know, is in innovating and planning what your future vision is. You have to be able to get out of your current environment.

[00:00:18] Alison K: You have to be able to get out of what you're doing every day. Because we're such creatures of habit, we get used to having the same conversations. We get used to doing the same things. We think the same things. We eat the same food, we do the same routine. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm always, I'm a big proponent of a routine, but it's not gonna change things for you until you give yourself a different experience.

[00:00:40] Jen Ingram: Welcome to a whole lot of Shift podcast. The podcast for multi-passionate women with an entrepreneurial spirit where we provide inspiration, motivation, and education to help you shift away from all the shoulds and supposed tos to what's truly possible for you in your [00:01:00] business and your life, all on your own terms.

[00:01:03] Jen Ingram: You ready girl? Let's make shift happen.

[00:01:08] Jen Ingram: Hello and welcome to another episode of a whole Lot of Shift. I'm your host, Jen Ingram, and I'm so excited that you're here with us today. Today I have the Allison Kay, and you are all in for a very special treat as she is here to talk to us about all things retreats. I'm so excited. Welcome, Allison.

[00:01:29] Alison K: Thank you so much for having me, Jen. I'm excited to be here with you.

[00:01:33] Jen Ingram: Yes, well, you guys are in for a treat because Allison is my coach. She is a retreat strategist and I consider her really the expert and master of all things retreats. She has hosted. I already forgot her number, but she's gonna share it with us later in this episode.

[00:01:51] Jen Ingram: But a ton of retreats. I've been on a few of her retreats. They are absolute my, absolutely my most favorite. [00:02:00] And I'm also in Allison's Mastermind, her innovative Mastermind, which I. Absolutely love where we talk about how to make sure our businesses are growing and thriving, both in person and online, so that we really have the flexibility that we wanna have.

[00:02:16] Jen Ingram: Yeah. So that we can be experiencing things like, Retreats. Right? That's right. So that's right. So tell us, I know I just kinda threw it all out there, but Alison, tell us a little bit about yourself.

[00:02:29] Alison K: Well, I'm, I'm originally, I'm from, I'm a North Carolina native, which usually shocks a lot of people because in my state, in North Carolina, Most people come here to live, they're not necessarily from here.

[00:02:39] Alison K: Right. And I've actually lived all over the state. I've never lived outside of North Carolina. I've traveled the world. I've traveled extensively, but I've never lived outside of North Carolina. And that really shocks a lot of people. So, but at some point, I'll be living down in Key West, cuz if you know me, you know that, that's like one of my big happy spots.

[00:02:57] Alison K: But no, I spent my career the last [00:03:00] 30 years in the health and fitness industry. I've pretty much done, done it all. I've worked in corporate, I've worked in, you know, the medical field. I've worked in rehab. I'm a part-time instructor at a women's college here in Raleigh, and I've been doing that for close to 25 years and I've been an entrepreneur for almost 25 years.

[00:03:17] Alison K: So I've, I've been around the block and I've seen the entire industry evolve. Like many times over since Sunday. And I'm just, I'm excited to be here and, and chat about one of the things I love to do.

[00:03:30] Jen Ingram: Yes. Oh, I'm so excited. And I love, you know, as Allison shared her experience, so as you can imagine when you think about innovating your business, I can tell you she's got the experience as she has really watched things evolve.

[00:03:47] Jen Ingram: Mm-hmm. And, and of course, being in the health and fitness industry and making your way through 2020 Yes. Required a whole lot of innovation.

[00:03:55] Alison K: Yep. Well, not just for me, but for a lot of people that I [00:04:00] knew that was probably one of the, the most pivotal, innovative shifts that I've had to make. No pun intended.

[00:04:05] Alison K: I know your show has a whole lot of shift. There was a lot of shifting going on over here in 2020. I can tell you that, but you know, I'm far enough on the other side of that now. I don't know that I'm ever gonna say, I'm glad all that happened. But I can tell you right now with a hundred percent certainty that I wouldn't be delivering all of the amazing things that I'm doing now had I not had to shift.

[00:04:25] Alison K: So sound bite number one for anyone out there listening is embrace the challenges because they're always an amazing opportunity for you to grow and innovate on your own, if not in your business.

[00:04:38] Jen Ingram: Oh, I love that. And I couldn't agree more. Like I don't know that I could ever say, I'm glad 2020 happened, but I definitely came out a different person.

[00:04:49] Jen Ingram: Yep. A whole lot of things happened. Yep. So there's that, right? Yep.

[00:04:54] Alison K: That is right. It's all good. There's that. Sometimes you have to walk through the storm to get to the [00:05:00] amazing scenery that's on the other side, right?

[00:05:03] Jen Ingram: Truth, so much truth. Yeah. Well, okay, so I wanna kick it off because first you, you mentioned right off the bat that if you could, you hope someday that or not, hope you're going to be living in Key West someday.

[00:05:16] Jen Ingram: Yeah. And I already know this. Yeah. Tell me so well, let me back up a little bit. If you've been listening at all to the last few episodes in this mini series on retreats, then you've heard we talk about the retreat that I've been to in Key West, and that was one of Allison's retreats. Mm-hmm. And I've actually gone for the last two years and they, yeah, they just amazing.

[00:05:36] Jen Ingram: Like I, I can see why you wanna live there, right? Mm-hmm. Like it's just a magical place. Yeah. So talk to me. Tell me, how did you get involved in hosting retreats? What made you think. You know, I wanna start doing

[00:05:51] Alison K: this. Well, it's so, I'm so glad you asked me that because many, many years ago when I had a fairly large brick and mortar [00:06:00] fitness studio in downtown Raleigh, I had a, a brick and mortar studio for almost 18 years before I downsized to where I am now, which is much smaller.

[00:06:08] Alison K: But having said all that, when I have my studio downtown, I kept picturing myself doing retreats in different places. So, And I had a client who told me once you need to be doing workout camps in different places, you know, that would be a really fun thing and nobody's doing them. And I just kept thinking how cool it would be to do an experience where I could actually work and take people.

[00:06:35] Alison K: Cuz I've always loved to travel. I've always loved when I was single before I met my husband. It was not unlike me to pick up on a Friday night if there was a cheap airline deal and just leave for the weekend. Right. I've always loved and embraced the the last minute opportunities to just go and explore because there's so much out there, right?

[00:06:52] Alison K: And you're not gonna see it. If you stay in your same four walls, right? And so much of my messages, you know, is in [00:07:00] innovating and planning what your future vision is. You have to be able to get out of your current environment. You have to be able to get out of what you're doing every day. Because we're such creatures of habit.

[00:07:10] Alison K: We get used to having the same conversations. We get used to doing the same things. We think the same things. We eat the same food, we do the same routine. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm always, I'm a big proponent of a routine. But it's not gonna change things for you until you give yourself a different experience.

[00:07:27] Alison K: And I always saw myself doing that, but honestly, Jen, I was, there was so much, I had so much responsibility with my studio. I had instructors working for me. We had classes going on. I had a full book of business with clients that I was coaching at the time just on their health and fitness. I just did not have the bandwidth to add one more thing.

[00:07:46] Alison K: But I knew it was on my radar, right? And so when I moved, when I downsized and it, that was about eight years ago, I said, I'm doing it. And the first event that I did was local. And that's another piece of advice I'm gonna offer Anybody listening, [00:08:00] if you're gonna start doing retreats, start small, start small, stay close to home.

[00:08:05] Alison K: Stay in envi in an environment that's somewhat familiar to you, because it doesn't matter how long you've been doing what you're doing. When you add something new and different to your business, whether it's a new offer or whatever, it's gonna feel like you're starting over and it should feel like you're starting over.

[00:08:20] Alison K: Mm-hmm. Because it's brand new. Right. So I wanted to take that, take that out of the, out of my path, like right from the beginning and keep it very simple and honest. And to be honest with you, I knew what I was doing, but I didn't know what I was doing, if that makes sense. Right. You have to. Mm-hmm. You have to figure out.

[00:08:38] Alison K: How you want it to look and what it is that you wanna do. And initially my plan was to have 30 people at that first event. You wanna know how many I had? Five. How many? I had five mm. So there was a part of me that was a little disappointed, but I gotta be honest. After the event, I'm like, thank God I only had five.

[00:08:58] Alison K: Because, right. It was [00:09:00] because it was su, there's such a learning curve to facilitating event and holding energy for other people and being able to talk through things. Those five people had an amazing day with me and a couple of those people came back and did another event with me in the future. So, you know, I had to sit with that for a little bit.

[00:09:18] Alison K: And I feel like, and you know this about me, my sweet spot is anywhere between four and eight people at an event. Mm. And sometimes I have even a smaller group of people. Like one of the events I did in Key West, it was just the three of us. But I'm a almost a firm believer in the right. People always show up.

[00:09:37] Alison K: It's always the right container, it's always the right time. You know, so much of it is the BS that we tell ourselves about it. We think it should look a certain way, but we're not allowing ourselves to be open to what it could be. Yeah, and I can tell you over the years of doing, I've had retreats with two people and I've had retreats with up to 15 people, and I can tell you that every single one of 'em is different.[00:10:00]

[00:10:00] Alison K: Every single one of them has his own personality. Every single one always has lessons to teach and every single one, you always walk away with pearls of wisdom for yourself and cuz you're as transformed as your people are if you're doing it right.

[00:10:14] Jen Ingram: Right? Yeah. Oh my gosh, I love that. There's so many pieces there.

[00:10:20] Jen Ingram: And it's so funny too, that you bring up, you know, it's always the right container for the people because you know, you bring up that, hey when we went to Key West this last time, it did end up being the three of us, and I had in my head, leading up to it for weeks or months leading up to it, okay, here's who's gonna be here, right?

[00:10:38] Jen Ingram: I know it's gonna be some of the same folks from last year. Like, I was fully prepared. I was like, I can't wait to get there and I'm gonna give this person a hug. And yeah. And that was what I had in my mind. And then I got there, and then it was only the three of us. And if you remember though, after the first night of me being there with just the three of us, I said, This is the container.

[00:10:58] Jen Ingram: Yep. Yep. This, [00:11:00] this is supposed to be it. Yeah.

[00:11:01] Alison K: Because we had one more that was supposed to be arriving. Mm-hmm. And she ended up not being able to come, and I'm subsequently gonna be taking, doing a private experience with her later this summer. So that's the other piece of advice. Another soundbite here for anyone listening is, is that as a retreat leader, you have to be willing to flex.

[00:11:18] Alison K: You have to be willing to be flexible and to say everything is always happening for you. There's always a lesson. So, Nothing ever goes according to the script,

[00:11:30] Jen Ingram: right? Yeah. Oh, there's just so many things you can't, there's some things you just can't possibly plan for, right? Nope.

[00:11:36] Alison K: Nope. No. So, because the, you know, as you know, in May, I did two retreats and you were at the first one, and then I had a second group of people come in for the second one.

[00:11:45] Alison K: And the, the great irony in that is that that first week was supposed to be the bigger event. And the second event was supposed to be a smaller event because I actually initially planned it for just one client and it turned out being bigger in terms of [00:12:00] having four times as many people as what I thought.

[00:12:02] Alison K: We ended up with six people, so it was kind of like you talk about having to juggle in my head the activities and the schedule. You just have to be you, you, there are just a lot of things you just, you just have to release control of. But if you don't have a clear idea of what you're doing and how you're gonna deliver it, then something like that can really mess you up.

[00:12:23] Jen Ingram: Yeah. Right? Mm-hmm. And I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, do you normally, I. Okay. Would you typically advise someone to do retreats that close together? I mean, you've been doing this

[00:12:35] Alison K: a while. No, I wouldn't. Not, not if they're new. Yeah. Just because look, you don't, we don't know what we don't know. Okay.

[00:12:42] Alison K: We can, we, you can be an absolute expert at what you're doing. And you know, have been doing it a long time, but when you add something like a retreat and you're asking people to travel to take off of work to make plans for their household, whether it's their husband, kids, or pets or whatever, okay. Mm-hmm.

[00:12:59] Alison K: And you're [00:13:00] traveling somewhere. You know, there's always gonna be some kind of energy dynamic going on that you're not aware of because when people leave what's familiar to them and go somewhere else, you just can't help it. You carry that energy with you, and for that reason, for new retreat people, I would never advise that.

[00:13:19] Alison K: Never. Mm. But I've been doing this close to 10 years now doing retreats and Oh wow. So for me, last year, part of my vision last year when I was in Key West was, as I start to spend more and more time there is that I'm gonna be doing more events there. Yeah. So I thought, well, I'm gonna be there the whole month.

[00:13:36] Alison K: Why not do a second event? I know what I'm getting myself into. I know the island like the back of my hand. I know how to plan the thing. Right. Right, and so basically everything just came together, so,

[00:13:48] Jen Ingram: yeah. Oh, that's so awesome. Do you know how many, how many retreats have you hosted now? Do you know the

[00:13:55] Alison K: number?

[00:13:56] Alison K: I have the exact number. I'd have to sit here and think for a minute, but [00:14:00] it's probably close to the neighborhood of 25 at this point. Okay. That's in lot, lots of different places like domestic, international, all of it, so.

[00:14:10] Jen Ingram: Mm. So I imagine international brings a lot new complexities.

[00:14:16] Alison K: Yes. Yes, it really does.

[00:14:19] Alison K: And I, you know, there are a lot of people out there with very strong feelings on what they think a retreat is and where you should do it and all of that. And for me, I guess I love being in a tropical environment anyway. So of course if I'm gonna look at a, in a international location, there's gonna be like, Beach time, there's gonna be something like that involved.

[00:14:37] Alison K: Right, right. But the thing about international travel is, is that once you leave the borders of the United States, it's game on. There's a whole lot. Mm-hmm. You think a lot can happen when you fly here. There's even more that can happen when you go to a foreign country. So you really are, you know, releasing a lot of your securities when you travel [00:15:00] internationally.

[00:15:00] Alison K: Because to me there's really not a better way to teach yourself a lot of lessons and stretch your boundaries and grow than to add travel and to leave the country on top of that. Yeah. One international retreat I hosted, it was right after the whole pandemic stuff was starting to, you know, lessen up. And of course a lot of the airlines as you know, like weren't even flying during the pandemic cuz nobody was traveling.

[00:15:23] Alison K: Right, right. And so we had, there were so much happening that was out of my control. Like resorts were only partially open. And a lot of it, they didn't have staff and then airlines. Mm-hmm. Only had a handful of flights running at a time. Right. Because they didn't have crew. And then you've got people that are still afraid to travel.

[00:15:43] Alison K: Right. So it's like you've got people signing up and then you've got people saying, well look, I'm not gonna come cuz I don't think it's safe. So you're trying to navigate all of that too. So it's just, it was a lot. It was. And it turns out that was the biggest retreat I ever did. That was my 15 person retreat that year.

[00:15:59] Alison K: [00:16:00] So, wow, that was a lot. And I didn't really plan that. It just kind of like worked out that way. But to me, I was like, okay, people are ready to travel. And my people are always the people that raise their hand and say, yes, that's me. You know, I believe that you don't need to talk people into doing something.

[00:16:16] Alison K: You either know if you wanna do it or you don't. Right? Yep. And so for me, that trip was more about like, Stepping out of the whole pandemic thing and really embracing this whole, all right, this is what I do, this is who I am. Cuz that was the biggest international trip I've done to date. I've done smaller international trips, but not like that.

[00:16:39] Jen Ingram: Wow. Would you say, so I heard you say that your sweet spot is between four and eight people thereabout. So thereabout, so, yeah. Yeah, how like sometimes

[00:16:52] Alison K: it could be like three or four, you know, up to about eight people. So

[00:16:57] Jen Ingram: yeah. What do you think [00:17:00] is, what makes that such the sweet spot? Like what makes that more valuable than the 20 person retreat?

[00:17:08] Alison K: Well, a couple things. One is energetically, as a retreat leader, you cannot be available for a large group of people at one time. I know there are a lot of people out there that think they can do it. But those are not retreats. Those are vacations. Those are getaways. Those are girls weekends, boys weekends, whatever you wanna call it.

[00:17:26] Alison K: And look, there's nothing wrong with any of that. Okay? I'm not gonna sit here and say that's not a good thing, cuz it is. But let's be very clear, that's really not a retreat because a retreat is about going inward within yourself. It's about examining what it is that got you to the retreat. And it's about who are you gonna be when you leave?

[00:17:48] Alison K: And granted, in a big group of people, you can have those conversations, but as a retreat leader, you cannot hold space for that many people at one time and do it very well, [00:18:00] not without a lot of people helping you. Right, right. So for me to answer your question, a, a very, a small group really lends itself to not only holding a really safe container.

[00:18:13] Alison K: But also facilitating conversations between people, helping people bond and form friendships. And for me too, for me, it's as much about being in the moment with them, right? Mm-hmm. So that if there's a moment that I need to interject and, you know, bring someone out off of the cliff, so to speak, or out of the rabbit hole or wherever the places that we go when we start, like really challenging what we're thinking and believing.

[00:18:40] Alison K: It's really hard to do that with a big group of people because people's, mm-hmm. You start challenging people to grow and guess what? Their shit comes up. Pardon my French. But it does. Okay. Yeah, it does. It does. And that's just because we get in our stories, we believe our stories. We're really good at our stories because they become habits.

[00:18:59] Alison K: [00:19:00] Right. And anytime you're challenging people on something that they really believe to be true, you better be prepared for what's gonna come up. And if you've got a big group of people, it can be really hard to navigate that at least very effectively. So for me personally, just because of the nature of my retreats and how I do things, mm-hmm.

[00:19:21] Alison K: I think I am the strongest. When I have that type of group of people, that's when I really feel like I can use all of my strengths and when I feel like my people really get the best results.

[00:19:34] Jen Ingram: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's fair. And I think even as a. As a participant, and you know, even as a participant, you're absorbing all those energies.

[00:19:45] Jen Ingram: They're all coming at you. And if you are at a place that you're wanting to look inward, which I would think is the part of the purpose of going to the retreat, right? Yeah. This isn't a vacation, this is a retreat, right? You're there for reflection and [00:20:00] development and growth. So I can't. Deal with my own shit and take on the energy of 20 other people.

[00:20:09] Jen Ingram: Yep. Right? Yep. It, it's a lot as a participant to take in. Well, and the other

[00:20:14] Alison K: thing, the other thing to remember as a retreat leader is, is that you were ultimately helping deliver an outcome for somebody. Mm. Now when people show up, they may not really know what the outcome is that they want to get.

[00:20:28] Alison K: They just know that they need to be there. They may say, I'm here because I need a break, but there's always something underneath, right? And right. As a retreat leader, what we have to understand is, is that we are responsible for helping them get the outcome that that is, that they want. And if you allow yourself to get sucked in to the drama that happens when people's stuff starts coming up and look, it has to come up.

[00:20:56] Alison K: Okay. I'm not saying, oh yeah, it shouldn't come up. It has to come up. But if you allow [00:21:00] yourself to get absorbed in all of that, we have to remember that we're energetic beings and we take on energy from other people, and we're not even conscious of it most of the time. Mm-hmm. So I have to be very careful as a retreat leader when I see that somebody is having either a breakthrough.

[00:21:15] Alison K: Or what could potentially be a self-destructive moment? Because look, we're all really hard on ourselves. Or when somebody is potentially on the edge of not a very good exchange with another person or, you know, a, a past story is really coming up, that's really hurtful for them. You just, you, there's some things you just cannot script, but you just have to be prepared and ready for it.

[00:21:38] Alison K: Yeah, and you have to be ready to respond because you want people your number one responsibility. Here's another soundbite for anybody listening. Your number one responsibility as a retreat leader is the protection of your people. That is your number one responsibility. You have to provide a safe space.

[00:21:57] Alison K: You have to be the leader, not their friend. And [00:22:00] sometimes that means you have to say things that nobody wants to hear, so you have to be prepared to pull people away. Even if it means they have to leave the room and say, look, this is, there is not, this is not the place for this. This is what we're gonna be working on.

[00:22:14] Alison K: Right. And sometimes it means people might not like you, but you have to be willing to, you have to be willing to go there if you need to.

[00:22:23] Jen Ingram: Yeah, right. Oh, for sure. And I think that's another, you know, one of the, the lessons that I gave as being a participant mm-hmm. Is to really understand and dig into why you're there as a participant.

[00:22:37] Jen Ingram: Exactly. Yep. And what you're, just, like you said, I'm there for some type of outcome. Yep. Because, It is easy to get drawn in, you know, to other things. And you have to be able to tap back into, okay, why am I here though?

[00:22:52] Alison K: Yeah, yeah. Well, and I think the other thing that we have to remember is it's human nature.

[00:22:57] Alison K: When someone tells a story and [00:23:00] then we wanna jump in and say, oh my gosh, the same thing happened to me. I totally hear you. I understand. And then you get a lot of that, what I like to call cheerleading going on, right. Which you know that you go girl, and Yeah, I get that. And oh, I totally know what that's like too.

[00:23:16] Alison K: You know, you have to be willing to, to kind of like keep that at bay as well, because it's easy once people start like getting into that circle of conversation, it can be really hard to. To hit that off at the pass and look, some of that is okay because I think if we're sharing something that's put that makes us vulnerable or feel vulnerable or particularly unsafe, I think it's really important that we have validation from people that are there that it's okay, you know, or whatever.

[00:23:45] Alison K: But that's where it has to stop. You just have to be very, very careful and it takes a lot of energy to be able to do that.

[00:23:52] Jen Ingram: It does, and a lot of intentionality, a lot of energy. But, but I also think that's what makes the experience so [00:24:00] rewarding. Yeah. Like people keep asking me, you know, you're traveling, but you're going on all these retreats.

[00:24:05] Jen Ingram: Like, what's the, and I'm like, because I walk away with

[00:24:10] Alison K: something. Yeah. You walk away a different version of yourself.

[00:24:14] Jen Ingram: Yes. And that's completely different than a vacation. Don't get me wrong. I might go on vacation and be like, oh my gosh, I experienced this really cool thing. Yeah. Whatever it was. And yep.

[00:24:23] Jen Ingram: And that's exciting. And now I can tell about it. Yep. It's different. Especially if I'm on a retreat and I get both. Mm-hmm. I get to have an experience. So like we just did that this year in Key West. We went on the boat tour, sunset tour. So I had that like experience, which was really powerful and impactful for me, and I got to walk away with this outcome of some of the things that I wanted to work on.

[00:24:48] Jen Ingram: Yep. And to be able to. Have both of those things occur in one place. It's, it's just, it's well worth it to me. Yeah. But,

[00:24:58] Alison K: well, and you just, [00:25:00] there's, there's, here's another sound bite for anybody listening is that you have to be very careful how much you decide to do. You cannot have every hour scheduled.

[00:25:10] Alison K: You cannot try to pack too much in. It really takes away from the experience for people. In my opinion, if you're new running retreats or this is something you're thinking about adding, keep it very simple. Very simple. In fact, I wouldn't even add any extra activities. I would just keep it very basic.

[00:25:28] Alison K: Stick to your script and keep it very simple, but enjoyable for your people because you don't know what you don't know. And Right. It's just, you know, I add a lot of things now, not a lot of things, but I'm very selective about the things that I add because the things that I add have to compliment my program, you know?

[00:25:46] Alison K: Mm-hmm. Like, we went on the boat in Key West and that was very intentional on my part because of what we were doing. I didn't just say, yeah, oh, let's go on a party boat. That sounds like a good idea. You know, I just, right. I, I was very selective down to the boat that [00:26:00] we actually went on, because I wanted it to compliment our program.

[00:26:04] Alison K: And

[00:26:04] Jen Ingram: it so Totally did. I agree. If we had been on a party boat, not the same experience to go with what we were working on. Yeah.

[00:26:13] Alison K: At all. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just think that a lot of people, you know, they, a lot of people that wanna do retreats and events or, you know, excursions or whatever it, it's more, I think people have a tricky thought that, that if I don't plan a lot, nobody want, will want to come.

[00:26:31] Alison K: Right. And sometimes when I talk to people about a retreat and they, they reach out to me and say, Hey, I'm interested in going to Key West, and I talk to them about the program. Well, so we're not gonna, we're not gonna go for a day on the boat. We're not gonna spend a day at the beach. I'm like, Nope. And they're like, oh, okay.

[00:26:49] Alison K: I'm like, well then maybe this just isn't the right experience for you. Right, right. Because look, you know, right, the way that we work on ourselves, number one, we have to be willing to invest in [00:27:00] ourselves. But number two, we have to be willing to give ourselves different experiences. You know, the problem with just vacations and getaways and a bunches of people getting together out of town and to give themselves a break or whatever you wanna call it, is, is that once you go back home, you go back to doing the same things.

[00:27:17] Alison K: You know, nothing changes for you, right? So, at all of my events, my, my number one intention every day is, is that I want people to walk away with the tools, the instruments, the plans, whatever they need to do to just plug themselves in when they get home. Cuz that's what it's all about.

[00:27:36] Jen Ingram: Yes. Yes. And that's one of the things that I love, right, is I get to come back home and I have all the things that we just worked, worked on.

[00:27:44] Jen Ingram: Mm-hmm. And, but now I have these new tools that I can keep using and implementing and refer back to. Mm-hmm. It's so, it's so powerful. How important do, would you say, thinking about location like mm-hmm. What is the [00:28:00] role location plays into planning a retreat?

[00:28:04] Alison K: Well, I have two, two opinions on that. One is, as a retreat leader, I always let my intuition guide me on where I think I should go.

[00:28:13] Alison K: I think a lot of retreat leaders just pick fun places that they think would be fun to go and say. I, I've always, I think it would be really fun to do an event here. I. Yeah, but here's my thought. There's nothing wrong with that. But here's my thought to that. My rebuttal rather, is that I think you have to really think about the kind of experience that you want your people to have.

[00:28:33] Alison K: What is it that, what does this, number one, what does this experience look like? What did, what does it look like in your mind? And number two, what is it that you want people to get out of it? Okay? And now that people are wanting to travel everywhere, I think a lot of people are, are open to experiencing going somewhere different.

[00:28:53] Alison K: I mean, honestly for me, when I pick a location, it's usually a combination of two things. It's either a place [00:29:00] that I love to go, I've had a great time going there as a participant or as on vacation, and I think it would be amazing to give people an experience there. And then the other piece is, is that sometimes it's a place that I just feel instinctively drawn to.

[00:29:16] Alison K: You know, a place that I really feel like I can get out of my comfort zone a little bit, and upskill and uplevel myself, as well as helping my people do that too. Cause remember, as a retreat leader, if you're doing your work right, you are transformed just like your people are. Now granted when your people leave, you know, your emotions kind of go all over the place.

[00:29:39] Alison K: You're kind of like there's a part of you that's excited that. Man, I can't believe that. That just was in such an amazing event, right? We never want it to end and then there's a part of us that we really need to pay attention and recharge our batteries too. Cause it takes a lot out of you. Mm-hmm. So I, I guess to answer your question, you know, for me it's a hybrid of those two [00:30:00] intentional thoughts.

[00:30:00] Alison K: It's, it's where is it that I really love to go? Where is it that I could really give people an amazing experience and why? And two over here is. What, what is it about this place that I just feel drawn to? You know, I, I wanna really sit with that and make sure I'm clear on that, and it's not just, oh, wow, I'd love to go there.

[00:30:21] Alison K: Let's go. Right, right. So, right. I just, anyone listening, I would just challenge them to, to really sit with that, pick a place that where you really feel energetically drawn to and that you feel not just comfortable, but almost challenged to grow on your own. Because every retreat experience changes you as a leader as much as it does your people.

[00:30:45] Jen Ingram: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I think probably, probably the last question, but I had this question pop up from somebody I was talking to this last weekend actually, and they were asking on retreats, is it better [00:31:00] to. And I don't even wanna use the word better. I don't remember their exact wording, but I think the question revolved around do you want a retreat center or a resort or more of a Airbnb vibe where you're ho hosting at that location?

[00:31:19] Alison K: Well, I don't know that there's really a correct answer to that, but what I'll do is I'll just share my perspective because I've done it. I've done retreats at all of those places that you mentioned, and then some. I think a retreat center is very valuable if you're gonna have a very immersive type experience where you don't want any distractions, you want a lot of things done for you.

[00:31:42] Alison K: You know, I think there are people that appreciate that about a retreat center. Personally, I don't, that's not my style, because I want my people to have an experience outside of the retreat too, with carefully chosen activities. That really lend itself to the [00:32:00] energetic vibe of the place where we're going.

[00:32:02] Alison K: Cause I'm all about a theme. I'm gonna theme my event and I'm gonna theme the hell out of it. And I wanna make sure that everybody that comes really has that experience. Like they just have that tangible feeling, almost like I could put that energy in a box with a bow on it and say, here, this is what you're taking away.

[00:32:18] Alison K: Right? Yeah. So to answer your question, I personally prefer Airbnbs a smaller venue. Maybe a small resort guest house type property that has that intimate feel, cuz remember, mm, I think every retreat leader has to really ask themselves honestly, how, how many people can I really serve and serve Well, sometimes it's not about more, sometimes less is more.

[00:32:44] Alison K: Yeah. You know, I've done the big resorts and there's a lot of workarounds that you have to do with that. A lot of times you can't reserve space. You're really dependent on what's going on at the resort at the time. There's a lot of things that are out of your control the bigger you go. Right. [00:33:00] So for that reason, like in Key West, I usually do a house or I have this favorite little guest house property that I use.

[00:33:06] Alison K: It's only got five suites, and I use that sometimes as well. I usually go back and forth between the two. I've done the hotel route, I've done the resort route plenty of times, and there's a place for that. But for an honest to goodness retreat feel, I don't recommend that. Yeah.

[00:33:23] Jen Ingram: Yeah. I've done both now as well, and I kind of agree.

[00:33:27] Jen Ingram: I think you get the opportunities to actually bond with others and really dig into the work. Mm-hmm. The opportunity is there in that more intimate space. Yeah. It's a little harder at a re big resort. Yeah. Where maybe you, maybe you reserved a room, but, and even a lot of times it re it resorts, those rooms aren't always a hundred percent

[00:33:50] Alison K: private.

[00:33:51] Alison K: Yeah, exactly. There's just a lot that's not in your control. And, and you know, I see a lot of people online posting with groups of [00:34:00] friends at these fancy resorts, like in the Caribbean and Mexico and other places. Yes. And no offense, but that's not a retreat, that's a get together with friends and that, and you know what?

[00:34:08] Alison K: Enjoy it. Go do it and enjoy it. I like doing that, but I'm not gonna do a retreat there for that reason.

[00:34:15] Jen Ingram: Exactly. Yeah. No, I, I completely agree. Totally. Shocker. Shouldn't be, but shocker, we're in alignment on all these thoughts. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. It's It's totally true. Oh my gosh. This has been such an amazing experience.

[00:34:33] Jen Ingram: I know, Allie, that you've got several more retreats coming up this year. Any, any ones in particular you wanna give a shout out to?

[00:34:41] Alison K: Of course, I am. I am planning to do a couple of private v i p experiences. I call 'em one or two people. And I do have room in my calendar. I'm gonna be going back to Key West.

[00:34:52] Alison K: And so if you missed this last retreat in Key West and you have that on your radar and you would like to go and experience Key [00:35:00] West my way, then let me know. I am also gonna be doing a smaller group experience down there the first week of December to kind of like wrap up the year and vision cast for next year.

[00:35:11] Alison K: So that one's out there as well. Mm-hmm. And then the other trip that I'm doing this year, there are two of them, is we have a, a slightly bigger group, eight people going to St. Lucia the first week of November. And we're gonna be at a small resort down there called the Windjammer. It's locally owned, it's small private suites.

[00:35:30] Alison K: And we've got, I've got two excursions planned that week while we're there. And then the other retreat, of course, that you are, that hopefully you'll be coming to is the next innovate retreat, which we do at my lake house on Lake Norman, which is just north of Charlotte. And that will be like five or six people at that one as well.

[00:35:46] Alison K: So we have still several things going on the rest of this year, and we've got several planned for next year as well.

[00:35:54] Jen Ingram: Oh, that's so exciting. Yeah. I can't wait. I, I went to Lake Norman in February as part of [00:36:00] the Innovate Mastermind and gorgeous, gorgeous area. It was so peaceful. Yeah. Could not have been any better.

[00:36:08] Jen Ingram: Really? Yeah. Just an amazing, and yeah, I think we had five or six of us there. Yeah,

[00:36:12] Alison K: we did. There were five of us there. It was just perfect.

[00:36:14] Jen Ingram: Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it was great. Yeah. The

[00:36:18] Alison K: right people always show up, so,

[00:36:21] Jen Ingram: right. Yeah. That's another one where we thought we just had a mix of different people who ended up showing up and not showing up, but it was exactly what Yep.

[00:36:30] Jen Ingram: How it was supposed to be. Yep. Yeah. That's always how it's, it's so amazing. Yeah. So if one of our audience members wanted to get in contact with you, how can they follow you or reach out?

[00:36:44] Alison K: They can go to my website at www.theallisonk.com and connect with me there. You can go to the connect or contact me and just send me a note directly from my website.

[00:36:55] Alison K: You can check out my podcast, the Ultimate Journey of Self-Care, which drops every Tuesday, [00:37:00] and then creating the world's best client experiences. That's what we're talking about here. That's my second show, which drops on Thursdays, so you could check either one of those out. You can reach out to me on any of my socials.

[00:37:11] Alison K: I'm on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, so you can reach out to me on any of that. And if you want to get your hands on my free retreat playbook, it's my five step process. This is the same process that I use on any O of the events that I do. You can go to my website, any of the pages there. If you scroll to the bottom and put your email address in, we'll send it to you as a free gift.

[00:37:36] Jen Ingram: Oh, that's amazing. Okay. I'm gonna be sure and put those links into the show notes. So if you're listening, be sure to check the, the show notes so that you have access to the website. And I'll also be sharing all of her handles for social media. She's under the Alison K. Yep. So definitely check those out.

[00:37:54] Jen Ingram: You guys will want to get connected with Allison for sure. And check out her [00:38:00] podcast. Because I, it's been, and sorry, and I do wanna give this plug too. Allison also has a couple groups on Facebook, so I'm gonna share how to follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Mm-hmm. But be sure and check her out when you get to Facebook cuz she's got some groups that are open.

[00:38:17] Jen Ingram: And I have to tell you, the things that she shares in those, in those groups is, is really powerful between there and her email list, you want to, you're gonna wanna check out what she's got going on this year For sure.

[00:38:29] Alison K: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. Come over and join us on Facebook. I'm all about community, so

[00:38:34] Jen Ingram: Yeah.

[00:38:35] Jen Ingram: I love that. Yeah. All right. Okay, well I think that about wraps us up. Thank you, Alison. It's been such a pleasure.

[00:38:43] Jen Ingram: Hey shifters. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of a whole lotta shift. If you heard something today that inspired you or resonated with you, please head over to iTunes and leave us a review to help others as well. Your review helps me give as much motivation and [00:39:00] inspiration as I possibly can.

[00:39:02] Jen Ingram: And don't forget, you can catch all the outtakes bonuses. Special live stream interviews and much more over at a whole lot of shift Facebook group. Until next time, keep making shift happen.