The $308 business retreat which created revenue of $4,991 in one week

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Ever feel swamped — even the “good” swamped where you have several opportunities yet feel there’s no time to take advantage of them all?

That was me last month.  I thought, “If I could just get away for a week, I could catch my breath and get ahead a bit.”

As entrepreneurs, we often think this a lot, yet never take action on it.  Money aside, there’s all the other things: family, clients, personal responsibilities. . .

I spoke with my husband and we created a plan.  My retreat was now a real possibility with the following criteria:

  • inexpensive (under $500, less if possible)
  • close enough that I could drive and be home if needed for family reasons (my sister is currently undergoing chemo and I attend as many appointments with her as possible — yet another reason I love having my own business), yet far enough away that I wouldn’t be “running home” for items
  • it had to have wireless internet
  • ideally, it would have a view of either mountains or water (ocean, lake, etc.) with a balcony so I could work outside as I think best in this environment
  • had to be a week when I had few planned calls and when my sister did not have chemo

With these specifics in place, we set about looking.  I asked DH (darling hubby, who also works with me in the business) if he could handle the search (delegating rocks!).

He found me a condo with jacuzzi and full kitchen for $199 for 7 days (early May is “off season” in the Berkshires of Western Mass — too late for skiing and too early for summer-stuff so it was easier than you’d think to locate), about a 3-hour drive from home with internet, balcony and view of the mountains and, to top it off, he came for the first weekend as a mini-vacation for us.  🙂

It was almost perfect — turns out the “wireless internet” was dial-up, which was actually a good thing as it kept me offline except when I needed to be online. 😉

I won’t go into the list of things I accomplished that week — suffice to say it was about a month’s worth of “regular days'” work.

What I will share is that I set a goal on Monday of that week to bring in an additional $5,000 in revenue that week.  I didn’t know how at the time, just set the goal and gave my subconscious the freedom to work on it.

With the space and time to think, to process what was going well, what needed tweaking, what needed total overhauling as I got things done, I created a new program.  One which, when I cleared away all the *noise* and truly heard what clients were asking for was a huge “Of course!” or, “DUH!” if I’m being totally honest.

Important note: “Create a new program” was NOT on my list of things to get done that week.  It was the “getting things done” plus space and clarity which brought this program into being.

I announced it to a small group of newsletter readers and within 2 days received $4,991 in new revenue and, since then, another $2,010 over 3 months without a launch or campaign, etc.  And the rest of the $308?  It was spent on gas and a fabulous solo-celebration dinner my last night in the Berkshires.

What does this mean for you?

  1. Listen to your mind/body.  If it’s telling you to “get away” or “take a break”, don’t dismiss the idea, instead ask “How can I make this happen?”.  Resourcefulness is more important than resources here.  Even if you get away overnight or stay local and work remotely (think local library from 10 – 2 for 3 days).
  2. Create a goal and be open to how it’s realized.  This doesn’t mean sit on a mountaintop and wish it into being — take steps to bring it to fruition and be open to other possibilities that pop up.
  3. Give yourself some space and ask the question “What do my clients want and need most right now?”  Then be silent and listen to what they say/what comes up for you.  Not sure?  Check your last webinar/webcast/teleclass and see what most of the questions are around and go from there.

I’d love to know your thoughts and/or how you’re going to apply the above to your business in the comments section below and, if you’d like some assistance in corralling all that needs doing as you continuously switch entrepreneurial hats, check out our Entrepreneur’s Calendar System — it’s designed for business owners who want to get stuff done.