The Wilderness Tonic: a retreat for creative business owners

Small business owners inspire me. They are full of absolute creativity, clever ideas and fresh thinking (or at least the ones I know are!).

However, they never have enough time. They have big ideas, but are short on resources.

And unfortunately, if you want to turn ideas into action, time is what you need. It’s not enough to think of a good idea or even to discuss it. You need to plan it, work it out, and execute it. Small business owners usually can’t just throw money at it and hope for the best. And they usually also don’t have the luxury of lots of time to plan, or of taking big risks.

For the most part, small business owners busy themselves with the business of running their business.

What would happen if small business owners had the chance to spend some time talking through their ideas with others who “get it”? Not their partner or their parents or friends, but with other like-minded business owners?

What would happen if small business owners were given an opportunity to take a step back from their business, take stock of how far they’ve come and where they might want to end up, and look at things from a new perspective?

And what would happen if they did all this in an environment that is caring, nourishing, kind and supportive?

The Wilderness Tonic retreat

If you follow me on Instagram*, you’ll know that I was part of something very special last week that aimed to answer all these rhetorical questions. A retreat in the beautiful Peak District, created specifically for creative business owners to talk through their successes and challenges and hopefully get some clarity and focus in the process (and have a genuinely lovely day).

Instagram coach Katya Willems and I concocted the idea of a retreat of this nature when we were on a Freshwalks in Edale in the spring. I’m pretty sure the conversation started with a “I wonder what it would be like if we ran this kind of retreat”, and ended with one of us saying enthusiastically “let’s book it!”.

So we did!

It was a few months in the making, with us finding the perfect venue and working out exactly what the details of the day would entail. We decided to run an experimental version of the day with people we knew and who we could rely on for honest feedback and good suggestions of how we could improve things.

The day didn’t disappoint.

Our first retreat for creative business owners

We couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue. The Gathering at Edale is a beautiful space - often used for weddings - that has everything we needed and more. The team went out of their way to make everything simple and comfortable. One of our guests brought her dog along (Hi Zadie you beautiful beast!) and shortly after they arrived, the lovely Lesley from The Gathering appeared with a water bowl and a dog bed for our canine guest. This is just one example of how thoughtful and caring everyone at The Gathering is, and it shines through everything at the venue.

A friendly welcome from Mack and the rest of the team at The Gathering.
Photo: Katya Willems

We had seven attendees (unfortunately the eighth had to pull out on the day because of a poorly child). Some arrived by train, others by car, and nobody got lost! We kicked off with hot drinks and homemade banana bread, and got to know each other a bit better.

Chatting in full flow.
Photo: Karin Albinsson

Before the retreat, Katya and I had sent out questions which we asked everyone to answer. This had two objectives: 1. To get each attendee to take some time before the retreat to think about their successes, challenges, goals and dreams, and arrive focused, and 2. For us as facilitators to get a better idea of how we could help people on the day.

This proved to be really useful, as people weren’t put on the spot when we asked them to introduce themselves. It was brilliant to see everyone open up and share what they are finding hard, what they are proud of and what they were hoping to get from the day.

The original plan was to go for a walk straight after the introductions, but Edale’s weather gods had other plans. Instead, we did a non-cringey ice breaker game which not only helped people get to know each other better but also got us all moving about.

With body and mind awakened, we split into two smaller groups for the workshop element of the day. During these sessions, each person had about 25 minutes during which they brought a challenge to the table. The rest of the group then asked more questions and shared their perspectives, thoughts and ideas to help find a way forward.

Brainstorming in smaller groups.
Photo: Karin Albinsson

The diversity in our groups meant that each person had input from 3/4 other creative people who understand what it is like to run your own business, but have a completely different perspective.

We had people from various backgrounds and sectors: some who were just starting out working for themselves and others who haven’t worked for anyone else for years. This definitely enriched the experience for everyone.

After the small group session, we reconvened and each person shared something practical they were going to do off the back of the conversations they’ve had. It was truly inspiring to hear what actions people were going to take: from changing their product offering to planning a sales schedule, and various in-between.

Retreat Part 2

After a beautiful lunch of homemade pumpkin curry and naan bread (during which the sun came out!), we headed out into the Edale hills for a walk.

Uphill in Edale
Photo: Karin Albinsson

Katya and I are huge enthusiasts of connecting with other business people while out walking. During our hour-long walk, several people carried on with their conversations from the morning and continued to bounce ideas off each other.

Photo: Karin Albinsson

Back at The Gathering, it was time for more drinks and biscuits while the conversation continued to flow.

Photo: Karin Albinsson

The day had been pretty perfect. It was our intention to create an opportunity for people who often feel too busy to take time away from their business to take a step back so they can gain perspective. They did this through connecting with themselves (we all have the answers within us already), getting new ideas through connecting with other creative business owners and recharging through connecting with nature.

It was a great day for us as hosts, but the best part of it all was in the feedback we got from our inaugural guests.

Our first group of The Wilderness Tonic retreat attendees.
Photo: Karin Albinsson

The Wilderness Tonic retreat feedback

“I am leaving feeling refreshed and with renewed vigour and focus for my work.”

“A brilliant opportunity to step out of our day-to-day working hours and meet new people.”

“It has inspired me and given me confidence in my business to take it to the next level.”

“An excellent day in a wonderful location.”

“Great mix of people.”

“A great reason to escape from the city and connect with like-minded people.”

“Great to share thoughts and experiences on how we can all improve our business and life balance.

We also asked people to rate the aspects of the day out of 5, and here’s how they scored:

Venue - 4.9
Facilitators - 4.9
Catering - 5
Walk - 4.3
Workshop - 4.4
Overall - 4.8

After our guests had left, Katya and I kicked back with a cup of tea and decided there and then that we would run the retreat again in 2020. If you’d like to come along, find out more about the format, dates and how to book to join us at The Wilderness Tonic 2020.

*If you don’t, why not? Find me here!