Luxury Retreat Kudos
I am Beautiful
Last week I was in Maui, attending Caterina Rando’s Breakthrough Luxury retreat. I signed up for the retreat last year, having decided that I deserved to take a luxury retreat. I have never done anything like this, wasn’t sure what it was, but part of the draw was taking a trip that required little effort from me. I didn’t have to plan it, figure out the logistics, or negotiate. All I had to do was get on a plane and show up. I was counting on Caterina to show me a good time and bring value to the experience. This is very much a part of her secret sauce and what draws me to her work and her community.
I had the good fortune to choose Katie Macks to be my roommate. She is one of the women in Caterina’s community that I am drawn to and I wanted to get to know better. Lucky for me, she agreed to be my roommate. The extra special gift was that Katie had thought to ask/negotiate for an ocean view room and we had the best digs one could ask for!
As far as I was concerned, everything was in place for a stellar luxury experience. I was sharing space with Katie, who I adore and we were at a five star hotel on the beautiful island of Maui with ocean air cascading through our suite and a view of the ocean. The time change had me in bed early and getting up at 5:00am each day to work out in the gym, take a walk on the ocean pathway and enjoy a yummy breakfast in slow motion. All this before my day got started at 9am. This was the most luxurious part of the retreat; mornings unencumbered where I was able to do self-care, have time to feel space and feel ease in preparing for my day. And there was little preparation (that was Caterina’s job) which made it even better!
The retreat itself was about business from the inside out and much of the focus was on self-care for women entrepreneurs. Honestly, the “class time” was a mixed bag, some I found of great value and some not so much. I did have a breakthrough experience (and it was a big one!!) that came on the heels of my asking Caterina to change things up a bit. I wasn’t getting what I needed and one of her fine qualities is listening and upgrading when she knows a change would make things better. Her brilliance shines through in many ways and when she stepped in and “did her thing”, it was magnificent. This is a lesson for all of us; listening to what is needed, combined with our own intuition (I don’t think I was telling Caterina anything she didn’t already know) and being flexible will often up our game and serve our peeps in exactly the way they want to be served.
My connection with Caterina came from my desire to become a sought after speaker and to learn what it takes to make speaking a profitable part of my business. I enrolled in 2013 and have taken the course one and three quarters times (I still have one last session to finish up) and it was well worth my investment of time and money. My goal was to become a national speaker and last year I spoke at the NAWBO national conference in Indianapolis. Earlier this month I spoke in Iowa. I am learning the ropes!
Caterina shows women in business how to monetize through a combination of business venture, speaking, and planning successful events and retreats. After having attended her summits, speaker’s training, bi annual events for the women in her community, Global Love Day (where we raised over $10,000 for women and girls internationally) and the Hawaiian Breakthrough Luxury Retreat, I will tell you she is a master of event planning and knowing how to keep lifelong clients. Look at me! My clients wonder why I am working with and promoting Caterina in my community. The answer is simple; I believe collaboration is the best way to promote women in business rather than focusing on competitiveness. Much of what Caterina teaches about business is my expertise but this other stuff she knows is a great training ground for me and I can then share what I learn with you. Be on the lookout for the Biz Diva retreat coming your way in 2016!
Caterina is my guest speaker on Wednesday‘s Good Things Challenge monthly call. Please tune in to hear her talk about “Mastering Client Appreciation to Ensure Happy, Long-Term, and Life-Long Clients”. The call-in information is here.
If you are interested in attending one of Caterina’s two day summits, I can offer you a special code that will make it ridiculously affordable. You will leave with new information and ideas on how to move your business, speaking, or events forward with more grace and ease. Plus, you’ll meet fabulous women and likely have a good time! Email me if you have an interest in knowing more.