Join Us For The Lift Off Retreat

What do you get when add me, Pam Slim, and Saguaro Lake Ranch together? A retreat especially for creative entrepreneurs, that's what.

It all started with a conversation Pam and I were having a few months ago. I said something along the lines of wanting to do a retreat at a place that didn't have TVs, wifi, and such so that everyone could just focus on the experience and commit their full attention to the event, and Pam said she'd been thinking along the same lines and knew the perfect place to have that kind of retreat. We started brainstorming, collaborating, and rolling up our sleeves, and we finally unveiled the landing page for the Lift Off Retreat yesterday.

We'll be working with 25 creative entrepreneurs who are ready to clear the chaff and get down to growing their businesses in 2010. The landing page gives a lot of information about what's going on - so I'll not cover it all again here.

What I do want to talk about, though, is what I really like about this retreat. The Lift Off Retreat addresses a few of the things that have been irritating me for a while when it comes to conferences, workshops, and other similar group meetings:

1. It's All About People

I don't know about you, but I get really frustrated when I pay a few thousand dollars to go meet a bunch of people only to have people scattered to hell in 14 bars, and when you do "meet" people, they're tweeting, watching TV, talking on the cell phone, and eating at the same time. If that's all we were going to do, I could've done that from home, y'know?

For Lift Off, we'll all be in the same place. Everyone will have room to breathe, but we'll also be able to actually connect with each other. There will be enough of us there that it'll be interesting, but not so many that you'll get lost in a sea of people and personalities. If you'd rather spend your time and money at a series of incoherently connected bars and parties megaconference, this won't be your thing.

So instead of just complaining about all the conferences and events, Pam and I decided to do something about it.

1. We *Get* Each Other

This is probably just another extension of the point above, but it's important enough that I wanted to give it prime billing. The Lift Off retreat is only for creative entrepreneurs, and we're confident that our landing page will make it clear whether it's right for you or not.

It's not for people who are still on the fence about starting their entrepreneurial journey. It's for those that have made the leap and are building momentum in their businesses - they know they need to start or continue making smart decisions while working through a deluge of great ideas.

It's not for people who want to become more creative per se. We'll be helping people do a lot of creative thinking and planning, but it's for those of us who wake up in the morning and make something that wasn't there the day before.

It's not for people who think they can do it on their own. It's for those people who've figured out that there's an important social component to both creativity and entrepreneurship and know that they'll benefit from the outside help.

It's not for people who want a ready-made, one-size-fits-all plan that doesn't require any work. It's for people who love what they do and know that they need to carve their own path - they're not trying to "work" less, they're trying to work on the right things.

That excludes a lot of people, and as much as we'd like to help everyone, Pam and I know how to work with creative entrepreneurs and we know that other creative entrepreneurs thrive by working with others. Since we'll all be people that get each other, it'll be like meeting old friends - except these friends will be there to make the whole group better.

1. It's All About Implementation

I don't talk much about my coaching work, which is something that I would do more of if I followed my own counsel. That aside, what you've got to know is that implementation is everything to me as a coach. It doesn't matter if we come up with great ideas and plans if I can't help you implement them.

The Lift Off Retreat carries that same flavor because Pam and I share that conviction. We're doing follow-up calls after the retreat because we know the value of having those check-in points with coaches and mentors and we want our participants to succeed. If you did the math, you'd see that participants are getting a steal on our coaching rates (especially with the Ultra Lift Off package), but it's so worth it to us to be able to help our folks make the changes they want to see.

Pam and I have been to those conferences, workshops, and seminars where you learn a bunch but aren't really helped. We're not going that route - and it makes me so happy that we're in it for the long-term. It's who I am and what I do.

I intended this post to be a lot shorter, but what can I say: I'm excited about this retreat. If you are, too, run - don't walk - over to check out the Lift Off Retreat. I hope to see you there.