By Kim Kirmmse Toth

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Have you ever had a time in your business when you felt you just really needed to take that big step, that really big jump to help your business move forward?

Everyone kept telling me I needed to do a live event and how it would change my business. Well, the idea of that scared me to death!

Seriously, I am an extrovert for the most part and love to be around people. But the idea of running a live retreat, by myself, for 2 ½ days freaked me out. So, consequently I never did it.

Then for some reason last year I changed my mind. I knew I needed to do something different in my business. I did several big things that year but this was the biggest. Heck, I had never even done power point before.

So, why should you do a live retreat or live workshop or event?

• It puts you out there as the expert, even more so than a teleseminar
• You gather together a group of like-minded individuals
• Having the interaction between the attendees is much for powerful than on a virtual event, i.e.; teleseminars
• Many exercises or activities are much more effective than when done virtually
• You will truly have a blast

Is it a lot of work? Of course.

Is it worth the effort? Yes.

Imagine knowing people virtually for a long period of time, or even a short time, and then meeting them in person. When you finally meet in person something magical happens. It’s hard to explain but it’s definitely something special.

A 2 ½ day or 3 day event may seem like too much of a stretch or a commitment. Try a 3 hour workshop or a full day event.

When this is successful and people got a lot out of it, and if you enjoyed it, add on to it for next time.

Words of wisdom, hire an event planner.  You might be surprised how reasonable priced they can be depending on what you want them to do.  When it comes to negotiating your meeting space, the hotel accommodations, food, right down to the table linens you really want an expert in that area.

This is not an area you want scrimp on. You will save money in the long run unless you know the hospitality business and how to negotiate with them. And even if you do, is that how you want to spend you precious time?

My belief, you’d be better off spending it designing and developing your workshop and getting people to sign up to attend.

Another tip for you: Always have something you can offer your attendees at the end of the retreat or workshop.  Possibly some type of 6, 9 or 12 month program.  They know you now and they know your work.  Give them a rocking deal that is only for them, not for the general public.

So, are you ready to take your business to the next level? This might just be the ticket for you.

My coach’s request to you:  Start brainstorming about how you might run your retreat or workshop. What would you include? Where would you have it? How many people would you want? You might be surprised when you start really thinking about it, it’s not as frightening as you might think