2019 Business Outlook & Planning Retreat - Ojai, CA

A few weeks ago, I fulfilled a dream I always had before I even started my business. I told myself that every year, I would INVEST the time to REMOVE myself from chaos, REST my body & soul, RECHARGE my brain and "RENOVATE" my business as needed. Whether it be myself or with or creatives - I wanted to create a space where I can celebrate past accomplishments, analyze my goals for the year and work on goals & business strategy for the following year. WE DID JUST THAT!

Arriving to Ojai...

My fellow wedding vendor friend, Gissel of The Timeless Lily quickly agreed to do this trip together. It was a no-brainer to take our first annual business retreat to Ojai. Nestled in the canyon but a short drive from the beach, quiet outdoors and beautiful charm around every corner - we knew it had to be in Ojai!

We stopped by a local favorite breakfast spot, Bonnie Lu's which is located in the "arcade" off the main road in Ojai.

After filling our tummies, we headed over to Ojai Meadows Preserve. We were there at the hottest part of the day so I would suggest getting there early morning!

Arriving to our "Home"

We knew we had to stay in an Airbnb and not a hotel. I wanted to feel at home but also have different work space to get inspired and get some work done. We found this beautiful gem called Casa Shangri-La nestled in Meiners Oaks about 5-10 minutes away from Downtown Ojai.

Every corner of this home had adorable charm and usable space. Most of my work got done in the living room, Gissel opted for the desk in the kitchen but evening coffee breaks were spent outside with a bonfire and our morning coffee breaks were spent in the backyard with the birds chirping.

What Our Retreat Included...

Once we checked in (host allowed us to get in early which was amazing), we got right to work! Coffee was made, laptop was charged and our Cultivate What Matters Powersheets & Jasmine Star Action Plans were ready for us to dig in!

For lunch, we made Chicken Pesto Mozzarella Arugula Paninis - yes they were DELICIOUS!! It was so nice to enjoy lunch without interruptions or distractions. After lunch, we dug right back into our Action Plans. We clarified our "Why," our Ideal Client and so much more. Those key elements had us shooting off firework ideas for hours and we brainstormed on how we could take our business to the next level!

Our Last Day...

Our last day was another early morning - enjoyed freshly baked cookies, un cafecito and watched the sunrise. Breakfast (chorizo & egg breakfast tacos) and a morning stroll were just what we needed to start another day of goal planning for 2019!

I'm a Makeup Artist, of course I had to include some makeup products! ;)
After working, we decided to visit the local farmer's market & lunch al fresco (even though it was like 95 degrees outside LOL) so we got ready for the first time that weekend! My favorite travel makeup bag items include Tarte eyeshadow palettes, Laura Mercier translucent powder, BeautyBlender sponge and Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer pencil just to name a few.

The restaurant we visited for lunch is so cute and the food is reasonably priced too!
It's called Agave Maria's and has indoor and outside seating.

Caught the sunset - the perfect way to end 2 wonderful days in Ojai!
In closing, I wanted to share a few suggestions on planning something similar for your business:

1. You don't need to go far away and spend a ton of money. You also want to be far enough where you feel like you can't worry about what is going on at home. We shared cost of Airbnb and used the kitchen amenity frequently! The home also came with coffee so we skipped coffee shop runs!
   
2. Download Spotify and play a radio station that is a "mood" - we chose Intense Studying radio and it played hip-hop/classical music and was the perfect background noise to get work done.
   
3. Choose your favorite business podcasts and listen to those on your way to the destination - a great way to get motivated!
   

Thanks again for stopping by and feel free to comment below if you have any questions or if I can offer any suggestions to you.

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