WELCOME TO THE
Library
Pull something off the shelf. I write most weeks about the parts of an event nobody sees.
New on the shelf
everything on the shelf
Event planning at midnight: why the session never sticks
Late-night planning sessions feel productive and almost never survive the morning. You reopen the doc and none of it has moved. This post covers why that work doesn't stick and what does, at a more reasonable hour.
How to plan an event from scratch: decide these five first
Starting from nothing is mostly a question of order, and the wrong order is what makes it feel impossible. This post covers five decisions that make every decision after them significantly easier, and what to do with each one.
Timeline for event planning: what the last three weeks do
The last three weeks before an event aren't more of the same work at a faster pace. They're a different job with a different shape, and knowing that changes what you prepare. This post covers what those weeks are actually for.
The decisions to make before you invite a single event speaker
Inviting speakers before you've settled a few things means renegotiating with them later, which is a conversation nobody enjoys. This post covers what to decide before the first ask goes out, so the yes you get is the yes you wanted.
What actually happens between "the venue is booked" and event day
Impressive names, strong bios, and a room that somehow never quite lifts. It happens more than anyone admits and it isn't about the speakers being wrong. This post covers what determines whether a lineup lands once everyone is in the room.
The difference between planning your event and running your event
Connected tools and a working setup are two different achievements. This post covers how the pieces fit together so that registration, confirmations, and reminders keep moving without you remembering to push them.
You’re building your retreat backwards (start with the tech)
Most retreats get built in an order that guarantees you'll redo half of it. This post makes the case for starting somewhere that feels counterintuitive, and covers what it saves you later.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLANNING YOUR EVENT AND BUILDING YOUR TECH
Planning your event and building the tech behind it are two separate jobs, and treating them as one is why both keep taking longer than you budgeted. This post covers where the line sits and what belongs on each side of it.
WHY RETREAT PROFIT SHOULD BE PLANNED BEFORE YOU BOOK
Profit worked out after the venue is booked is really just whatever happens to be left. By then most of your costs are already decided. This post covers how to build the number in from the beginning, before anything gets signed.
3 RETREAT PLANNING MISTAKES THAT QUIETLY DAMGE YOUR BRAND
Three planning missteps your guests register even when nothing visibly goes wrong. They won't mention any of them, and they'll factor into whether she comes back. All three are fixable months before event day, and this post covers how.
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTE A RETREAT AFTER THE PLANNING IS DONE
Planning ends and running begins, and the two ask entirely different things of you. Most hosts prepare thoroughly for the first and improvise the second. This post covers what execution actually requires and what to build before you get there.
HOW TO CREATE AN ALIGNED, TRUST-BUIDLING RETREAT JOURNEY FROM START TO FINISH
Your guest starts forming an opinion the moment she registers, which is often weeks before you've thought about her at all. This post walks through the whole arc from registration to the drive home, and where trust gets built or lost along the way.
PLAN YOUR NEXT RETREAT LIKE A PRO: THE MILESTONE-BASED TIMELINE YOU NEED
Counting backward from your event date only helps if you know which milestones actually matter. Most timelines are a long list of tasks with no sense of what depends on what. This one is built around real decision points and what each one unlocks.
5 CLARITY DECISIONS YOU MUST MAKE BEFORE BOOKING YOUR RETREAT VENUE
Guests loved it, the photos were beautiful, and privately you decided you'd never do that again. That reaction has a cause, and it usually has nothing to do with the event itself. This post covers where it comes from and what changes it.
WHY HUSTLING THROUGH RETREAT PLANNING BACKFIRES AND WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Working longer hours on a retreat rarely gets it finished sooner, because most of what's left is waiting on someone else to answer. This post covers what genuinely sets the pace and what it costs you to push against it.
HOW TO BUILD A RETREAT THAT’S ACTUALLY WORTH HOSTING (AND ATTENDING)
A retreat guests rave about and a retreat you'd willingly do again aren't automatically the same event. Plenty of hosts build the first and quietly resent the second. This post covers how to design for both from the start, before the schedule gets set.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR RETREAT FROM FALLING APART (EVEN IF YOU’RE A FIRST-TIME HOST)
Something changes in a client relationship after you've been in a room together. She replies faster, refers more freely, and renews without a conversation about it. This post covers what actually happens in that room and why an afternoon does what a year of posting cannot.
She registers, gets a confirmation, and then hears nothing for six weeks. Whatever excitement she had gets a chance to cool all the way down. This post covers what should be reaching her in that stretch and how to set it up once.