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Welcome to The Guri Show, your go-to podcast for retreat leaders, coaches, and transformation seekers who are ready to create thriving businesses while embracing self-healing, wellness, and personal growth. Hosted by Guri Kaur, this show is your space to learn how to design life-changing retreats, confidently sell your offers, and master the mindset shifts needed to create abundance and impact.
Each episode dives deep into actionable strategies, personal insights, and soulful practices that combine business growth with inner transformation. From self-healing techniques and wellness rituals to powerful tools for scaling your coaching programs, we’ll help you align your purpose, your profits, and your peace.
Whether you’re building your first retreat or scaling to six figures and beyond, The Guri Show is your space to dream big, transform yourself, and empower others to do the same.
Tune in, grow your business, heal your soul, and create the legacy you’re destined for. Let’s thrive together!
Guri Kaur (00:01)
Hello, hello, welcome to the Guri Show podcast. Today's episode is all about helping you turn your passion for retreats into consistent profits. If you're a retreat leader who's ready to not just break even but consistently hit 10k plus profits from each event, you're in the right place. I've been in the space of hosting and coaching retreat leaders for a while.
And I've seen firsthand how magical retreats can be. You're offering people an immersive experience that could be a turning point in their lives. But the reality is, without a clear strategy, a lot of retreat leaders end up feeling overwhelmed when it comes to selling out their spots and making a real profit. And don't worry, I've been there. So today...
We're going to cover three key things. First, why retreats are such a powerful profitable model. Second, common mistakes retreat leaders make that can prevent them from seeing the success they want. And of course, how to price and sell your retreat to ensure consistent 10K profits every time. If that sounds good to you, let's dive in.
So when I first started hosting retreats, I remember sitting in a hotel room with a partner with a notebook scribbling down all my wild ideas. I didn't know how to make it happen. I just knew I wanted to create something special, something that would change lives. And he kept asking me how. The fact is I only knew my why at the time. I said it's going to work.
I know deep down that I'm meant for this. But let me tell you, it wasn't perfect. My first retreat, I didn't know where my audience was going to come from. For almost 100 times, I may have thought to myself, does this mean I should give up? And then I would say, but why would Source give me this desire or vision or faith if Source wasn't planning on sending participants my way?
The other not so deep realization was that problem wasn't the retreat, it was my mindset. I wasn't owning my worth and I wasn't treating my retreat like the transformational experience it truly was. Once I made that shift, everything changed. And that being said, let's dive into the three important things we wanted to discuss today on this podcast.
Number one, why retreats are a profitable business model?
and why they hold so much potential for those of us in the coaching, transformation or wellness space. The truth is retreats offer something that no other product or service can offer. A fully immersive transformational experience. Think about it. When someone signs up for your retreat, they're not just getting a few hours of coaching or a one-time session. They're getting days of focused attention.
personalized experiences, and an opportunity to deeply transform in a way that often isn't possible in our day-to-day lives. There is a reason people pay thousands for all-inclusive trips or VIP experiences. They are seeking to be part of something bigger than themselves. This is where the magic of retreats lie. You're offering a space
where transformation can happen rapidly, away from distractions, in a unique, supportive environment. But there's more to it. Let's talk numbers, okay? When you offer an in-person retreat, you can charge a premium price easily between $2,000 to $10,000, even more. Well, a 10-day, because you're providing not just education,
but an experience. Think about the value of being in a serene location, unplugging from daily stress and getting the chance to focus solely on one's personal growth or business transformation. You're curating an environment where they don't just learn, they evolve.
If you have just 10 attendees at $3,000 per person, that's $30,000 in revenue. And with the right planning, you can ensure your costs covering accommodations, food, venue, et cetera, stay under $20,000, leaving you with a 10K plus profit. And that's just the beginning. Retreats reads have a high emotional value too.
Guri Kaur (05:14)
Let me repeat that again. Retreats have a high emotional value too. People come back from your event feeling changed and that's something they'll talk about, share with others and want more of. This leads to repeat attendees and word of mouth referrals. It's a powerful business model, but as profitable as retreats can be, you need a strategy.
That's what we are going to talk about next.
Well, first, let's talk about some common mistakes new and aspiring, even some experienced retreat leaders make. Even with the best intentions, there are some common mistakes that can make the difference between a sold out retreat with solid profits and the one that leaves you stressed and scrambling. Mistake number one, overlooking marketing and sales.
A lot of retreat leaders get caught up in the logistics, the venue, the schedule, the content. And while those things are important, they're not what's going to fill your retreat. The mistake I see most often is putting all your energy into the retreat itself and not having enough into how you're going to sell it. I get it. Marketing can feel overwhelming.
especially if you're more focused on delivering transformation than selling. But here's the thing, you can have the most beautiful transformative retreat plan, but if no one signs up, none of that matters. You need a marketing plan in place well before you start locking in venues or creating the content. If you want to consistently hit 10k plus in profits, your sales and marketing should be front and center.
I'll share some key strategies on how to sell out your retreat in the next episode. In fact, I have a couple of episodes coming that can focus, that can help you in this area. Let's move to mistake number two, undervaluing your offer. The second big mistake is underpricing. Many retreat leaders fall into the trap of thinking, I price it too high, no one will come.
But this mindset actually works against you. When you undervalue your retreat, it sends a subconscious message to potential clients that it's not worth investing in. Here's what I want you to remember. People are willing to invest in their transformation. They are paying for the result, the transformation, and the experience, not just a vacation.
You're offering a life-changing experience and that's worth a premium price. When you price too low, you not only undercut your potential profits, but you also create extra stress by needing to fill more spots just to break even. With that, let's move to mistake number three, which is lack of clear messaging. Let's talk about the messaging around your retreat.
When someone lands on your retreat sales page or hears you talk about it, they should be crystal clear about a few things. What is the transformation you're offering? Who is this retreat for? And more importantly, who is it not for? What can attendees expect to walk away with? A lot of times, retreat leaders are too vague. So if you're saying things like,
come on this amazing retreat and transform your life, you're not being specific enough. You need to be ultra clear about the pain points your ideal attendee is struggling with and exactly how your retreat will help them solve those problems. For example, let's say you're running a wellness retreat. So your messaging could be something like, this retreat is for women who feel burnt out and overwhelmed by daily stress.
and are ready to reset their mind and body through a personalized wellness experience. This instantly speaks to a specific type of person with a specific problem. When your messaging is clear, your ideal clients will see themselves in your words, and then they'll feel compelled to sign up. Okay, now again.
When it comes to messaging, it's not just super, it's not just about using some cliche words or some pain points. It goes so much deeper than that. But for the sake of this episode, for the amount of time that we want to spend here, let's just focus on those aspects. That is identify speaking to a specific problem and letting
or allowing your audience to connect to that problem.
Okay, let's move to the next section, which is how to price your retreat for 10k plus profit each time. Now that we have discussed common mistakes, let's get into the heart of what you're probably wondering. How do you price your retreat to consistently make 10k or more in profit? Now this can be one of the trickiest parts, especially if you're not used to selling high ticket experiences.
But don't worry, we're going to break it down step by step. Okay? Let's move to step number one. Know your costs inside out. First things first, before you even think about profit, you need to understand your costs. These will generally fall into a few specific categories. First being venue costs. This could be a luxury hotel,
a retreat center or a private villa. Make sure to factor in not just the rental fee, but any hidden costs like cleaning fees or deposits if you're going with a private villa or Airbnb. If you're going with a retreat center, then make sure that you know that how much the retreat center is going to include when it comes to activities, when it comes to experiences, and how much you have to
how much help, how much services you have to hire from outside. Now, meals and catering. Whether you're hiring a private chef, catering services, or providing meals at local restaurants, this is a significant cost. Consider dietary restrictions and preferences to ensure a variety of options.
The next one is activities and experiences. This could be anything from yoga classes, excursions, workshops, or even wellness treatments. These extras are what make your retreat unique and unforgettable. Actually, I have a very amazing analogy that I used just a few days ago. I did a post on my Facebook account where
There was this beautiful picture that I found on the internet about how to make an amazing salad. Actually, while recording this, let me just open that and that would be really, really nice. I'm sorry if I just broke the flow of this podcast, but I really wanted to bring that analogy to make this even more interesting. Yeah, there it is. So if you were to like compare creating
a retreat to creating a salad. How would that look like? And I know we are talking about costs here and I know that we are talking about activities and stuff like that. then so let me just finish these and then I'll go back to that salad, this thing so that, you know, we don't lose the flow.
So I was talking about excursions, classes, yoga activities and stuff. And then comes transportation. So will you need to provide transportation to and from the venue or maybe transfers between different locations during the retreat?
And so those are the questions that you need to answer for yourself. Are you paying additional for the car, the fuel, petrol, gas, whatever it is that works in that particular city? Or is it included in with the cab driver fee? So those are the things that you need to like really sit and like account your budget based on those things. Next is marketing and promotion.
Don't forget the cost of promoting your retreat. This could include Facebook or Instagram ads, sales page creation, graphic design, or even hiring someone to help you manage your marketing. And then comes the facilitator's cost. If you're bringing in guest speakers, coaches, or anybody, you've got to include their costs as well. Once you have calculated all these expenses, you'll know what your breakeven point is.
Let me give you an example. Let's say your total costs for a five day retreat, including everything, comes to $20,000. This is your break even. Now, if you have 10 attendees, that means each attendee needs to pay $2,000 just for you to break even. But breaking even isn't why you're here. You're here to make 10K plus in profit, right? So then...
what you need to do, need to charge, you need to add that margin and you need to charge $3,000 per person. So once you your costs, it's time to add your profit margin. If your costs are $20,000 and you want to make $10,000 in profit, your total revenue needs to be $30,000. That means you need to divide this by the number of attendees to get your purpose and price.
So for 10 attendees, that means you would charge $3,000 per person. So I just said the same thing, but I just put it in a different way. Take whatever makes sense to you, leave whatever doesn't make sense to you. You don't have to follow both the methods. Okay, so it's important to set your profit goal from the start. Don't just focus on breaking even or making a small profit. This is your time, energy, and expertise on the line. You should be
compensated for that. Now before we go to step three, I want to go back to the analogy that I was talking about and then we are going to come back to this.
Okay, just give me a second. I'm just doing this so that, you know, we know that I'm looking for something and then we can just, okay, I got found it. So if you were to compare your retreat to like making the perfect salad, how would that look like? So when you're creating a perfect salad, there is the base, you know, and the base could be
you know, lettuce, spinach, kale, know, pea shoots, cabbage, whatever that. So in the same way, your base is your foundation and that is your phy. Phy are you in this space? This is a solid foundation that holds everything together. And then in the salad comes something crunchy, which is something that
elicits something that is exciting, that brings excitement. And in case of retreated scarabs, kogumbur, for example, in your case, it's going to be some unique retreat experience. Think of engaging activities, unique locations, memorable touches. And then comes step three, which is include something soft. And when I say something soft, what comes to mind? To my mind comes connection.
Something like avocado, something like roasted sweet potatoes, like cheese. Nurture the connections. Bring people together. Create something that holds space for them.
And then is the next step, which is toss in something unexpected. In case of a salad, could be something like, like a pickle, you know, something unexpected. Watermelon cubes, dried fruit. And this could be a brand's unique personality, your unique twist. Maybe it's your story. Maybe it's an unconventional activity. Maybe it's a surprise gift. It's like the wow factor.
And then comes protein, the core offer. So everybody has it. This is your main offer. This differentiates everyone. This differentiates you from everyone. So for example, for someone it could be eggs, for someone it could be chicken, for you it could be tofu. But it's the protein, it's the core offer. It's the transformational promise.
Every retreat has a main ingredient, whether it's spiritual growth, fitness, healing, or creative exploration. And this is what makes your retreat meaningful in nourishing. When that is done, top it off with some dressing, which basically means top it, top your retreat with some personal touch. So put some tahini, put some pesto, know, put some authentic self to it.
You know, just like dressing ties a salad together, your personality, energy and values are what makes the retreat experience uniquely yours. Be yourself. Your attendees will feel it. Okay. So the secret to making a perfect salad is, let me get back, come to the juicy part. A salad is only as good as the
Care you put into choosing the ingredients and balancing them. Likewise, your retreat business thrives when you stay true to your foundation, your mission, you stay true to balancing structure and creativity, you add your special flair to make it uniquely yours. And those are the key things to do, key things to focus on.
If that makes sense, if that was exciting, I love this analogy. We can go back to where we were, and I think we were talking about the pricing. So let me just quickly rewind. The first, we discussed the first two steps. The first step in identifying the pricing is the team costs. And then is the...
Sorry, the total costs, which includes the team cost, venue, everything, activities, and et cetera, et cetera. And then comes the step two, which is setting your profit goal. We discussed how we can first find our break even, and then we can either add our margin to it, or we can just divide the total revenue by the number of people, and we can come to a price per person.
Okay, so step three is embracing premium pricing. Now I get it, pricing can feel a little uncomfortable, especially if you're used to charging lower rates for online programs or coaching. So for this is what happened with me, you know, I was so used to charging a certain rate for my online coaching that it took me a time to really see the value of
in-person event, in-person retreat and really translate that pricing, that investment into the value, the transformation that people get in an in-person retreat. But here's the thing, you're not just selling a ticket to a retreat or to an event. You're selling package. You're selling transformation and transformation is priceless. It's really like changing someone's life.
Remember, people don't just pay for the number of hours or days they spend with you. They pay for the result. They are paying for the breakthrough they'll have, the new mindset they'll gain. Or the complete wellness reset they'll walk away with. So don't be afraid to embrace premium pricing. And if you believe in the value of your retreat and the transformation you're offering, then your audience will
And for those who need a little nudge, let's talk about how to sell out your next retreat. And that's going to come in the upcoming episodes. Stay tuned. Okay, so let's take a moment to recap. Today we talked about why retreats are such a powerful business model. They're not just a product or service. They're a transformational experience.
We also dove into the most common mistakes retreat leaders make, like focusing too much on planning and not enough on marketing, undervaluing their retreats and being unclear in their messaging. And finally, we looked at how to price your retreat so you can hit consistent 10k plus profits without feeling stressed or stretched to 10. Here's the thing.
Building a retreat business that's both transformational and profitable doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. One that starts with small intentional steps. And if you're here listening to this, I know you're ready to take those steps. Dream it to believe it. Okay. Now I have a very exciting exercise for you.
gonna be quick so don't worry.
And this exercise is both fun and incredibly powerful. Okay. Are you ready for it? Grab a piece of paper or open the notes app or Google docs on your phone. And I want you to write down something. So if you want to pause and then come back to this, it's perfectly fine with me. Okay. So now you're back. So write down the following. Your dream retreat location.
Okay? Picture it. Is it a serene beach in Costa Rica, Bali, Maldives? Where is it? A cozy cabin in the mountains? A chic urban loft where creativity flows? Write it down. And then, once you've written it down, if you want you can pause it.
Then the next thing that I want you to write is the transformation you're offering. What will your attendees walk away with? Clarity? Confidence? A complete wellness reset? What is it? And be specific about the result they'll get.
Once you're done, let's go to the next thing. The next thing that I want you to write down is your dream profit goal. Now imagine the profit you want to make from this retreat. Is it 10K? Is it $20,000? Is it $30,000? $50,000? Write down the number and own it. Here's why this exercise matters.
When you allow yourself to dream it, you're one step closer to believing it. And when you believe it, you'll start taking the actions needed to make it happen. And with that being said, I am going to take your leave. But before I go, let me give you a sneak peek into what's coming next. In the next episode, we are getting practical.
and breaking down the exact six steps you need to sell out your retreat. We'll talk about how to create an irresistible offer, what to say to connect with your audience, simple actionable strategies to fill every seat at your retreat. It's going to be a step-by-step blueprint that you don't want to miss. So make sure you subscribe so you're the first to know when it drops.
Alright lovely soul, if this episode resonated with you, take a picture of your dream retreat exercise and tag me on Instagram, my IG handle is haegarvinder, H-E-Y-G-U-R-V-I-N-D-E-R. Or I'm more active on Facebook.
especially at the time I'm recording this. I don't know about the future. Maybe when you're listening to this, I'm probably more active on Instagram. But you can also post it on my Facebook feed or inside a Facebook group where most of my people hang out. Or why don't join our retreat connection hub where most retreat professionals are hanging out today, connecting with each other, collaborating with each other, learning with each other.
Why not hang out in that community? If you're the person who wants to grow with others, if you're the person who wants to take home profit and who wants to make an impact with each retreat, then this particular retreat connection hub, this community is for you. I'll put the link in the notes. Do join. I love to see you. What you're dreaming up. OK.
And if you're ready for more support, head over to my website and I'm also gonna drop some freebie links for you to grab and just let me know in the comments if you love those freebies and also if you love this podcast, do drop your comments. We grow every day, every time by learning more from you, what you want and by learning from your feedback, okay?
So bye bye. you so much for joining me today. Remember your retreat isn't just a retreat. It's a gift, a transformation and a legacy. Okay. So until next time, keep dreaming big and believing in the magic you create. See you soon.