I sat down this week to start planning the planning retreat for my Adore Your Business Avenues members. Sounds like fun, right? Planning a planning retreat!
A planning retreat is something that I have been doing for the past three years. It has become an integral part of running my business. A practice that I simply cannot thrive without.
Imagine this. Three whole days away from your store – the fires, the things that suck your time, and the distractions. At the end of those three days, your budget is done for the year, your inventory strategy is done for the year, and your marketing plan is laid out for the next several months.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, you have had time to really evaluate and decide on your next big growth opportunity for your store.
Okay, blog over. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?!
There really is no huge secret on how you go about taking this kind of retreat. The main thing is being super intentional with your time. Remember how I talked about intentionality with a sabbatical? The same thing is true for a planning retreat. It’s not about going to some big, fancy place. In fact, you could just choose to stay home for three days if finances don’t allow for anything else.
The key is to go to a place where you can focus all or your mental and physical energy on your business.
So, think about that. Where could your planning retreat take place?
Now, let’s talk about four elements of a highly successful planning retreat for your bridal store.
Creating Your Budget
The best way to assure you walk away from your planning retreat with a well-constructed budget is to prepare before you start your retreat. A budget sounds like a scary thing, but the reality is if you have your tools pulled together and the information ready you can have your budget done in just a few hours. Specifically, here is the prep work you should complete before your planning retreat:
- Budget Template
- Yearly and Monthly Profit and Loss Reports
- Inventory Purchases YTD
Note: If you run an alterations department I highly recommend you pull those numbers (payroll, costs, other expenses, etc.) out of the store’s overall budget.
If you have all of this information at your finger tips, putting together your store’s budget should take less than two hours because your decision making will be a lot easier.
Inventory Strategy
I want you to go into next year already thinking ahead to your buying strategy. This means that you are going to evaluate how things are currently going, and then make a plan based on that! Here’s what you need to have ready:
- A List of Designers You Carry
- How Much Inventory was Purchased from Each Designer
- How Much In Sales from Each Designer
- Total Cost of Goods for Special Orders Placed for Each Designer
Whoa. Okay, so what are you going to do with all of this information? Well, you are going to evaluate it and see exactly how much money these lines are making you. You are also going to see if there are any lines that are actually losing you money.
Marketing Plan
Grab a calendar and some colored pens or markers for this part. Start marking off the big things first, like in-store events. After doing your inventory strategy, you might have noticed that there are a few designers that you need to do a trunk show with to evaluate if they are the right line for you. Get it on your calendar.
Then add the smaller things, like an accessories event or a vendor fair. This is your beginning framework.
Then you can start thinking about incorporating content marketing into your marketing calendar. What is one really awesome and fun thing that you could be promoting content wise each month. Maybe it’s fun blog posts to help brides with planning their day, or a YouTube channel about styles and trends. The options are endless, you just have to decide who you are and who your brand is. Designate one subject for every month of the year.
Your marketing calendar is probably looking pretty full at this point, so it’s time to season it with series of marketing. A marketing series could be anything from a real bride campaign, to staff favorites, or introducing your staff, and sharing behind the scenes moments. I like to sprinkle these things into the gaps of our marketing calendar.
And finally, finish it off with fillers. At Adore Bridal & Specialty, we’re big fans of celebrating those “silly” holidays on our social media. It’s little things like silly holidays and the Royal Wedding that we use to round out our marketing calendar.
With a blueprint like that, your marketing calendar is a piece of cake to complete!
The Next Big Thing
Once you have all of the “stuff” done, you can take some time for big-picture thinking and dreaming. What have you been wanting to do in your business, but can’t seem to find the time? Spend some time working on that during your planning retreat. Dream Big!
Can you even imagine accomplishing ALL of those important tasks in just three days? When you aren’t piecing your time together, you can accomplish an incredible amount of work. That’s the beauty of a planning retreat.
I am curious about something. Would you be interested in a complete planning retreat prep kit? Believe it or not, I can make your planning retreat even easier.
If you’re screaming YES PLEASE, click the link below so I know you’re interested and I’ll be in touch to see if we can make that a reality.