Design Powers Unique Work Retreat Experience and Why We Did It!
The brief backstory…
We’re a remote company and although Emily, Evelyn, and I are related and get together a few times a year for family events, we don’t see each other for work. Like most remote companies, in-office meetings and conversations are through our computer screens. Working virtually has its advantages but can be isolating. I wrote about my experience working remotely last year.
Before the busy winter holiday season of 2022, Evelyn pitched the idea of us getting together for a weekend in early January to lay the groundwork, get organized and strategize our marketing goals for 2023. Our small but mighty team should start the new year with an inaugural Design Powers work retreat!
Renew and Reinvigorate
We sought the help and leadership of one of our fabulous clients, Michelle Mercurio. Michelle is a brand writer and strategist for visionaries who work with her to clarify their brand messaging, craft compelling content, and create an aligned strategy to amplify their voice.
But she doesn’t just provide marketing copywriting—she also hosts restorative retreats and events at her magical home in Gretna Hollow in Irvington, Virginia.
Her 2023 day retreats have themes focusing on “renewing ourselves, recapturing our childlike joy, returning to what we hold most sacred, and restoring our hearts and minds to heal”. This was perfect for our Design Powers team.
Michelle is well-traveled and lived in New Orleans so she mixes in exotic cultures with a bit of Cajun magic.
After a delightful but busy holiday season, we were looking forward to a creative out-of-home office environment surrounded by nature and our typical responsibilities.
We were excited about a break from routine, engaging in fun team-building activities, collaborative work, and the peace of new surroundings to get our minds and spirits energized for the upcoming year.
We were also in need of a brand refresh! Sidenote: Here’s why it’s time you rebrand.
If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll remember that Design Powers rebranded in 2021. Since then, we’ve hired a new designer (me! hellooooo!), and started working more with professional services businesses, gaining a better awareness of the needs of the clients we’d like to work with.
This meant that we needed to think deeply about our brand messaging, brand photography and business goals. Michelle set the agenda and provided us with a flexible schedule and space to do that.
With this in mind, the theme of our retreat was Renew & Reinvigorate.
“The home is truly magical. Once you turn into the driveway, it feels like your own private world.”
Happy Hours at Gretna Hollow
We arrived at Gretna Hollow on Friday just in time for happy hour. Michelle greeted us at the door with open arms and a big smile—her high spirits portended good vibes for the rest of the retreat.
She gave us a tour of her gorgeous house and the outside grounds, showing off the home’s beautiful vintage decor and the elements of her unique style. The house is bursting with color and trinkets; the atmosphere hyped us for the upcoming photo shoot.
Before we arrived, we answered a questionnaire about our personal and business goals. Based on our responses, she prepared thoughtful goody bags for each of us with specifically-tailored items based on what she knew about our personalities and what we wanted to improve on.
Michelle knows how to make your team feel special! She also included lined journals and colored pens which we would use for working sessions and activities moving forward…
Day 1: Collaborative and Creative Team-Building Activities
The first exercise of the retreat was a Top 5 Clarity and Focus exercise. We completed a set of questions to reflect and help us get clear on three main things:
What fulfills us
What pays us and
Where to focus our time and energy
We were instructed to mix our personal and professional goals to integrate ourselves.
Afterward, we participated in some Wish-Filled Wandering outdoors. We spent 30 minutes outside independently gathering bundles of sticks, dried leaves, pine cones, etc. from the yard. Each thing that we picked up was meant to represent something that we wanted to release.
We wrapped the collected foliage with twine and created bundles that we would later burn in the backyard fire pit.
During this outside wandering and exploration Michelle told us to think about the following:
What do you want to let go of?
What do you want to bring forward this year?
How do you want to feel?
Where will your actions flow?
The object of this exercise is to tap into our inner awareness, take notice and spark creative thinking. The rest of Friday evening was relaxed. Michelle set aside some time for a delicious dinner and socializing.
Day 2: Meaningful Work Time and Plenty of Free Time
Saturday was a jam-packed day of thoughtful activities, balanced with meaningful work time and plenty of free time.
After a delicious breakfast spread, we gathered around the dining table and started by sharing our Top 5 Clarity and Focus from the day before. This was a nice transition into the next exercise, Goals with Clarity & Focus.
In this activity, we came up with professional and personal 12-month goals. Then we prioritized and set quarterly timeframes with responsibilities. Since it was January, we mainly focused on goals for Q1 and Q2 (and listed a few ideas and goals for Q3 and Q4).
This activity bled into our next scheduled event for the day- the 30/60/90 working session. During this, we tackled marketing & work cycles, plus how we were going to incorporate our big yearly goals.
Afterward, we took a short break to eat an amazing lunch and wander around beautiful Irvington, Virginia. Exploring a new town together on foot, strolling around without any particular aim was refreshing, especially after hours inside talking about business goals and marketing planning.
When we returned, we worked on team development. How we wanted to communicate with each other, and some general “house rules” for performance and harmony.
Being that we’re colleagues and family, it was important to check in and evaluate how we’re reacting to each other with a mediator!
Speaking from experience, I have a tendency to take things personally and when you’re working with your mom and cousin it can be challenging to not read critiques as criticism. The age-old mantra is as true today as it ever was: it’s not personal, it’s business!
At the end of the night, we reconvened outside around the fire pit. We each had the bundles that we had made the day before.
One by one we went around the circle and shared the meaning behind our bundle and tossed them ablaze, signifying letting go of the things that we were ready to release and new growth ahead.
Michelle gave Design Powers a tarot card reading for our business. A perfect way to celebrate new beginnings under the full moon.
Day 3: Regroup and Brand Photo Shoot
Sunday was our last day at Gretna Hollow, but that didn’t stop us from getting a lot done! We gathered together to reconnect and recommit and started the day intentionally with a guided exercise.
Afterward, Michelle’s photographer Jenny McQueen came over to take some photos. We were in desperate need of updated images with the three of us together on our website and socials.
We scurried upstairs after breakfast to do our hair and makeup before the shoot while Jenny and Michelle scouted out picturesque spots around the property for us to consider.
We all know what colors we look best in, and the Design Powers brand colors so we selected outfits that would coordinate with each other and our website.
If you’re looking for information about how to prepare and get ready for a day of personal brand photography, check out our blog from 2021 about our last big professional shoot and how we prepped! Photoshoots take longer than you’d think…
Taking photos ate up the rest of our time (you can never rush beauty, darling). Once we finished, we packed up our bags and thanked Michelle for a fantastic weekend of fun, teamwork, and rejuvenation!
Quarterly Meet-Up 4 Months Later
The Design Powers team meet again in person with Michelle, this time in her Church Hill home in Richmond Virginia.
One of our goals from the retreat was to have one in-person gathering together once a quarter. Michelle worked with us on our Client Party exercise, a continuation of some of the workshops we were doing with her at the retreat.
We followed up with her on some of our goals and things that haven’t worked the way we thought they would. We also discuss some of our accomplishments and new projects/clients that we’re excited about!
After a tasty lunch, and some quality conversation time Michelle sent us on our way to explore Richmond with some fun suggestions of places that we could go.
We walked around Brown’s island to see the Mural Walk down by the canal (highly recommend!). Then we headed to Hotel Greene to play a round of some mini-golf and eat some Scottish appetizers. Hotel Greene regularly changes their themes—the week we went it was Edinborough.
It was an excellent follow-up to our retreat and we can’t thank Michelle enough for being a lovely client, soulful host, and a wonderful friend.
Till next time! Do you have a yearly company retreat? Let us know in the comments.
