Another year has come and gone which means it’s time to start planning for the next one to come! We do this by gathering together as a team for 3 days and business planning. We call it our France Photographers Retreat! And while a lot of it was all business, we got to have some fun too!
We had our first retreat in the fall/winter of 2016 (check out our fun video from it!). 2017 was a little crazy and busy for us so we didn’t get to meet that year, so this retreat was technically our 2017 retreat where we planned for our goals in 2018.
This year was so much fun because we added Mikenzie to the team! She brought so much to the table and really helped the team set some amazing goals. We are so excited for the year to come!
Before the actual retreat started we got to celebrate Jessica’s 31st birthday. It was surprise for her and it was so fun watching her be so confused about what was happening. We told her how to dress and left it at that. We went to a bar called Trailer Park After Dark and it was so much fun!!! They did an amazing job creating a trailer park experience. They served canned beers in brown papers bags, food included frito pies and TV tray dinners and there were a ton of jello shots. Jess said it was her favorite birthday! We picked up Mikenzie from the airport that night and then started our retreat the next day!
Day One
We started the morning with a group workout at Bar Method in Point Loma. The San Diego team LOVES Bar Method and works out there constantly. It was a little different than what Mikenzie and I are used to but definitely a good workout! Afterwards we headed to a delicious breakfast and talked about our highs and lows in life and work. It’s always so nice to celebrate the highs with the girls and encourage one another in the lows.
I won’t bore you the details of our business planning but it was great! It is so nice to be together as a team and talk about our goals for ourselves and for the business. We talked a ton about expanding the team to other cities (exciting, right?!). The retreat always gets me so excited for the year to come. I was the unofficial chef for the retreat and cooked a ton of Whole 30 and paleo meals. So we had a cashew beef stir fry for dinner and thankfully the girls loved it.
Day Two
We got a ton done on day one but we were a little sick of being stuck in our airbnb all day so on day two we got out of the house and headed to the cutest coffee shop to work! Setting goals for the year to come over banana lattes and avocado toast was the perfect way to start the day. We also reworked out new branding session (stay tuned for that!!) and portrait sessions. It’s so exciting to come up with new ideas and set a game plan for them!
After hours of business planning we decided to take a break and head to an activity Sara had planned for us. We went the girls favorite store in SD and made out very own succulent gardens! It was so much fun! Mikenzie and I also got to play with Sara’s Sony camera since we will be switching soon. We took the camera to the streets and took some more pictures of each other! It was a lot fun. We headed back home, made dinner (salmon tacos) and watched Friends all night.
Day Three
We spent day three on the road to Vegas for WPPI! On our way we stopped at Wilson Creek Winery to take some new headshots and team photos. So excited to share those with you! We went to lunch afterwards and then continued on the trek to Vegas. We stopped once to take a fun team photo. It was freezing but how cool is that silhouette shot?! In the car we went a round and said what we love and appreciate about each girl on the team. I was a wreck and cried through practically the whole thing haha. I asked the girls if I could text my answers to them because I could hardly get it out. But I eventually did. I am so thankful for these ladies! We have such an amazing team of encouraging and talented women. I can’t imagine working any other way!
