EP 292 Build the Community First: How a Specific Niche Can Grow Your Retreat Business with Katie Bryan

What if the secret to filling your retreats isn't reaching MORE people, but connecting with the RIGHT people?

Too many retreat leaders create an experience, choose a beautiful destination, build a landing page, and THEN start asking themselves how to find people to book it.

But what if you reversed that process?

In this episode of The Retreat Leaders Podcast, Shannon Jamail sits down with Katie Bryan, founder of The Single Greatest Choice, to talk about the power of building a business around a very specific niche and creating retreats that serve an established community.

Katie's work centers around women navigating single motherhood by choice. What began as a podcast has expanded into coaching, community, retreats, and family travel experiences designed to bring women together through shared experiences and life stages.

And that's where the business lesson gets really interesting.

Katie isn't trying to create retreats for everyone. She's creating meaningful experiences for a specific group of women who understand one another, share common challenges, and value opportunities to connect.

Shannon and Katie explore what happens when you stop trying to market to everyone and start building relationships with the people you're actually meant to serve.

They discuss how to identify and connect with a niche audience, the role of trust in retreat marketing, designing experiences around specific needs, and why a retreat doesn't have to be your only revenue stream.

They also explore how a podcast, coaching, community offerings, retreats, and group travel can complement one another to create a more sustainable business.

Because here's something retreat leaders need to understand:

You don't necessarily need a bigger audience. You need an audience that knows you, trusts you, and wants what you're creating.

Whether you're launching your first retreat, struggling to fill existing retreats, or looking for ways to grow beyond hosting a few events each year, this conversation offers a different way to think about your retreat business.

Build the community. Understand their needs. Then create experiences they genuinely want.

In This Episode You'll Learn

• Why a highly specific niche can become a competitive advantage
• How Katie built The Single Greatest Choice around a defined community
• Why you don't need to appeal to everyone to create a successful retreat business
• How to develop trust before asking people to invest in a retreat
• Why community can be one of your strongest marketing assets
• How to create retreats around your audience's actual needs
• The differences between intimate retreats and larger family travel experiences
• Why connection can be just as valuable as the retreat itinerary
• How podcasts and other content can help build a retreat audience
• Ways to nurture relationships before, during, and after retreats
• How coaching, memberships, retreats, and travel can complement one another
• Why retreat leaders should think beyond one-time retreat revenue

Key Takeaways

1. A Smaller, More Specific Audience Can Be More Valuable

Retreat leaders often worry about getting too specific with their niche.

But when you know exactly who you're speaking to, you can create messaging, experiences, and offers that resonate much more deeply.

The goal isn't to convince everyone to attend your retreat.

It's to make the right people feel like you've created something specifically for them.

2. Build Relationships Before You Sell the Retreat

When people already know your work, connect with your message, and trust your expertise, you're not starting from zero every time you launch something.

A podcast, community, newsletter, or other ongoing content can help you build those relationships long before you announce retreat dates.

3. Your Niche Should Influence the Entire Experience

A niche isn't simply a marketing label.

It should influence your retreat design, accommodations, activities, communication, scheduling, and overall guest experience.

The more deeply you understand the people you're serving, the better equipped you are to create something they genuinely value.

4. Community Is Bigger Than the Retreat

A retreat may last three or four days.

But the relationships and connections formed through a shared experience can continue long afterward.

Pre-retreat introductions, group conversations, and post-retreat community engagement can help turn a one-time experience into a lasting relationship.

5. One Audience Can Support Multiple Offers

Not everyone in your audience will be ready to attend a retreat right now.

Some may prefer coaching. Others may want community support, membership access, or a family travel experience.

Building complementary offers allows you to serve people in different ways while creating additional revenue opportunities.

6. Your Retreat Business Shouldn't Depend on One Event

If your only revenue comes from retreat bookings, every launch carries enormous pressure.

Building an ecosystem of services, experiences, and ongoing offers can help create a more sustainable business.

The important part is making sure those offers serve the same audience and support a clear overall mission.

7. Know Your Person Before You Choose Your Place

This ties directly into Shannon's retreat planning framework:

Person → Pain/Problem → Promise → Place → Price

When you understand who you're serving, what they're experiencing, and what they want to gain, you can create a retreat around those needs instead of building an itinerary and hoping someone wants it.

About Katie Bryan

Katie Bryan is the founder of The Single Greatest Choice, a podcast, coaching, and community platform supporting women who are considering, pursuing, or living single motherhood by choice.

Katie launched The Single Greatest Choice Podcast in 2020 after navigating her own questions about fertility and motherhood. What began as a way to share honest conversations grew into a business offering individual coaching, community groups, The Village membership, intimate retreats, and family trips.

Through her work, Katie helps women find clarity, connection, and support while navigating a path that can sometimes feel isolating.

Connect with Katie

Website: singlegreatestchoice.com

Instagram: @single_greatest_choice

Podcast: The Single Greatest Choice Podcast

Retreats and family trips: Explore Katie's experiences

The Retreat Leaders Podcast Resources and Links:

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My two favorite social media tools: Metricool and ManyChat 

Thanks for tuning into the Retreat Leaders Podcast. Remember to subscribe for more insightful episodes, and visit our website for additional resources. Let’s create a vibrant retreat community together!

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TIMESTAMPS

Introducing Katie Bryan and Her Niche (00:00:53) Katie shares how she supports women considering or pursuing solo motherhood through donor conception or adoption.

Finding Community in Shared Experiences (00:01:59) Katie explains how representation and connection help women feel less alone in their decisions.

How The Single Greatest Choice Began (00:04:05) Katie describes starting a podcast, exploring solo motherhood, and discovering coaching as her professional path.

From Podcast to Retreats (00:06:23) Katie explains how audience feedback led her to create in-person retreats and partner with an experienced host.

Lessons from Hosting Retreats (00:10:24) Katie discusses managing expectations, retreat logistics, and giving herself permission to step back and recharge.

Retreat Leaders Mastermind Promotion (00:13:18) Shannon invites retreat leaders to her in-person mastermind and shares a podcast listener discount.

Creating Space for Guests to Connect (00:14:33) Shannon and Katie discuss introversion, stepping away, and allowing retreat guests to build stronger connections.

A Lesson in Trusting the Community (00:16:33) Katie recounts losing her passport and arriving late, then realizing the retreat community could thrive without her.

Retreats Versus Family Trips (00:18:49) Katie distinguishes intimate retreats for women from larger all-inclusive trips for solo mothers and their children.

Scaling Family Trips and Managing Logistics (00:20:33) Katie shares how a trip grew to 54 families, creating unexpected transportation, safety, and cancellation challenges.

Setting Boundaries Around Transportation (00:24:27) Shannon and Katie discuss leaving travel arrangements to attendees and using clear policies and travel insurance.

How Entrepreneurship Expanded Katie’s Capacity (00:28:16) Katie reflects on financial growth, emotional responsibility, and supporting retreat guests through fertility journeys.

Preparing to Hold Space for Guests (00:32:14) Shannon and Katie discuss emotional readiness, personal growth, and maintaining appropriate boundaries as retreat leaders.

Building Support and Recovery into Retreat Leadership (00:34:01) Katie shares the importance of having spaces to receive support and time to recharge after retreats.

Upcoming Retreats and Family Trips (00:37:14) Katie announces her final Yucatan retreat and an upcoming family trip in Playa del Carmen.

Advice for Aspiring Retreat Hosts (00:38:15) Katie encourages listeners not to let fear stop them from trying.

Closing the Episode (00:38:38) Shannon thanks listeners and invites them to subscribe, review, and share the podcast.