The ROI of Comfort: How guest-centered design drives referrals and word-of-mouth with Julie Comfort
How To Run Profitable Retreats
Release Date: 11/13/2025
The ROI of Comfort: How guest-centered design drives referrals and word-of-mouth with Julie Comfort
How To Run Profitable Retreats
When was the last time someone told you your retreat felt like magic? In this episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, Leni Cavazos sits down with experience designer and educator Julie Comfort to explore how comfort, emotional journey, and intentional design directly impact your referrals, rebookings, and reputation. Julie shares the overlooked secrets of transformational retreat design, from crafting welcome rituals and quiet moments of reflection to building anticipation and delivering micro-moments of awe. You'll learn: Why “over-scheduling” kills the magic (and what to do instead)...
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Six-Figure Retreat Business: Pillar 2 — Pricing for Profit
How To Run Profitable Retreats
Welcome back to How to Run Profitable Retreats, the podcast for coaches, entrepreneurs, and transformational leaders ready to turn soulful experiences into sustainable, six-figure businesses. I’m your host, Leni Cavazos. If you’ve ever poured your heart (and savings) into a retreat only to wonder where the profits went, this episode is for you. In this second installment of our Six-Figure Retreat Business series, we dive deep into Pillar 2: Pricing for Profit. Most retreat leaders forget the most important person in the budget: themselves. We’ll unravel why pricing is not just about...
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Six‑Figure Retreat Business: Pillar 1 – Design for Profit
How To Run Profitable Retreats
🖤 How to Run Profitable Retreats with Leni Cavazos In this solo episode, retreat strategist Leni Cavazos breaks down the first and most foundational pillar of building a six-figure retreat business: Design for Profit. If you’ve ever walked away from a retreat burnt out, underpaid, or even in the red, this episode is your wake-up call (and your roadmap). You’ll learn: ▪️ Why passion isn’t enough (and how to treat your retreat like a real business) ▪️ The difference between planning a single retreat and designing a scalable business ▪️ How to align your retreats with your...
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Money mindset for retreat leaders with Shannon Ryan
How To Run Profitable Retreats
If you’ve ever struggled to price your retreat, worried no one would pay, or felt guilty charging for transformation… this episode is for you. I sat down with Shannon Ryan, money mindset mentor and former financial planner, to talk about the emotional, energetic, and practical blocks that hold retreat leaders back from real profit. Inside this episode: 💸 Why most retreat leaders undercharge—and how to stop 🔁 How your money story is creating your business ceiling 👁️ Pricing beyond spreadsheets (this is about self-worth) 👛 The invisible ways you’re sabotaging retreat...
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Six‑Figure Retreat Business
How To Run Profitable Retreats
Over 80% of retreat leaders walk away from their events exhausted… and broke. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, host Leni Cavazos shares the unfiltered truth about what it actually takes to build a six-figure retreat business, without sacrificing your integrity, values, or impact. You’ll learn: Why running retreats from only passion is the fastest way to burnout The mindset shift that separates thriving retreat leaders from struggling ones The 3+1 pillar model of profitable retreats Real industry stats on transformation,...
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Retreat Venue Red Flags: What to Watch for Before You Book with Shannon Jamail
How To Run Profitable Retreats
Your retreat venue can make or break your entire event—so how do you choose the right one, avoid costly mistakes, and ensure a five-star experience for your guests? In this episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, I’m joined by Shannon Jamail, founder of , therapist, retreat mentor, and host of The Retreat Leader’s Podcast. Shannon owns a 46-acre retreat property in Texas and has hosted transformational retreats for over a decade. She shares her insider knowledge—both as a venue owner and as a retreat leader—on exactly what to consider before signing that venue contract. This is a...
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From Ordinary to Extraordinary: The Power of Retreats with Dr. Lori McDowell
How To Run Profitable Retreats
What if the key to building lifelong clients—and a thriving retreat business—wasn’t just the offer... but the energy and intention behind it? In this transformational episode, I sit down with TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and reinvention expert Dr. Lori McDowell, founder of ReimagineU Strategies, to unpack the real power of retreats—not just as events, but as sacred containers for deep personal and business transformation. Lori shares how she went from corporate engineering to curating transformational experiences, and how she now helps visionary leaders design done-for-you,...
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How to Plan & Price a Profitable Retreat: Avoid the 80% Who Lose Money
How To Run Profitable Retreats
Ready to turn your retreat dream into a six-figure revenue stream—without a huge audience? In this masterclass from the Wild Woman with Impact Summit, retreat strategist Leni Cavazos (The Retreat Planner) reveals the exact system she’s used to help coaches, healers, and entrepreneurs sell out retreats, build waitlists, and keep 30–50%+ profit margins. 👉 Join the next Sold Out & Profitable Retreats Challenge (live, 4 hours): Build your profitable retreat plan in one session: pricing for profit, magnetic messaging, and a rinse-and-repeat sales strategy. What you’ll learn Why...
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Retreats That Sell: Intuition, pricing & loyalty that fill the room with Retreat pannel
How To Run Profitable Retreats
What really makes a retreat sell out? Is it your intuition? Your brand? Your pricing? Or your ability to hold the vision even when sales feel slow? In this special panel episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, I sat down with an extraordinary circle of retreat leaders and industry experts—including Abby Gooch, Liesel Albrecht, Kellie Sabas, Victoria Shaw, Sil Eiler, and Malvina Messler—for an unfiltered conversation on what it takes to run a retreat that not only transforms lives… but also generates real profit. 🖤 We go beyond the fluff and dive into the strategic AND...
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From Fear to Fulfillment: Launching Your First Retreat with Brent McCan
How To Run Profitable Retreats
In this episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, I’m joined by Brent McCann—a mindset coach and men’s retreat facilitator—who shares the honest, behind-the-scenes story of running his first retreat from idea to execution. Brent opens up about: ▪️ The moment in meditation that sparked his retreat vision ▪️ Facing fears, self-doubt, and the unexpected magic of breakthrough moments (like zip-lining transformations!) ▪️ The realities of pricing, profit margins, and learning from “what worked” vs. “what didn’t” ▪️ Why authentic marketing and alignment matter more...
info_outlineWhen was the last time someone told you your retreat felt like magic?
In this episode of How to Run Profitable Retreats, Leni Cavazos sits down with experience designer and educator Julie Comfort to explore how comfort, emotional journey, and intentional design directly impact your referrals, rebookings, and reputation.
Julie shares the overlooked secrets of transformational retreat design, from crafting welcome rituals and quiet moments of reflection to building anticipation and delivering micro-moments of awe.
You'll learn:
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Why “over-scheduling” kills the magic (and what to do instead)
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How neurodivergence, introversion, and autonomy should shape your event
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Simple rituals that deepen connection without forced icebreakers
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What positive psychology and “designing for emotion” have to do with word-of-mouth marketing
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How to turn your retreat into a once-in-a-lifetime experience that sells itself
If you’ve ever worried about your guests “checking out” mid-retreat, or worse, sharing negative feedback after, this episode will change how you design from the inside out.
🖤 Download Julie’s free guide: Make It Epic: 16 Pillars of Transformative Experience Design
👉 https://www.juliecomfort.com/get-the-guide
📅 Ready to build a retreat that profits AND transforms?
Join Leni’s Free Masterclass:
http://theretreatplanner.com/challenge
🎧 Don’t forget to follow + review the show to help more retreat leaders grow.
Plan a Profitable Retreat
Start here to get the tools, support, and strategy you need:
Book a free consult → https://theretreatplanner.com/go
Download the Profit E-book → https://theretreatplanner.com/profitebook
Download the Loyalty Marketing E-book → https://theretreatplanner.com/loyaltyebook
Join the Sold Out & Profitable Intensive → https://theretreatplanner.com/challenge
Attend the Live Workshop → https://theretreatplanner.com/live
Follow on Instagram → https://instagram.com/theretreatplanner