Spark Creative Entrepreneur Retreat, or, How I Lit That Fire To Make A Dream Come True

Spark Creative Entrepreneur Retreat, or, How I Lit That Fire To Make A Dream Come True Sparks Fly by Seize the Night Tania Wojciechowski is a former client of mine who has done The Amazeballs: teamed up with another former client of mine (hi Deanna!) to create a brand-new creative retreat called Spark! Of course I wanted to help spread the word far and wide, so I asked Tonia if shed like to talk about how the heck they made that Big Dream happen (doesnt it seem soooooooooo big and scary and head-explosion-y?!). Such goodness below enjoy! You know those moments where you are completely sure about something? They are pretty rare, so when I do get hit with one of those moments, I try to listen and act on them, cuz seriously, sometimes they can change your life. I had one last fall that I’d like to tell you about. Last fall, I was reading Kelly Rae Robert’s e-book, Flying Lessons. In one section she writes about wanting to connect with other creative entrepreneurs. In order to make this happen, she set up a creative retreat and invited all sorts of women. The people at that first retreat soon became her mentors, her support system, and her lifelong friends. As soon as I read this, I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. I could totally picture being at a retreat like this, surrounded by women chatting, sharing, and laughing new friends, entrepreneurs with whom I could learn from and share ideas with. The image made me feel so completely content that I knew I had to make it happen both for myself and for others who might be craving this same connection with others. My first thought was “this is going to be amazing!” But then my second thought was “ohmygodholycrap, how can little ol’ me make this happen?” I knew I needed help making this dream a reality. I instantly thought of Deanna Mullican of Apples and Orange who I had met through one of Michelle’s Operations group coaching sessions. I had immediately felt a connection to her and knew she’d be perfect to work with. I wrote to her immediately and invited her to help me make this a reality. I talked about wanting the retreat to feel welcoming and safe to everyone who came, a place to share knowledge with everyone there open and supportive and cooperative. And I threw out the idea of it taking place in the U.S. Southwest. I’ve never been, but have always been drawn to the area as it has such a positive, creative vibe. She wrote back with a huge “YES!” Soon after, we met on Skype, and started moving forward quickly talking about the goals of the retreat, the feelings we wanted to encourage, the things we’d like to talk about, the people we’d like to invite. We researched locations and costs and then when we booked the amazing Hacienda Dona Andrea just outside Santa Fe, it became very real. Every step of the way, we had moments of “are we sure? is this going to work?” and we’d have a chat and say “of course it is!” and we’d take the next baby step forward. Thats the Spark locale! Couldyajustdie? Image from Spark website When we invited our retreat leaders, we penned two emails one to the lovely Michelle, and one to the fabulous Jessika Hepburn of Oh My! Handmade. I wanted the emails to these amazing ladies to be reflective of the retreat warm, supportive, and respectful and happily, they both said they would love to be our main speakers! Unfortunately, Michelle had to pull out as she is getting healthy (you do know we’re all talking about her bodacious boobs, right?). So an email went to Alexandra Franzen who also said yes, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. So there you have it, a rare moment of knowing, and a dream of being surrounded by love and support has turned into a real-life creative retreat that will take place in just over 3 months. Every step of the way has been both scary and easy. Scary because we are putting in a lot of time and money into something so big. Easy because every part of working with Deanna has been example after example of synchronicity and fluidity. My personal big word for 2012 is “confidence” to me, this means feeling those scary feelings about something and doing it anyway, and listening to those inner moments of clarity and contentment. Confidence is knowing that after hitting ‘send’ on those emails comes the happy dance of joy when that person says yes. And it also means that if they say no, knowing that someone else will say yes. I encourage you to step into your own confidence and make your own dreams come true, however big or little they are. All it takes is baby steps towards something truly amazing! And guess what? Each one of those baby steps are amazing, too! We’re also trying to raise money to bring one lucky lady to New Mexico for free! See the campaign here, it’s all about helping one entrepreneur reconnect with her creativity, something she may not be able to do simply because of finances. Tania Wojciechowski is the owner of manusmade, where she makes modern goods for you and your home from natural materials. She is passionate about helping people connect with their creative super powers. Oh yes, and linen she really, really loves linen.