We have just come off of what was, in my opinion, one of the best, most life giving and changing experiences of my career. Can you call it that? Anyway, I just hosted MIC CHECK retreat. It's the first one, the first one to ever happen. And I'm still on a high from it. I am still on a high. I wanted to come here and I wanted to share, because I feel like anytime that I see a retreat or conference happening that I'm not at, I want to know all the details. I want to know why it happened, where it happened, what happened at it, and also get a little behind the scenes. And as someone who just hosted their first in person retreat, I'm going to give you the details, I'm going to give you my favorite parts, and I'm going to give you the things I'm changing the next time I do it. Because, spoiler alert. It's gonna happen again. I'm excited. Okay, in today's episode, we are gonna cover all things related to Mic check, retreat, everything you need to know, everything I wanna tell you. And, yeah, okay, let's dive in. Hey y'all, welcome to the clocking in Podcast, the podcast for podcasters, entrepreneurs and professionals making their way in the working world while building their own personal brand in the podcasting industry. I'm your host. Haylee Gaffin, owner of Gaffin creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs, if you're a podcaster or even just dreaming about launching your own podcast someday. This show was built to help you merge your love of conversation, education and business. You can find resources, show notes and more for the clocking in podcast@gaffincreative.com Today's episode is brought to you by Mike check society, a community that was built for podcasters who are looking to take their podcast from good to great scale. Your podcasts, improve your processes and connect with your listeners through our educational trainings, our private members only community and our monthly calls. If you're ready to join us, you can head over to Mike checksociety.com and enroll today, and you can get $10 off per month with the code podcast. Now let's clock in and get to work. So what is MIC CHECK retreat? Well, I host a community called MIC CHECK society, and it has been around for almost two years, which is wild. I cannot believe it's been almost two years. This at the end of the summer, will mark the two year anniversary of the community. But inside of MIC CHECK society, we have built a community of podcasters, and it again, it has changed over the years. It used to be like monthly education Q, a calls co working, and it has scaled back a lot over the years, we did a full shift. Last fall, I believe, is last fall, where we changed the approach to how things were structured. We don't do monthly education anymore. It's more of like, there are trainings, there is education happening, but it's a lot of like keeping up with the trends, understanding what's happening, going in live to the Facebook group, creating community, asking questions. We still have our Q and A calls. We sometimes will do, like special events online, like virtual events. But I decided early this year, it was actually late last year, that I wanted to host an in person retreat for the community. And as a reminder, the community is still very small. I I'm very happy with the size of it. Obviously, I want to grow it at some point, but it's not a priority right now. Well, maybe it is. I mean, it was part of the reasoning behind hosting MIC CHECK retreat, but I wanted to host a retreat that this community could come together and be a part of. So once I launched it to the group, we had a few people say like, oh, I can't, I'm not gonna be able to make those dates. Blah, blah, blah. And I was like, Okay, I need to fill the seat, so I'm going to open this to the public. So that's what we did. We ended up opening it to the public. And I am so glad that we did that, because otherwise there there were people that would not have been able to come because they were not inside a mic check society, because they may not have even heard about it. I don't do a ton of marketing of it. I think this podcast is the most marketing that I do for my Czech society right now, and that's totally fine. It's something I'll change in the future. But why? Why a retreat? I wanted everyone to be able to get in person to work on their podcast, to see what others were doing, to. Get inspired. Because I have found, after attending a couple of in person podcast conferences, that I find a lot of inspiration when I go to these you hear what others are doing. You see, like the potential for your podcast in different areas, like, maybe it's in monetizing, maybe it's in growing, maybe it's in like types of content you're creating. So I decided to start planning this back in January, and that gave me about five months to really, really lock in everything. And we hosted June 2 through fourth in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We did it at a Weston Hotel. So it's a Marriott Hotel, but at the Westin in Chattanooga, and it was for podcasters in every phase of their podcast. So whether you were just starting out, or you were someone who had been at it for a while and you just wanted to work on it some more, it was for any podcaster. Primarily, our podcasters were business owners that attended, or independent creators who were looking to take their podcast full time. So why? Again, I wanted everyone to get together and just find community, and I think that's what happened. I was very, very happy with how everything turned out. So at this retreat, there were 10 people total in the room. Our speakers included Layli, amati, Danielle, Desir, Corbett and Megan Wren, and then myself. Lely is actually a friend and client of mine, Danielle, I met at a conference. You'll actually hear from both of them in next week's episode, we had a live podcast recording for and it was a panel style podcast episode. And Bree pear also joined in for that. She is a friend, client and co host with me for my other podcasts. Let's grab drinks and then Megan Wren is our podcast editor. She is on the Gaffin creative team, I literally do not know what I would do without her. Like, I have learned so much from her, and even in her presentation, I learned so much more. I was like, Oh, she's she's just so good at Tech. Like, I yeah, anyway, I'll stop fangirling over here. But we had each of them and then myself speak. And then, as far as, like
the event itself, it was two full days of education. So, well, sort of, it was a full day of education, and then a day of implementation. So we had one day, like in a conference room where we had our speakers, were speaking, and then we did the live panel and workshop for how to record a in person podcast. And then day two, we had, I kicked off in the morning with education, and then we had a workshop on tech and like, understanding your gear. And then we followed that with implementation. So this, during this implementation time, we did podcast audits, we did some recordings. Our speakers were around to answer questions, go over media kits, go over topics and conversations. And it was just really good implementation time. But then we wrapped the day with, like, the people who were left got to go and hang out at the pool. And it was just, it was really, really a great couple of days of fun. Now I want to talk through my top three takeaways from the retreat as the host, and then three things that I will do different the next time around. So number one, community means so much, I think I forget that until I'm in a space where I'm surrounded by people who are doing things that I'm doing like I think we can get so caught up in whether you're a business owner, and you're doing work for someone else, but they're not in the work you're doing every day, which is ironic, because a lot of my clients were at the retreat, but they're also podcasters, and we don't get to have these like deeper conversations when we work client, client. And so I don't know it, just it reminded me so much of like, how, how badly we need this in person community. And maybe it's just how badly I need it. I really, really enjoyed being able to sit down have conversations, but also be able to see other people connecting, like, getting to bring together all of these powerhouse women, just like felt really, really good to see what was coming out of it, the conversations, the coordinating of interviews, the coordinating of collaborations. It was just really, really awesome, and that was one of the biggest takeaways. For me was just seeing that community and remembering like it is worth investing your time and money into going to things like this, and it was a reminder for myself. So last year, or over the last year, I've really spent a good amount of money on travel to be in person, in rooms where I need to meet more people, connect with more people, and I will continue to do that this year. I think that's something that a lot of us, I was afraid to do it for a long time, like I don't want to spend my hard earned money on travel and going to these places, but it's, it's so impactful for your business, but also just your I don't talk a ton about mental health on the podcast, but it is really good for your mental health to be able to connect with people who understand things you're going through. And I don't know I it was just very, very impactful. Sorry, I'm like rambling now, but now my second takeaway, and this one, is something I continue to find over and over again when I work on podcast episodes, when I see people in person, when I have conversations, but you can learn from anyone. You can literally learn from someone about your business who has no idea what you do in your business. So what I mean by this is I am a Podcast Producer, but that does not mean that I know everything about production. It does not mean that I know everything about strategy. And when I can talk to someone who heard an idea I've never heard of before, and I'm like, oh, that's actually a really good idea. They're not in production, they're not in podcast strategy, but you can literally learn from anyone. The other thing I want to add on to that is it is so good to connect with people who in the industry might look like your competition, like I was able to connect with Danielle, who she is a podcast coach. That is the role I want to move into eventually. And I mean, it's one I've like, accepted and helped my own clients through, but I've never offered like ongoing coaching. Spoiler alert, it's coming. It's coming. It's coming. I feel like I need a wait list, like a public one. I've just been putting people on a wait list for it internally. But anyway, so being able to connect with her was so wonderful, and it was like she saw before I ever even said it out loud that that was the move I wanted to make. She was like, so you're moving into that, right? And I was like, it's nice to hear another coach kind of give me permission and say, you need to move into this. Like, that is what you're doing. Do it. So I don't know it was just it was really encouraging to have someone like Danielle say that to me, and it was very validating in the moment. So you can learn from anyone. You can also get validation and confirmation from people in the same space as you in the most unexpected ways. Now my third takeaway is there is so much opportunity for content creation in these environments, at in person events. So the reason I bring this up is I hired Kiana Marie, one of my favorite people in the world. She is a photographer, but also a podcast host and a client of mine, but I hired her to come out and to capture the event. I was like, I really, really wanted it captured, but I did not want to be responsible for it, because I knew I wouldn't do it. I did not. I think I took one picture the entire time on my phone. It is a picture I took to post in the Facebook group to tell people where I was, like, that is so silly, but that is where I was, and I am so happy that I did so first thing in this content creation concept is Kiana photographed and filmed so much stuff for me. I did not have to worry about creating content. Like anything you saw me posting was either I reshared someone else's story, or the reels that I posted, or the content I posted was from Kiana, like she sent me so much content, and I was like, I love you. I need I needed this. I did not realize how badly I needed it. But not only that, Kiana also did mini brand shoots for us while we were at this retreat. And then she also helped record some other content that I can use POST retreat. Now, in addition to Kiana doing all of that, and. I cannot wait to continue to post these photos like y'all are going to love it. It like I'm missing it so much looking back through this gallery. But in addition to that, we also created content in other ways. So after the welcome party that we had on on Sunday night, me and Bree my co host for let's grab drinks, actually went upstairs and recorded our first ever live in person podcast episode, and it was so good, like I felt in person is just so much. It's deeper, it's more connected. You feel like you're having the conversation in person. It doesn't feel
I don't know there's a limitation to online conversations, which obviously you can't be in person every single conversation. But I learned firsthand how real and deep a conversation can go when you're in person. So that made me like, Hmm, I really want to do more in person, conversations and interviews, especially with Bree, but so that's the first thing is we were able to create a live like a podcast recording there, but then also we recorded a panel style interview on day One with Lali Danielle and Bree so you will hear that episode next week on this podcast. And so this idea came when I, I was thinking about, like, okay, how can I incorporate other pieces of my brand? So how can I get clocking in relevant and around for my check retreat, because my podcast is about what my retreat is about. And so I decided, let's just do a live podcast recording. And then in addition to that, I was like, you know, what would be really helpful is I'm this will be my first time actually recording live and in person. I want to teach people how to do this so that they can go home and they can do this themselves too, without having to, like, rely on me to set it up for them, they can learn this exact approach. So we did a workshop prior to the panel, taught everyone how to actually set this up where to record all the things, and then we turned around and did the recording the live podcast interview. So everyone got to experience a live interview, but it was also a panel, so it was educational to them, but also content we could put out on the podcast later. So that was the second piece of content creation that we did. And then the third piece of content creation that I actually haven't used any of it yet, but it's coming. It'll be it'll be coming, is I had Megan, who our podcast editor on the team. She was doing technical audits for all of our attendees. And what we ended up doing was I had her ask each person to share one piece of advice that they would give to podcasters that were going to repurpose into a podcast episode as like a round table style, like collaboration. And then I also had them share a takeaway from the retreat that I can use long term in marketing here on the podcast and other areas as well. So those are just like a couple of ways that we were able to create content at a live event that I didn't realize how much content was going to come out of this event. So just a third takeaway of like, wow, there's a lot of opportunity for content creation, even if you're not at even if you're not hosting the retreat or whatever yourself and you're attending, there are so many opportunities for it. Now, three things that I'll do different. This is the, I think this is the thing that I like to hear the most from people when they do things and they're like, Okay, here are the bad. Here's all the bad. Number one, I had a very intentional approach to how I structured this thing, and I wasn't upset with how it turned out, but I know what I want to do next time. So day one was supposed to be all education, and then I baked in about 40 minutes after each event, like speaker or whatever, for implementation time for people to, like, go and work on the thing that they just learned. And yes, I do still love that concept, but here's what I realized. Well, let me actually tell you, day two was not necessarily the exact same thing, but we did a talk, a workshop, and then. The entire from 11am until people started leaving because the event was over, it was implementation time, and you could do what you wanted. What I would do differently is, instead of structuring it the way I did, I would do morning education, afternoon implementation for both days, because I found myself Megan, a lot of our attendees, we were exhausted after day one, like it was a lot. There was a lot of setup, there was a lot of education, a lot of learning, a lot of just draining of your brain. That happens when you're learning a lot. And I kind of wish that instead of, like, wrapping up at 3pm and then going and taking photos that we would have wrapped up after lunch, like had lunch wrapped up, gone and implemented things, did our photo shoot, but then had time to just connect together. I didn't get that, and I think that was because there was a lot of setup, which is another thing that I'll move into. But next time, I will probably do half day education, half day implementation slash Hangout, because a lot of people are coming here to connect, to create that community. Because one of my favorite parts of the event was the connection I got to have just chilling in the pool, hanging out with everyone after the event kind of wrapped. And I wish we had that on the first day, because so many people had to leave in the afternoon on day two, then not everyone got to stick around for that. So that would be like one of the biggest things I would change is just the structure of it. Number two is logistics of how I hosted. If you decide the reason I hosted in a hotel was I wanted everyone to have a place that they could retreat to. And I do not regret that I still love hosting in a hotel. I also think I would be open to an Airbnb. Or something that allowed everyone to have, like common space. But logistically, what I ended up doing was I rented a conference room for day one and then a suite for day two. So how I did this was to save money. I did not rent the suite for my first night there. I rented a regular room, or rented I booked a regular room, which meant I had to take all of our snacks, the setup, the swag, the backdrops, everything had to go to my first room, and then I had to move it all the next morning down to the conference room, because I was checking out of that hotel room, move it there, then I had to move it all to another the suite. And so in the end, we ended up moving everything, like four or five times, and it was exhausting. It was not logistically smart of me to do what I would do differently is, instead of running a conference room, I would probably, and I wouldn't have known this until, like, going through the experience, I would probably rent or book just the suite for the whole time, and everyone gets to experience the suite for all three days. It would have cost me about the same amount of money. So, yeah, I think I think I would just logistically think through that. The other piece of the logistics side of it that I want to highlight is we did a room block so that our attendees could get a discount on the hotel rooms. And when I originally planned it, I had planned for 15 people. So I was really, really close to having to pay a fee for not booking enough rooms. I ended up booking enough. But that's just something that no one really talks about or thinks about when there are room blocks around. And so I wanted to highlight that. Like, if you are planning an event, or you're attending an event and you're like, I don't want to stay at the host Hotel. If there's a room block with a discount and you don't book there, they likely have to pay a fee if they don't hit the number of rooms, they said, so not a huge deal. I didn't end up having to pay anything, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Of like, you don't have to do a room block. I did because I wanted a discount for our attendees, but, yeah, just a consideration of logistics, and I would probably still do it again. I don't know. I think it depends on on the price and the discount off option. And I also didn't know that when you go into that, you can negotiate more. So considering something to consider now. The third thing that I would do differently is how I pitch sponsors. So I started pitching about eight weeks before the event, and I wish I had started about 12 or 16 weeks earlier. And. Earlier, but 12 or 16 weeks before the event may be even sooner than that, because I, when I was pitching, what I found is that a lot of brands have very specific budgets, and they spend it basically before the budget rolls around. So they have to get approval of like, we need this much budget for this thing, and if that you know, budget timeline has passed for them. They can't ask for more money for that time frame.
So that was something that I did not realize, and didn't get nearly as many sponsors, as many sponsors as I thought I would, which ended up, if I had pitched and gotten the sponsors, it would have offset a lot of the costs and allowed me to splurge a little bit more on what I could do for my attendees. So those are the three main things that I will do differently in the next round. Speaking of the next round, is it happening? It is it is it is I'm so excited. I don't have details. I don't have dates. I am still in the planning process. I am finally like, feeling recovered, feeling like, okay, now I can start thinking about the next one. If you want to know about it. I am opening the doors when it's planned. Tickets will first go on sale to the alumni, the past attendees. From there, it will open to the wait list first. If you are not on that wait list and we sell out, I am not opening the doors to the public. My intention is like, we will probably not sell out with the wait list. I'm not gonna say that. I'm gonna I'm gonna cross my fingers that we sell out for the wait list for next year, but make sure you are on that wait list. We will have the link to the wait list in the show notes. It is on the main retreat page. You can access it from our home page in our menu, but we will have it linked, and I would love to see you there. I have big dreams and visions for this retreat long term, and I am truly taking all feedback from our attendees as I send out the post retreat questionnaire, what people loved, what they didn't love, and I'm going to take that into consideration as I start to plan the next one. This feedback will also reflect what changes are made, but also the ticket price, because if people want certain things done differently, it may impact the cost. So that is something I am taking into consideration prior to launching, but make sure you're on that wait list. So you know the deals and that wait list will also get early bird access, first the special discounts and all the things. So so I cannot wait for the next one, and I hope you're on the list. I hope you're able to attend this one, the next one or one in the future. All right, friends, I will see you all next week in the panel interview that we did live at my check retreat until next time. Thank you so much for listening to clocking in with Haylee Gaffin for resources mentioned in today's episode. Head to Gaffin. Creative.com if you're a podcaster looking for a community that will help you improve your podcast, make sure you check out Mike check society, our community for podcasters who are looking to take their podcast from good to great, enroll today@mikechexociety.com and use code podcast for $10 off per month. If you love this episode, I'd be honored if you'd leave me a review in the Apple podcast app, until next time, I'm your host. Haylee Gaffin, clocking out you.
