Inside My Florida Team Retreat: Lessons, Takeaways & Why In-Person Events Will Transform Your Business
Hi friend! 👋
Welcome back to the Passports, Profits and Pixie Dust community. I’m Lindsay Dollinger—high school Spanish teacher, dog mom, world traveler, direct seller, and mentor to women growing purpose-driven businesses.
Today’s post isn’t your typical “biz tip Thursday”… it’s more of a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible team retreat I just got back from in Florida, plus the business lessons and mindset shifts that came from it.
I’m literally in the car leaving the airport typing this out — because that’s when everything is fresh, real, and honest.
And I want you to feel like you came along with me.
Let’s dive in!
Listen in to this episode of the podcast here:
🌴 The Retreat Setting: Club Med Sandpiper Bay
First, a little context.
My upline, Blair, planned our retreat at Club Med Sandpiper Bay, an all-inclusive I didn’t even know existed in the United States. Total genius move. Everyone had:
✔ Their own booking link
✔ Flexible room choices or assigned roommates
✔ Unlimited food and drinks
✔ Pool access
✔ Relaxation time
✔ AND business-building sessions
It made planning easy, welcoming, and low stress — which is exactly what you want if you’re ever planning a retreat.
✈️ Arriving Late & Making the Most of It
I’m a teacher, so I couldn’t attend on Friday. Saturday morning was my first session — and I walked right into a room full of women ready to grow.
Originally, we were supposed to have two sessions: one in the morning and one later in the day. But in true entrepreneurial fashion, the whole group unanimously voted:
👉 Let’s go all-in for one long session, knock out the business content, and enjoy the rest of the day together.
So that’s exactly what we did.
✨ Exercise #1: 50 Things You’re Grateful For
We kicked off the retreat with a gratitude activity:
Write down 50 things you’re grateful for.
This is SO much harder than people expect — and that’s why it’s powerful.
For me, it came fairly easily.
Gratitude is something I used:
- To shift into positivity years ago
- As a daily practice
- And especially as a coping mechanism on airplanes during turbulence (if you know, you know 😂)
But watching others struggle was eye-opening…
👉 If listing gratitude feels hard, there may be mindset blocks that are worth exploring.
This set the tone: open mind, open heart, open energy.
💬 Exercise #2: Stories—The Most Powerful Part of the Weekend
We got to hear stories from top leaders — some on our team and some who weren’t technically on our team but came to pour into us anyway.
These stories were:
- Inspiring
- Emotional
- Vulnerable
- Transformational
And they reminded me of something so important:
👉 You MUST know the stories behind your product, your opportunity, and your people.
Especially in the wellness industry, stories go way beyond weight loss.
They’re about:
- Emotional healing
- Energy
- Confidence
- Quality of life
- Mobility
- Mental health
- Hormones
- Strength
- Stress, sleep, and overall wellness
When you approach your business from whole-person transformation, everything changes.
And being present — truly present — allowed me to absorb it all.
(Sometimes you need to put the phone down and stop worrying about content so you can fill your own cup.)
🧠 Systems, Strategy & Planning for Q4
You KNOW this part is my jam.
After stories and mindset, we transitioned into strategy:
- Setting goals for Q4
- Breaking goals into actionable steps
- Mapping out systems
- Examining our customer journey
- Understanding how customers find us
- Reverse-engineering success
If you’ve never analyzed:
✔ Where your last five customers came from
✔ What questions they asked
✔ How they interacted with your content
✔ What follow-up worked best
…this is your sign to do it.
Duplication comes from simple, clean systems.
And Q4?
Q4 is where empires are built.
(PS — my Q4 group coaching program is coming. Join the waitlist because it is going to be FIRE.)
🏖 Pool Time, Bonding & Real Conversations
After our session, we hit the infinity pool — and that’s honestly where some of the best conversations happened:
- Business tips
- Wellness journeys
- Travel stories
- Life transformations
- Entrepreneurship
- Confidence
- Fear
- Personal growth
Here’s something I want to point out:
👉 I didn’t think twice about wearing a swimsuit in front of everyone.
Not because I’m in the best shape of my life.
Not because I’m the smallest I’ve ever been.
But because I genuinely love who I am and who I’m becoming.
THAT is what I want for you.
Confidence rooted in authenticity.
Confidence without apology.
Confidence anchored in purpose.
🌅 Evening Reception & More Connection
We had a private team reception, shared what we were grateful for, took photos, and then enjoyed live music, games, and sisterhood.
Then I headed back with my roommate — a woman I had literally just met that weekend — and we talked like we’d known each other for years.
She’s incredible.
Owning a med spa.
Growing a business.
Navigating life.
Leveling up.
And that’s when it hit me again:
👉 You HAVE to surround yourself with people who push you to grow.
If you’re the smartest, most motivated, most knowledgeable person in your circle…
…it’s time to find a new circle.
(At least sometimes.)
Leaders need mentors too.
🌟 Your Takeaways (Yes, YOU!)
Whether you’re in network marketing, online business, coaching, or anything entrepreneurial:
✔ Attend in-person events
Growth accelerates when you leave your comfort zone.
✔ Surround yourself with people playing bigger
Their energy raises yours.
✔ Say yes to opportunities that stretch you
Even if they scare you.
Even if you don’t feel “ready.”
Even if you have to figure out how to afford it.
✔ Be in the room
It will change you in ways you don’t even see coming.
✔ Don’t isolate yourself
Community is rocket fuel.
💖 Final Encouragement
If you EVER have the chance to:
- Join a retreat
- Enroll in a mastermind
- Attend a conference
- Go to an event
- Invest in a coaching program
- Or gather with like-minded women…
Say yes.
Say yes scared.
Say yes unsure.
Say yes while figuring it out.
Because every single time I’ve said yes to an opportunity that stretched me…
I’ve come out a better version of myself.
And that’s what I want for you too.
📣 If This Spoke to You…
Please screenshot this blog or the podcast episode and share it to your stories!
Tag me — I love seeing them and I’ll absolutely repost.
And if you haven’t yet, leaving a 5-star rating and quick review helps this community grow more than you know. 💛
Hugs, kisses, gratitude, and magic —
Lindsay ✨