MfH Membership Retreat
I'd like to host you and 29 others in a yurt for a members-only PWYC marketing workshop.
Duncan, BC, Canada
July 13-16, 2023
30 Places Available
$100 USD Deposit + PWYC
I will be hosting a three-and-a-half-day retreat in Duncan, BC, Canada in July in the yurt beside my house.
At one time this program was called The Radical Business Intensive, then it was called The Living Room Sessions, then the lockdowns happened, and my Membership Program started! And I’ve not hosted a live intensive like this since 2019.
And now I’d like to evolve this program so that it’s just for you, my Members. You’re already “in”, you already get what Marketing for Hippies is all about, and together, we can dig in deep. So I thought I’d write up a few words to tell you a bit more about what I’m picturing for this retreat and what you can expect from it, to see if it might be a fit for you right now.
The MfH Membership Retreat is a content-rich, roll-up your sleeves, nuts and bolts weekend experience. You’d pay at least $1800 for it if I were to charge a flat fee. It’s all about how you can grow your business and attract all of the right kinds of clients. But instead of paying $1800, you pay whatever you want to pay/can afford (at the very end of the weekend).
What will it be like?
Imagine hot seats, mini TED talks, intensive dyads with people who know how to listen and have something worth listening to themselves.
Imagine having three-and-a-half-days away from it all, with a small but mighty group of entrepreneurs. Imagine finally having time to reflect on and actually work on your own business.
Imagine sitting with your laptop over lunch and having a new colleague walk you through the re-doing of your homepage or sales page; or taking a walk on through the lush, West Coast forest while you get feedback on an offer you’ve been thinking up; or perhaps sitting in a cozy cafe helping that new colleague rework their whole social media strategy.
About the Location:
This retreat will be held in Duncan, BC at the Lila Music Center in the 30′ yurt of Cari Burdett (close by the Quw’utsun River).
I’ve been living on this land since September. I live about 20 feet from it on these beautiful three acres.
This yurt has hosted many magical events including Cari and I running The Basket of Stories – a monthly event where we dig into old, European folk tales and explore what they can teach us about community building while we make willow, hoop-frame baskets with our hands.
Those baskets will be filled with gifts and given to local Elders at their fourth and final Q’ushintul /Walking Together Ancestors Walk.
We’ll get cozy together as we dig into our marketing with each other. There will be dinners together and maybe even a night to sit around the fire and enjoy each other’s company outside of the realm of our businesses.
Eight Solid Reasons to Come:
Assuming you generally like my work and what I’m about, there are some solid reasons to consider finding a way to get there (even if you need to travel a bit).
Reason #1: This is a rare opportunity.
I’ll only be offering this retreat twice per year at most. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able do it again (i.e. lockdowns, travel restrictions etc.). Plus it’s only available to active Members of my MfH Membership Program.
Reason #2: It’s pay-what-you-can.
There’s a $100 deposit to confirm your space (if you choose the PWYC option) but, other than that, you can pay me whatever you want to pay me at the end of the workshop (with the two charming catches above and below that I think you’ll agree are fair).
Reason #3: The power of a focused weekend.
Spending a whole weekend focusing on anything is liable to earn you some progress. During this weekend, you’ll be guided through your largest marketing sticking points. You’ll have three days to dedicate your focus to improving your marketing (time we likely wouldn’t, if we’re honest, spend on our own).
Reason #4: Networking.
You’ll get to spend the weekends with a group of fine folks with similar values and a wide range of experience in different business contexts. These are people who may have clear insights to offer you. They might have some important connections for you. They might be important connections to you themselves. So many entrepreneurs are really solo-preneurs meaning that they do everything themselves. And, frankly, it’s why so many of them fail. To succeed in business you need partnership and a team. These are people you’ll be able to stay in touch with after the weekend if you click who could be a huge support for you in your marketing.
Reason #5: Powerful workshop format designed for relevance.
Over three and a half days, you are guaranteed to get your toughest questions addressed by me personally. I charge $200/hour for my Puttering Sessions.
The format for this weekend retreat will be 100% question and answer and hot seats. We will start the weekend with you honing in on your most burning question and then go through a process of ranking and prioritizing these collectively held questions and we’ll spend the weekend working through that list in order of priority.
I’m not going to teach content unless I am convinced that it is relevant to the group and the moment. Any exercises we do will come out of those questions. This weekend workshop will be 100% designed around who is in the room.
Reason #6: Get things done during the weekend.
Do you have a sales page or homepage you’ve been meaning to rewrite? A marketing strategy you’ve been meaning to plan out? During this weekend, you will have time to make progress on these things while getting feedback from myself and the other participants.
Reason #7: If not now, then when?
I hear so many people say, “I really need to handle my marketing.” And I, often, silently wonder, “When? When are you going to actually set aside time to think about these things? When are you going to actually make it a priority to do work not just in your business but on your business?”
Why not this weekend?
Reason #8: Get asked hard questions.
If you think that this weekend will just be about you asking me hard questions, you’d be very wrong.
Most of this weekend will be myself and others putting some very simple but incredibly hard questions to you. These are questions you would likely just as soon avoid if you could. These are questions that many entrepreneurs never take the time to really answer. These are deceptively simple questions like, “What do you do?”, “How do you do it?”, “Why do you do it this way?”, and “For whom do you do it?” The questions are simple but most entrepreneurs do not have solid answers to them.
But every hour you spend wrestling with these questions saves you a hundred hours in your marketing. And that’s not hype. That’s the reality of business. Most businesses fail within five years because these questions were never answered well to begin with.
Schedule & Location Details:
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, July 13, 2023: 10am – 6pm (lunch from 1-3pm)
Friday, July 14, 2023: 10am – 6pm (lunch from 1-3pm)
Saturday, July 15, 2023: 10am – 6pm (lunch from 1-3pm)
Sunday, July 17, 2023: 10am – 1pm
LOCATION: Lila Music Center in Duncan, BC. The retreat will take place in the yurt beside Tad’s house, address and local contact info will be provided to people who are accepted to the retreat.
MEALS: Meals are not included in the price. You’ll go out and eat together and, if possible, we’ll find a restaurant where we can go and eat together. You’re welcome to bring food to the Yurt or to eat out.
LODGING: Here are some suggestions for out-of-towners if you’re looking for a place to stay that’s convenient to Tad’s home. We’re not endorsing any of these, please do your own research and find the best fit for you, but they’re certainly a handful of places to start.
- Airbnb: probably your best option. Look for something near Tad’s address (listed above).
- Camping: We can accomodate a few folks camping on the land here.
- OUR EcoVillage: one of Canada’s leading eco-villages is a 30-minute drive away.
FLYING INTO VICTORIA: You can rent a car from the airport and drive straight up to Duncan from Victoria.
FLYING INTO VANCOUVER: You can rent a car at the airport, then drive to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo, and then drive down to Duncan.
FERRY: For help finding a ferry (to either Swartz Bay or Nanaimo) go to the BC Ferries website.
CAR SERVICE: There’s no Uber in Duncan but there are a few, local taxi services. You can rent a car in Victoria or Vancouver from all of the usual rental companies, most of which operate from the airports.
LOCAL TRANSIT: Cowichan Valley Regional Transit Services.
PARKING: You can park at the venue but we encourage carpooling or walking (and finding a place nearby to stay).
FOOD: At the workshop lunch breaks you’ll need to make your own food arrangements. You can bring your own food and eat on location, or there are some great little places to eat within a short drive of the workshop location to choose from. We will be a twenty-minute walk from downtown.
Some Important Words on The Price:
There are three ways you can pay:
1. Pay-what-you-can:
This is how I invite you to pay. This means that, if accepted, you will send in a $100 deposit to confirm your spot. This is refundable up until two weeks before the week. After that, it is not. Then, at the end of the weekend, in the last 15 minutes as we finish and settle up, you can pay whatever you want to pay on top of that, whatever you are able. Whatever you pay is perfect. There’s no minimum. There’s no maximum. Truly. If the $100 deposit is too much, email me at admin@marketingforhippies.com and we can work something out.
Catch #2: You are welcome to pay me in four instalments spread out over a year. These PWYC payments can be for any amounts on any dates within one year. I’ve opted for this approach for my weekend workshops because, in my experience, entrepreneurs are cash-flow poor and it’s easier to spread payments out rather than people feeling terrible that they can’t pay much all in one moment.
- PWYC Option A: Four Cheques. One cheque payable immediately and the remaining three payable over one year on dates that work for you.
- PWYC Option B: via PayPal. You can send these manually or I can set up four PayPal auto-payments. One immediately and the rest over the coming year on dates that work for you.
- PWYC Option C: via eTransfer. You can pay me via eTransfer direct from your bank. I can set up email reminders to help you remember, for the dates that work for you.
2. Pay in Full at Market Value:
I offer this only because pay-what-you-can makes some people deeply uneasy and who would rather just have it all settled before it gets started. If that’s the case, you can pay the market value of $1800 upfront.
3. Payment Plan for Market Value:
Again, I’d rather you do pay-what-you-can but, if that feels uncomfortable to you, another option is to make four payments of $450 over a schedule of your choice within one year.
*** To be very clear: you are not expected to pay anywhere close to $1800. It’s a legitimate PWYC deal. I want this to be accessible and sustainable for you. ***
To Recap:
30 people maximum. PWYC pricing. A gorgeous setting. Practical, actual work getting done.
That’s all for now.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions at admin@marketingforhippies.com
Stay human,
Tad
Tad’s membership programme is so rich and luscious and full with information and resources
Tad’s membership programme is so rich and luscious and full with information and resources, and at the same time a safe community place, where everyone shows up with honesty and integrity. Tad has an incredible ability to listen and really hear, to look and really see, he is a fountain of knowledge and experience which he shares so generously, he tells bad jokes that make you laugh, and in a seemingly effortless way supports you on your journey. And he is also just an all-round good person really. In only 2 months, without even realising, I have learnt so much and my approach to my marketing has taken a 180 degree turn. Every day I now look forward to investing time and energy into the development of my business. Thank you!
Katrin Heuser, Yoga and Therapist
"Weeks into the membership, I am expanding how I view my work and the service I provide."
“My intention for joining the membership was to learn more from Tad after years of following his work in social media. My deepest wish was this can help me be aligned with my offerings and how I can show up authentically. Weeks into the membership, I am not only expanding how I view my work and the service I provide, I am also celebrating being with inspiring people who are also bringing out amazing things in the world. What I am loving are the engagement and depth of conversations, the willingness of people to be vulnerable in asking support, the generosity of the members in giving insightful feedbacks, and the energy is so nurturing!”
Lana Jelenjev, Community Alchemist
“My business feels more grounded and although that has resulted in more income”
“My impression of Tad landed when I saw pictures of him. I loved how he owned his hippie-ness in the way that he dressed and looked. That, combined with his clarity about marketing, what it means for him and his ability to speak simply and clearly made it clear to me that how he worked aligns with how I wished to show up. At first, I hesitated, because I have a tendency to pay for things and then abdicate my responsibility to engage in what I am buying. I use my intuition to make decisions and my intuition guided me to follow Tad via his newsletter/YouTube, etc. When his Membership offering showed up, that resonated as a way to engage that works for me.
I tiptoed into my engagement with Tad. Each video and each newsletter just confirmed that his approach resonated for me. I have a very low-key approach to marketing and I want to continue to create a business that I love and that sustains me financially, emotionally and energetically. I want to make an impact without losing my joy for life–that is a knife edge for me. If I lose my joy, then I tip over into depression. Tad presents marketing as a way to share your gifts and talents. It is about being authentically you. I particularly like his take on POV marketing.
Tad’s approach to niching and its unfolding is great as well. In the Membership, my progress reports have been really useful for me to stay engaged and directional. My business feels more grounded and although that has resulted in more income, it is more a sense of knowing there is place to go and a structure that can keep me on track. I have a degree in marketing and have always had a positive relationship with marketing.
What I love about the Membership is the ‘easy Tiger’ slow marketing approach. It reminds me that I can breathe my way into the world. I started my latest business in my 50s. I think at this stage that I learn from every experience.
In my experience, knowing about tools and processes is great, but heart-led guidance is what works. I don’t think that people who ‘sell process’ or ‘the way’ intentionally burn people–that is just where they are, and to be honest, I feel compassion for them. They are often people who believe ‘hard work’ is part of the formula.”
Anne K Scott, www.crossingfrontiers.co.uk
"Tad’s genuine and practical marketing genius can help conscious business owners with big hearts to increase their potential for positive impact."
“I jumped into this membership after having only seen one of Tad’s video because it just felt right. And when I started diving into the comprehensive material and heard Tad say something I’ve felt (and taught) for a while – that sales are NOT about convincing anyone of anything, but about seeing if people are fit for our work – I knew I was in the right place. I’ve struggled to find experts to work with in my business who have the flow, authenticity, non-pushy and genuine heart-centered approach that works for me. But the choice isn’t between marketing tactics that feel shit or lack of success. I don’t think that we need to sacrifice success in order to either stick to our values or have a deep positive impact. In fact, I think it’s the opposite. And I also think that Tad’s genuine and practical marketing genius can help conscious business owners with big hearts to increase their potential for positive impact. Because everyone wins from that..”
Medha Murtagh, Soulfreenow.com