This week, my wife Mallory joins me for only her second podcast appearance ever to break down everything from The Lab Offline Powered by Circle — our second annual 2-day in-person retreat for Lab members, hosted June 8–9 at Hotel Renegade in Boise, Idaho. Mallory planned essentially everything: seating charts, venue contracts, menus, swag, run of show. She's been at it for roughly 6 months.
In this episode, we talk about:
The full economics of running a community retreat (we lost $8,300, which is actually an improvement)
How we took breakfast from a 4.8 to an 8.1 rating — and what we'd cut to reduce costs next year
What ranked #1 for attendees 2 years running, and why trivia (our favorite activity) came in 7th
Whether we'll keep doing this in Boise — and what Columbus, Toronto, and doing 2 events per year might look like
By the end of this episode, you will have a clear picture of what it actually costs to run a high-quality community event, what's worth paying for, and what we'd do differently.
Circle (event sponsor)
Hotel Renegade Boise
Craft and Commerce Conference
The Lab
Full transcript and show notes
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Cold open: people were moved, tears were shed
(00:53) The Lab Offline explained: 2-day member retreat, goals, and agenda
(06:44) Initial impressions: a reunion feeling, smoother logistics, zero fires
(13:08) Attendee feedback numbers: 9.3/10 overall, 91% returning, 34% said underpriced
(18:46) Event economics: $30,459 revenue, $38,800 costs, $8,300 loss
(23:05) Top cost drivers: hotel catering, travel, venue rental, dinners
(26:52) Planning challenges: acoustics, dietary restrictions, every decision is a trade-off
(36:52) What to keep: assigned seating, Kat's Immunity to Change workshop, Fighting Off the Sleepies
(42:04) What to improve: more mastermind sessions, less solo writing, better acoustics
(47:49) Open question: should the event stay paired with Craft and Commerce?
(53:49) The case for Columbus, 2 events per year, and an international option
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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE
#260: Detailed Breakdown: Our First Offline Event (And What We’ll Do Differently Next Time)
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