163 – You Deserve a Retreat with Amy Ries

Karen Yankovich 0:00
You’re listening to the good girls get rich podcast episode 163.

Intro 0:06
Welcome to the good girls get rich podcast with your host, Karen Yankovich. This is where we embrace how good you are girl, stop being the best kept secret in town, learn how to use simple LinkedIn and social media strategies and make the big bucks.

Karen Yankovich 0:24
Hello there. I’m your host, Karen Yankovich. And this is Episode 163 of the good girls get rich podcast and this podcast and this episode is brought to you by our she’s linked up family where we teach women simple relationship and heart based LinkedIn marketing strategies that gets them on the phone gets them seen gets them heard gets them viewed differently for the maybe the first time in their lives by their perfect people, people who change their business, their life and our bank accounts for ever. We are creating wealthy women as she’s linked up. And I am excited today because we’re actually going to introduce you to Amy Reese today who is a member of our she’s linked up family. But before we do that, if you love what you’re hearing today, take a quick screenshot of the podcast that you’re listening to on your phone or wherever you’re listening and share it on your social media use the hashtag good girls get rich tag me I’m at Karen Yankovich tag, Amy will link to Amy’s links below and share it with your audience that helps us get more visibility. And in turn, we will share your posts with our audience. And we have you know, hundreds of 1000s of followers. So we will share it with our audience. And that gets you more visibility. And that’s how we lift each other up. So I would love for you to do that in the show notes. There’s a link for speakpipe where you can leave us an audio message and in that audio message maybe you could leave us a review. Or maybe it is a you’ve got to guess Do you think we should interview or a topic you’d like me to cover on the show any of those things, just leave us a message on the link in the show notes for speakpipe You can find those notes at Karen Yankovich comm slash 163. I am really excited to introduce Amy Reese to you today Amy is a member of our she’s linked up community. And we have so many amazing women that are part of this community that I decided it was time that I started shining a light on them. I teach them how to shine a light on themselves. And now I want to help them by shining a light on them as well. So Amy Reese is going to be joining us today and Amy runs retreats for women and I’m gonna let her tell you about them because I cannot do it justice. But just know that I think it’s so in line are so aligned with the messages that I teach on this podcast that you need to just run not walk over to Amy’s website and book a call with her so that you can hear about these retreats. They are absolutely life changing. And they’re going to book fast. And I’ve got her agreeing to hold some spots for our audience. So I would love that to be you. But first listening without further ado, we’ve got Amy Ries. We have Amy Ries with us today and Amy Ries is the founder and CEO of retreat. Amy curates and leads luxury retreats and transformational coaching for women to discover their most authentic, empowered and truest version of themselves. Prior to retreat, Amy’s 20 year career spans both the fortune 100 and fast growing international startup. And he left the corporate world from the C suite determined to follow a path of passion, freedom and fun while serving executive women. And now she’s combining her love of personalized coaching luxury travel and the core belief that we all need to prioritize ourselves. Retreat was born and she lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters and two doodles, when she’s not exploring fabulous future retreat locations, Amy can be found restoring her 180 year old farmhouse learning to horseback ride, or her favorite coaching All Star cheerleading. Amy, I’m so excited to have you here today.

Amy Ries 3:45
I am so excited to be here. Thank you so much, Karen, I can’t wait to jump in and get started.

Karen Yankovich 3:50
Well, hopefully if you’re those of you that’s listening, when you heard Amy helps women discover their most authentic, empowered and truest version of themselves. You knew I wanted to have Amy on the show, right? Because that’s exactly what we’re all about here. Really, you know, good girls get rich when you do what you’re good at. And you just lean into that and really shine a light on that. That’s where all the abundance comes into your life. And I think Amy you really do a great job of shining a light on that. And we met because Amy is a student in our she’s linked up accelerator program or has gone through that program. And we It was fun to be able to work with Amy to help Amy kind of just get some clarity around the retreat and helping her show up right as her most authentic, empowered and truest version of herself. So Amy, what, tell us a little bit I want to take a step back in your journey and say like, what, what made you know, like, what was the moment that you were like, I gotta get out of the C suite job and do something else like what was there a moment that had to be a moment.

Amy Ries 4:45
There definitely was a moment I don’t usually talk about this actually. But it’s very clear in my mind, I was on vacation with my family. We were at the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World and I was desperate really needed a vacation. So I had booked this family trip. And about a day or two before I left, I was told by the chairman of our board that I had to be on a meeting. And I knew they knew it was the only vacation I took all year, but that I had to be on this meeting, and I couldn’t spend the time. Anyway, long story short, I ended up being on a call at 5am. sitting on the edge of the bathroom on the edge of the tub in the Grand Floridian bathroom trying to whisper to not wake up my three daughters in the next room, and thought to myself, something needs to change. This is not the life that I thought I had built for myself, to be honest, I was paranoid that I was going to wake up my girls and they would get some sort of thought or validation that maybe my work mattered more than they did. Because on on one family vacation, I was prioritizing work. And it was a really hard reflection, literally looking at myself in the mirror that morning, saying something in my life needs to change. Because while I have a great job and a great title and a great salary, this isn’t the life I want to be living.

Karen Yankovich 6:09
Wow. So that took that took guts. That took guts. So what happened? What did you did you What did it take you to?

Amy Ries 6:16
Yeah, it wasn’t an overnight process. It was definitely required a lot of exploration on my part. A lot of it was a very, you know, when you have a 20 year corporate career, most people don’t overnight, just change some people do. But if you’re being intentional about it, it was really a process of thinking about and coming to grips with the fact that I was going to walk away from this much of my identity was tied up in that. And so for me, that was the biggest thing that I had to get acceptance with. And after that, once I realized, yep, I 100% want to make a change, then it was about sort of the life say the longest breakup in history, it was sort of a long process of meat, you know, moving from full time to contract to out and then the discovery process of Okay, now what am I going to do for the next 20 years of my career?

Karen Yankovich 7:04
Wow. So then what brought you to retreats?

Amy Ries 7:07
Yes. So when I took the time off, and I said, I’m not jumping, committed to myself that I’m not jumping from the frying pan to the fire. I really wanted to spend some time with me, I hadn’t had spent time I’ve been working since I’ve been 13. I was about 40 at the time. And I really just want to reconnect with what makes me happy, really like what I love what I do love working. I love my family, of course, but what makes me tick what makes me happy. And so I started I myself, when I’m multiple retreats, I myself started working with a coach, I started doing things just for fun. That’s when I started horseback riding, just because I wanted to and it was fun. It’s why I started coaching all starts here because I wanted to and it was fun. And I started to bring different passion and joy areas into my life while strategically planning ahead. which got me to the point of moving in deciding that coaching is what I love to do. And it’s what I’ve always loved to do even in the corporate world, and then specifically to retreats because for me, that was the biggest game changer. I found that you know, Coach it, I am a coach, I love coaching. But the three nights on retreat when you’re away from the chaos and the hectic of your daily life and you’re able to focus in and zone in on yourself. Under the right guidance that is life transformational. You have such clarity and such breakthroughs that you don’t have when you’re just on the phone with someone that for me, I was like this is the best use of my time. This is how I want to help busy women who have no time. I want to give them this gift of spending time with themselves reconnecting with themselves fig figuring out in three nights what took me a year to figure out because now I’ve gone through the process and know how to do it.

Karen Yankovich 8:53
Yes, yes. That’s such a that’s such a key point in this right figuring it out in three days. What took you a year and in many cases, probably more than a year. Me it probably took us many years. To come to that. Right. So closer to three. But yeah, yeah. So obviously I hear the word retreat. And I’m like, I’m in right so but tell me because I hope I who doesn’t want that but in reality, right in reality that I am not like I’m you know, ahead of you in the families Did you my kids are grown, they’re having their own kids, right. So, so I don’t have you know, the I’m not as tied down. Maybe as somebody whose kids are younger, I still don’t make time to do the retreats enough. Right. And that’s on me. And that but I also know how valuable it is because I do do it. I do it so far. I’m doing it once a year now. I want to maybe even get to more than that because I do I completely agree with you. You know, I I’m not a big fan of the word accountability. I feel like we’re grownups we can hold ourselves I don’t need somebody else to hold me accountable. But at the same time when I’m in my house, which is just you know, there’s nobody bothering me here. I can get done whatever I can get done. I get just it’s easy to get distracted by stupid things like laundry, a drain that needs to get fixed, right so like even when I say All right, I’m going to take these next three hours, I’m going to really focus on this. When I’m in my house, it doesn’t matter how, how accountable I try to be or how focused I try to be, I, it’s so easy to get pulled by looking out the window and your neighbor doing something or like looking out the window and seeing a plant that needs to be watered, right. So, so taking yourself out of your out of your environment, and putting yourself in another place right off the bat, I think is hugely helpful.

Amy Ries 10:26
Oh, it’s hugely helpful. And as women, most of us just by nature, when like you said, all the things that catch your eye and distract you, all of that stuff, whether it’s your work, or your kids, or your family or your house comes before you, right, that’s just how so many of us are wired. And so our to do list keeps falling lower and upper and lower on the you know, grand to do list, if you will. So I completely agree the 90%, you know, I would say 90, that might be high. But the the majority of the benefit of the retreat is that you’re away that you’re actually out of the chaos, you’re out of the overwhelm your mental to to to do list has stopped running, and you’re able to relax, you’re able to focus, you’re able to walk away from your phone works, not bothering you, your family’s not bothering you, the laundry is not bothering you. And you’re given permission with a small group of women who live the same way you do to say, okay, for these next three to four days, it’s all about us. And it’s never all about us. But in 365 days a year, I believe women should at least have three days that it is all about them.

Karen Yankovich 11:40
Totally 100%. And I’m I don’t know how many times I’ve said this on the podcast to date, maybe not before this episode, but I know because it is a fairly recent statistic. But it’s a study which just recently done a me that and I was saying, I’ve been saying this for a couple months now. But a study was recently done that said, as a year ago, or a year and a half ago, like say in 2019, early 2020. If things continued at the rate that they were at the gender wage gap would take about 99 years to be equal. So in 99 years, it’s gonna take it’s gonna take 99 years for women to be making the same amount of money as men, that was a year and a half ago, one year later, post pandemic, it’s 136 years, an entire generation of women have prioritized their families, their husbands, their, you know, their partners over themselves in their careers and entire so now like you have daughters, I have daughter, I have granddaughters, right? We’ve now given them another generation where they’re not going to be making as much money as their male counterparts are. And it’s, and I get it, I get it, like I get it. You know, I look at even my own family. And I see how easy it is for for the moms in my family to take on all the responsibility, right, even though they’re working as many hours as the dads in my family, right? So I get it. And it’s because we don’t prioritize ourselves. Right? We don’t do that. And and this is what’s happening now obviously, if you’re you’re This is a lot of the statistics come from the fact that many women went to part time many women left their jobs, many women you know, so a lot of those things have happened. But they’re, you know, they were not showing they were not able to show up at the level they wanted to show up at so that they’re now making less money than their male counterparts even in an even greater rate. So I feel like we have to do this stuff. Like I feel like not even I almost feel a little bit like I’m picturing like Mary Poppins and the the the women and suffrage movement, right. But I almost feel like like what, you know, our daughters daughters will adore us, you know, like that’s kind of like the like what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to look at what’s happening, and say if we don’t start doing this stuff now, what what kind of world are we leaving for our daughters, so we expecting them to not prioritize them says that we’re teaching them don’t prioritize yourself.

Amy Ries 13:47
I say well, I couldn’t agree more. And I you know, I feel like I’m blessed with three daughters for a very intentional reason i don’t i don’t think there’s any mistakes. Because so often I now in look my actions through their eyes, you know, when I say all the time to women on retreats, if you prioritize everyone and everything else First, you have taught them all that you come last, which means you have taught your daughters that when they grow up, they come last and everything else comes first or your sons or your grandchildren, you know whomever, but it’s, it’s so about the example we set, you know, even calling bullshit on myself when I was in that transition phase, I used to tell my daughters Oh, it’s all about being happy happiness is what matters most chase your dreams. Meanwhile, I was so stressed my hair was breaking off. You know, I was not sleeping I was not I’m doing one thing and saying another and at one point I literally just call bullshit on myself. I’m like, What am I doing? like really? What if this is really what I believe to be true and what I want best for my children. I need to get myself in check. And the only person who’s going to do that is me. And you know people will say all Time I don’t have time. And I agree, time is in Excel is our most precious resource. Sometimes people think money, but it’s not when they put a little thought behind it, they realize it’s time, which is why I love the efficiency of a retreat. Because rather than six months of coaching and another thing on the to do list are running here and there, you are in a situation that’s not only a beautiful location and luxurious and delicious food and and and but you’re able to accomplish in those three days true transformation, true breakthroughs. True Aha, is that for all of us who are balancing a time crunched calendar, you need efficiency. And I have found nothing, nothing in my own journey more impactful at that than actually jumping all in in the retreat.

Karen Yankovich 15:52
Oh, my gosh, that’s, that’s so true. And you know, it’s, I love that you’re talking about how efficient it is how we will invest in efficiency, right? Like, if you said to somebody, or if I said to somebody, and I, you know, I mean, I teach this is one of the first things we do in our shooting program is have a conversation, like, what is the biggest opportunity? And a lot of times I get pushback on that, right? Well, I have a six month package, and it’s you know, $5,000 or $10 million, or $12, whatever it is right? And you know, blah, blah, blah. And I said, You know what, you know, what, if you did what, what could you do? If I said you can even give him a month intensive? Well, you know, but they really need to six months, and I can’t charge more for one month, and I charged for six months. I said, Oh yeah, you can. Because it’s an intensive. And I can tell you that if you said to me, you know, if I have $5,000 in my hand, and I want this transformation, and Person A is gonna say, Okay, give me your $5,000. And in six months, you’ll have that transformation, or Person B says, Give me that $5,000. And in three days, you’ll have that transformation. I’m not person. I’m personally all day long, right? Because I don’t have six months, and I will pay for a fast transformation. And I I hope that you guys are listening can understand where we’re going with that. Because Because it is it is about the efficiency of stepping into a place in your life. And, um, that that serves everyone else as well, not just you in a way that happens much more quickly.

Amy Ries 17:12
Yeah, well, it’s funny you say that, because I actually do hear from husbands from partners from kids. Because, you know, a lot of times, especially women who are, you know, very successful in their career and keeping multiple balls in the air. You know, there’s a glimmer, there’s some guilt around the idea of, I already have no time, how am I going to take time just for myself? Yeah, and the reality is what they don’t see. And they don’t see it till after I guess there was a way I could bottle it and show them ahead. But they come back a different person, and their interactions and relationships come back differently. I mean, it’s game changing everyone in the family, everyone on the work team, whatever that stress point is for you benefits from you. Coming to a new state of clarity, coming to a new state of calm, coming to a new outlook on how you want to live your life and how you want your family and your work to show up. Everyone benefits. Yes, you’re in the driver’s seat of it. And yes, you’re the one physically going away. And because I do them at beautiful locations, because I think you deserve a beautiful location. People sometimes think, oh, they’re just going out of, you know, a boondoggle vacation. But it’s not when they come back. And they realize you’re not the same woman that walked out of the house four days ago. Everyone sees the benefit.

Karen Yankovich 18:32
Oh, my gosh, so can you give us some examples of some of the things that change? Yeah, people go through retreat? Absolutely. So I know you’ve done a few of them already.

Amy Ries 18:41
You know, and yeah, I mean, there’s a ton and it varies by person, you know, everyone’s there for a little bit of a different reason. But one thing I would say that, you know, a couple universals across the board. First is people rediscover themselves. It’s amazing how we at you know, 20 years old when we were in college, or left college sort of planned out the rest of our life. And we sort of been living on that track since. And we have never taken the time to hit pause and say, when I was 20, and young and stupid, no offense to any 20 year olds, but do I still want that now at 40 or 50? At 60? Or 30? or whatever? Right? Yeah, we take the time to pause and reflect. So that is one thing that everyone gets, everyone gets to check in on like, okay, is this still I say, Is this the latter? You still want to be climbing right? Or do you want to jump over to the next ladder next to it right? There’s a level of clarity that people leave with, on whatever their intention and they’re there to find, right? I often have people who are looking to make changes, whether that be career, whether that be life, you know, or they’re just looking to bring more joy, more happiness, more balance into their life, whatever they’re coming with sort of that mission of, there’s clarity around that because one of the things that I do because of the way I curate retreats and keep them small and intimate is before we get there, I speak with everyone individually one on one. And I do that not only to, you know, be a good service and ask if they have any questions or what they need or how I can support them. But to really get ahead of the game, and what people are coming with the intention for, you know, what brought you here, so that I make damn sure during that time together, we’re addressing that this isn’t like a mass rollout that I just offered the same retreat to every person, everything is customized. Because if you’re coming, I want you to I have 100% exceeded expectations rating, and I don’t want anybody to change that. So I made sure that I know what you’re coming for. So that we make sure you get that and you get that transformation, you get that breakthrough, you get that you know that shift in perspective of what’s possible with your life. You know, the other thing I’ll say, everyone leaves with an entire new support system, the women that I cure, oh, important. Oh my god, it’s game. First of all, with COVID. And not having the face to face time, I am ecstatic to get this group of women together in August face to face. But it’s so amazing as adult women to meet new friends, call them friends, because that’s what they become who you don’t know through your kids soccer or you don’t know through your husbands, whatever. They’re not a co worker, just a woman who wants to be a support for you, and only cares about your happiness and seeing you succeed. And you walk into that retreat, not knowing those other five people and you walk out, you know, with a team of people behind you. And it’s it warms my heart because it’s what it’s one of the big reasons I know the magic of groups of women, powerful groups of women. And it’s it’s one of the main reasons I started this and it’s, I see it time and time again. And it’s just, I love it. I love it. I love that part of it, too. Some people discredit that, but it’s a huge oh my gosh, of the retreat, he it’s not a retreat where you’re there with 100 people, right? It’s, it’s me, it’s the team. It’s a small, intimate group, and you’ve got people who have your back for life, when you walk out of that.

Karen Yankovich 22:08
You know what, that that’s that right? There is so important. I mean, I can say personally, and I know a lot of people in our program, and I don’t know this about you, but maybe it was true for you as well. When you make choices like moving from ladder, a ladder B, a lot of people in your life don’t understand it. Yeah, they don’t understand it. They want to be supportive. But they’re like, Wait, you’re doing what? Right? You’re like you’re leaving that CEO job to coach cheerleading, is that, right? Like so. But they don’t get it because they’ve never, they don’t they haven’t gone on that same journey. These are people that have been on the same journey as you so they can understand it. And it’s not that the other people in your life don’t want the best for you. Right? They do. But they don’t really know how to support you because they don’t understand it. So the success rate of somebody that really finds people that are like minded as they move into a new journey in their life is so much greater when they find those people. And when they know that they need those people like as women were so like, I got this, I got this, I got this, I don’t need anybody, I got it. Like we need this kind of support from each other, we need to be able to lift each other up when we need to.

Amy Ries 23:13
Yeah, one of you 100% right. And it’s for you’re right in terms of it’s not that the people don’t want to support you as you’re making a change or exploring new avenues. They’re looking to make tweaks and you’re you’re right, they just don’t know how First of all, and you don’t know how to communicate why you want it. So you know, you’re not communicating effectively. They’re clueless and what’s happening, right, they’re just thinking this is so strange. Like I thought everything was great, you know. So that’s another thing we address, we really talk about you leave a retreat with complete clarity so that you’re able to articulate why you’re doing what you’re doing. Not only articulate it from a mental point, but have been so strongly connected with it over three days that you know, it’s the path for you. And that totally changes in that regard, which is awesome, because it helps move that support level or, you know, the support level you get from the community much further but yeah, the the women’s support network is so special. And so unique coming out of this.

Karen Yankovich 24:13
Yeah. So you know, we’re women, and we’re going to we’re going to spend some time with you on this solo luxury retreats right without our kids without our partners without our families who probably think it’s a vacation right? So how do you justify this how do you justify this and why now when you know so many crazy things are happening in the world?

Amy Ries 24:31
Yeah, so a couple things I’ll start with the why now I could not think of a better moment in time than right now right? Be my you know it I frightens me a bit because I you know, obviously the women I coach are primarily executive women have been a men most working from home during the pandemic are on various stages of about to head back into the office. And what I say all the time is before you literally just jump back on that hamster wheel. Stop, just stop, like you have had a life. Your entire world has been turned upside down everybody’s has this past year. But especially if you’ve gone from being a high power executive and an office to a high power executive off your dining room table, right? Like they are totally different worlds. Before you jump back into the office, the crazy the hectic readjusting, make sure you’re heading in with a head, that is clear. Make sure you know what you want, you know where you’re going, you know what you want to change in your life, you know, you want to keep in your life, you know, you need to come in there. This is the time when so many women have had the opportunity to start to just a little bit think about is this what I really want. And I think that’s one gift the pandemic has given us, in some ways women have started to question. And that’s the first step that’s that, that if that has happened to you in any degree about any aspect of your life, that’s the first step where you need a little more self exploration, a little more digging. And the pandemic has allowed that. So I think from a timing perspective, literally before just jumping into what you used to do before, now is the perfect time to get clarity around that. But then also in terms of you know, part B of your question of justifying it, it really, you know, it really is about the benefit of the group, when you come back, right? When you come back a less stressed a less overwhelmed, less indecisive, a less tense person, everyone benefits from it, you are must show up as a different leader in the office, you show up with complete clarity, you’re able to articulate whether to your boss, to your team, to your co workers, whomever, you know, in a different way you show up differently with your family, you know, it’s it’s just you come back a different person than you left with. And they all benefit from that. And that’s the point that, you know, I don’t know, I have one woman who said your husband, I’m going to do this. And if I don’t come back different, you can go on a solo vacation or however you on any game back. Like you know, she, in fact very ironic that she just popped in my mind because we’re working on a big career change for her. And just this week, she’s switching so departments at work and making something so it’s life changing. And I hope that you all have the support network that you your team of people behind you realize that when you’re in a healthier, happier place, everyone’s in a happier, healthier, I mean, it’s a joke, right? What is the phrase about you know, happy wife happy life, but it’s very, very true. And if you’re the one carrying stress, and overwhelm, and tension and indecision and confusion, around your career around next steps around balance, when you get that stuff figured out, it is a game changer for everyone in your life.

Karen Yankovich 27:54
Yeah. And, you know, I would imagine, you know, I can certainly see myself saying, I’m going to sit on an island for a week, I’ll be back. But that doesn’t really help me. I mean, it helps, of course, who doesn’t want to live? Well, I shouldn’t say I would love the idea of sitting on. But But you know, I go on the the CEO kind of retreats that I go on, because I get the coaching along with it. And that helps me stay focused and really achieve, like you said that you have, you know what they want to achieve at the end of it. So you as their coach can guide them towards doing that. So what does that look like? What are you doing on these few days together?

Amy Ries 28:31
Yeah, sure. So, um, like I mentioned before the retreat even starts, I meet with everyone one on one before we even set foot just so we have a connection, any questions, I know what sort of brewing in your mind and even if you’re not sure how to articulate it yet, there’s something that brought you to the point that you want to prioritize yourself. And I love it. And I just, you know, I know what it is. Then when we get there, it’s a three night four day magical experience. Truly, it’s a combination of an exclusive vacation, because if you take sort of the best of the vacation, right, the best of the relaxation, the delicious food, the fun activities, you know, I curate luxury experiences that you do not have to plan because I know you plan everything else in your life that you just show up to whether that’s, you know, private yoga sessions, whether that’s a chartered wine cruise, whether that’s a chef’s dinner, whether that’s a demonstration kitchen, and then all of that is balanced with workshops, and free time. So and you know, the free time is super important. And I say to people, there are no wrong way to do your free your free time can be anything from a nap to high a high you know, to whatever however you want to or whatever fills you up. And then really the magic of the retreat is where the workshops come into play. So twice a day. We meet as a group in workshops we meet in the morning after breakfast and We meet right before dinner. And that’s where that’s where the self discovery journey takes place. That’s the coaching exercises and activities. That’s the visualizations. That’s the discussion topics. That’s, you know, where the women not only speak for themselves, but speak in support of each other. You know, that’s where the magic happens. It’s funny because I usually keep them the workshops to an hour and a half, two hours, usually an hour and a half’s sweet spot, because a lot happens during that time. And then I want you to relax, I want you to go fill you up any way you choose. So that what’s running through your mind, then while you’re getting your massage isn’t, oh, my God, I have to check my email, I have to do my to do list I have to wash the laundry. When I get home. It’s reflecting on the breakthroughs from the morning thinking of really sledding that sink in how does that sit with you? What do you think and then coming back in the evening, and building upon that in a very, you know, structured and tailored way, but the environment is super relaxed. And it’s you know, very positive. It’s, you know, no one has to say or do anything that they do not want to do, you know, I’m not nothing like that. But everyone is just excited to be there and excited to go on this journey. When they start once that door opens and they start walking through it, they’re running through it, you know, they’re there already the workshop before I even come down to do to show up to do them. So it’s it’s a really magical space. And then the other thing I’ll say is, I’m a big foodie. So food is a huge part of my retreats. I love doing fun, you know, whether it’s trying different restaurants for dinner, doing a chef’s demonstration kitchen, at one point, I bring a chef into our house and they do a private dinner and we do tarot card readings just for fun. You know, it’s, it’s an experience. So it’s not all work. It’s not all play, I feel like I’ve hit the nail on the head of because I myself been on many retreats and have run many, the perfect blend of how that comes together. So you come back feeling not just relaxed, but also like you’ve made huge strides and huge accomplishments. And that’s, that’s the biggest thing I think that differentiates a retreat from a vacation is that you know, a vacation is great while you’re sitting on the beach. But the minute you come back that shit that feeling of relaxation, goodbye has been left on an island somewhere in the Caribbean while

Karen Yankovich 32:28
I everybody that’s listening is shaking their heads right now saying Yep, I get that

Amy Ries 32:33
It was great while it lasted right. Yeah, that’s the difference when you come back from retreat, because of the transformation that happens because of the breakthroughs because of the AHA. And then I will say I always follow up my retreats with I do two VIP coaching deep dive sessions, 90 minutes and their one on one. And the reason I do that is because I want to make sure that those breakthroughs you had those those moments of clarity, that thing you never thought of before you remembered from 10 years ago, now has a way to take action in your life, I would never leave anyone high and dry. So you know, it’s about you and I then going deep and making sure what your breakthroughs and what your discoveries and what your things you want to figure out and now turn into action actually happen and aren’t left on the retreat. So I think those deep dive coaching calls, not only are they you know, extremely high value from the way I do executive coaching, but they’re the perfect way to cap off the retreat and make sure that nothing is left behind and everything is incorporated into your quote unquote, real life.

Karen Yankovich 33:42
Oh my gosh, so cool. So I know that you’re doing these regularly, but at the time that we’re recording this and this is going to be live mid June, you just put an August date on the calendar, right?

Amy Ries 33:54
I did. I did. I’m super excited by big summer retreat. I call it big but it’s it’s limited to six people. It is in August, it’s August 9 through 12th. And it’s called Beyond success rediscovering claim the life of your dreams. This retreat is amazing. It is at the ends of Aurora in New York, which is up by the Finger Lakes. And what I love about that location. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous, but we have taken over a restored mansion. So it’s called rolling house so we will be our group and our group alone. It’s actually it’s just us plus we have a dedicated innkeeper she helps with anything anyone needs. But our group in her taking over this drop dead gorgeous restored lakefront mansion where we’re going to do our workshops, have our you know, have some of our meals, who enjoy the outdoors, do the indoors and what I is unique about this retreat versus any that I’ve done before is I’m bringing a guest coach this time. So someone who I used to work with To know really well, her name is Elizabeth Pearson, she’s, she’s also an executive coach, but she’s more career focused and money mindset coaching. She’s really a money mindset expert, because a lot of times when we’re thinking about these big changes, obviously, the financial implications are huge consideration. Right. So I’m bringing her on board, specifically for the theme of this, you know, beyond success retreat, to add additional support, additional excitement and fun and insight to the group, specifically from financial and money, mindset expertise.

Karen Yankovich 35:36
So cool. So cool. So if those of you that are listening to this, like in September of 2021, and further, just look on Amy’s website, we’ll put all the links below you can see when the next one is, but those of you that are listening to this live, can they get it? Like is there like how quickly? Like I’m sure it’s gonna fill up fast. So can they can you take deposits to hold spots? Like, how can people secure their spot in it because I want, I want your retreat to be I want somebody listening to here to still have a space to be able to get in?

Amy Ries 36:03
Yeah, so the easiest way to do it, well, you can go to my website, which is retrieved by Amy Reese, calm, or you can email me at Amy at retreats by Amy Reed, Reese, calm. And let me know that once. I will say I curate the group. And I say that because I want to make sure that everyone’s there with the right intention. And because we’re small, and we’re intimate, if it’s not a good fit for you, I’m going to let you know that because it’s really important that the women who are there the reason they’re such magic in the group, is because I make sure that it’s the right group coming together.

Karen Yankovich 36:38
You know what Amy? That honestly would be make or break for me. Yeah. So I love that you’re doing that that would be make or break for me? Because I want to know that. Yeah, I love that you’re doing that.

Amy Ries 36:46
Yeah, it’s not. So if you’re interested, just reach out, you can do it via the website, email me directly. And we’ll

Karen Yankovich 36:53
Connect with Amy via LinkedIn, because she had an amazing LinkedIn presence that we helped her with.

Amy Ries 36:57
Thank you like, yes, LinkedIn looks great on thanks, Karen. And team. LinkedIn is another great way. Any way you can get in touch with me, and we’ll hop on the phone for a short call, and really make sure that this is the right retreat for you answer any questions you have. And if it sounds like it’s a great fit, I would love to, you know, invite you to be part of our amazing group of women that are coming together in August.

Karen Yankovich 37:22
And Amy and I were talking about this beforehand, because I just there’s such such a natural fit between around what she’s doing and what we teach in our choosing step accelerator program. So what I told Amy was, if anybody registers for her retreat, and tells her that she heard me on my podcast, I will actually get give, I’ll actually contribute to a special bonus for you as well. Because I want you to invest in yourself. And this is such a great way to do that and get started doing that. So I will throw in a little sauce sweeten the pot a little bit for you with not sure what yet, but I’ll make sure it’s good. I’ll make sure it’s good. Because you know what, if you know anything about me, and Amy, I think is the same way. She’s this isn’t high level, top notch, you know, experience class stuff, right? So we’re not gonna I’m not gonna send you a bag with a pen and a notepad, I promise that they’ll be something, there’ll be something good. For sure.

Amy Ries 38:12
I so appreciate that, Karen and you know, I know your audience is right. They’re the type of women I want to help, right. They’re the type of women that are doing it all that are moving up in their career, they’re moving and shaking, and I want to help you with that I want to help support you make sure you are clear, make sure you know where you’re going on that ladder. If you’re thinking about changing it, let’s do it. If you’re worried about balance, let’s get that sorted so that you have nothing but success. I mean, that’s I literally changed my entire life. Only for that purpose to help executive women find better clarity, more joy, better balance, you know, so that they can have a very successful and fun career and not get to a point where they’re in overwhelm and stress and not happy because life is short. There’s one thing I know life is short, and the only it is your responsibility to make sure you’re living a happy one so, so appreciate that, that you’re offering a gift and I will be offering a gift as well to anyone from Karen’s audience so there’ll be a little space something extra because I know that unity is is an amazing one. So I’d love to have some of you along

Karen Yankovich 39:22
it is it absolutely is all right Amy so we’re gonna put all the details on your August retreat and your website for people that are watching this after August and every you know and your LinkedIn profiles we will connect with you and so that they can just stay in your world because if the August retreat isn’t a good date or fit for you there are there’s another one right so if you have a conversation with somebody, Amy that is a good fit but can to the August one you know can they can they hold a spot and a future one as well so that at least they know that they’re making. I love the I love the energy of them making the commitment with even just a deposit.

Amy Ries 39:57
Yeah, absolutely. You can totally and by the Time this goes up, they’ll probably be additional retreats listed on the website. I always do a January retreat to start the year off new. We’re looking at something potentially for November. So yes, it’s, it’s funny with COVID. I’ve had to take it a little bit, one at a time. But now we are ready. The women are ready, I am being asked for it. The gates are flying open, because, you know, I know you guys need the support. And I think it’s, I think there’s no better way to get it than on a retreat. So

Karen Yankovich 40:29
Well me thank you for doing what you do in the world. Thank you for leaving your cushy CEO. We’re all just pushy with the way you describe it. But thanks for leaving that so that you can help more women really make the kinds of, you know, life changing life enhancing decisions that you made. And thanks for being here on the show with us today. Thank you, Karen. I had so much fun. It was awesome. Thanks. I really appreciate it. So are you like sitting here now thinking how the heck do I get to the Finger Lakes in New York and August to get on that retreat with Amy because I know that’s what I think when I see Amy, we’re always cooking up some ideas on how we can serve our she’s linked up community and family with some of the retreat type things that Amy does. So we’ll see if we can make that happen. Just it’s just so important. It’s just so important that you take time for yourself. It’s never been more important. So I hope that you enjoy this episode. definitely connect with Amy on LinkedIn. definitely follow everything she’s doing and keep on top of the work she’s doing with these retreats. If you think it’s a fit, absolutely reach out to her as you heard. I am you know, I think it’s such a fit with the work that I do that we’re going to actually give a bonus to everyone that’s listening to the show that goes to one of Amy’s retreats. We’ve I don’t think we’ve ever done this on the show before. That’s how passionate I am about the work that she’s doing and how important I think it is for you to take part in that. So check that out. And if you want to be creating a business and a life that just lights you up remember I’m here to support you as well. We’ve got our free masterclass you know I refer to LinkedIn as my money tree and we reef and our masterclass you can find out what are that money tree.com that’s how you get started learning a little bit about what it’s like to work with me on that masterclass, we’re on selling anything. It’s just how I want you to think about how you approach LinkedIn differently and there’s some shifts that I want you to make in the way you think about LinkedIn. So we talked about those shifts on that masterclass and if it’s something that you want to learn more about, we tell you how you can learn more about working with us but it is absolutely no keep your credit card in your wallet and you’re in your wallet you don’t need to take it out and I’d love for you to check that out. So check that out at water that money tree comm if you want to know what it looks like to be building a business like Amy built or is building, you know, we’re a tiny little part of her success. I certainly want to give her credit for doing all the hard work but I love that we just get to collaborate with amazing smart women and if that’s you check out the masterclass and that’s how you start your journey. I will be back here again next week with another episode of the good girls get rich podcast