We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaylee Nelson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaylee below.

Kaylee, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I’d love to share about establishing my yoga retreat business, Your Dream Retreat, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

My best friend Lisa and I co-created Your Dream Retreat one year ago. The decision to embark on an entrepreneurial journey together was born out of our shared passion for creating experiences that are both transformational and fun. We have always thought of ourselves as artful experience curators, and with our love of teaching yoga and my previous experience with international yoga retreats and trainings, the fire was already lit.

My initial foray into retreats began with a sold-out two-week yoga teacher training retreat in Tulum, Mexico, in collaboration with my good friend through Black Swan Yoga Austin.

While teaching a yoga training retreat through a studio did not prove to be a substantial financial return, it served as a valuable experience and planted the seed that eventually bloomed into my independent retreat businesses. This initial trip laid the groundwork for understanding the intricacies of traveling with and leading a group and set the stage for the evolution of my ventures.

Moving from teaching retreats through a studio to owning my own business marked a significant shift in my career. The independence gives way to more personal expression and lets you navigate the business without relying too much on external entities. For me, being hands-on in every aspect of the business creates a cohesive product and delivers a clearly aligned experience that is purely my vision. You can only get so creative when you’re sharing someone else’s vision.

My first independent-of-a-studio retreat was co-led with a friend in Guatemala. A few things that helped with the success of our retreat were: researching and scoping out the property beforehand, crafting templates for emails and communications with guests to be used time and time; having really clearly laid out information about waivers, cancellations, and deposits; and understanding that a retreat for a leader isn’t just flying to a destination and teaching yoga — it’s months of back end administrative work. We also had an expensive website, email address, and a shiny internet presence. If I’m being honest, this wasn’t actually needed for the success of our retreats, which proved to be the case when I developed my next retreat business with my next partner.

When my original business partner stopped teaching yoga, I formed a strong connection with my favorite teacher in Austin, Lisa Garza. Dreaming together, we built the Desert Dream Retreat, set in the high desert of New Mexico, which became the inspiration for our business name, Your Dream Retreat. Our first retreat together, a 30-person sold-out experience in Taos, New Mexico, was a labor of love. We invested six months in curating every detail. The retreat was everything we could have dreamed of and more. We sold this retreat not by having a fancy website or thousands of Instagram followers – but by creating authentic connections with our community of students and putting an immense amount of care and attention into our weekly class offerings.

Our first retreat together taught us the importance of adaptability. We spent months creating our idea of the perfect first-day star-gazing event for our retreat and really talked the evening up to guests beforehand. That night, it poured down rain and you couldn’t see a star in the sky. We had to pivot on the spot to an alternative event. We quickly set up a cozy and heart-centered practice with cacao, intention setting, and a sound bath in a yurt on the property. This roadblock even gave us the space to reimagine our stargazing event, which completely changed into a delightful s’mores and fire under-the-stars party on our last night. Everything ended up being better than what we had originally planned. We were reminded how valuable it is to go with the flow when needed, and how trusting in your ability to problem solve can result in beautiful creations.

Looking ahead, we have two upcoming retreats that are almost sold out in 2024: RENEW, a weekend getaway in the Texas Hill Country in the Spring, and INDULGE, a one-week adventure in Tuscany, Italy focused on pure enjoyment. After our first retreat, we have a greater understanding of the value of the product we are offering and the investment of effort required. This has created a mental shift toward valuing our offerings appropriately. Overcoming the initial fear of charging what the product is worth can be a challenge, but it’s a resounding reminder to VALUE YOURSELF and acknowledge the time, research, effort, and details that go into creating each retreat experience.

Here are three tips I would share with aspiring retreat leaders:

1) Believe fully in your product. The ability to cultivate an unforgettable experience starts with unwavering belief. If you don’t think you can sell out a retreat, you won’t. Hard work and good marketing are crucial, but your confidence in the product is the catalyst for success.

2) Choose your co-leader wisely. If you want to lead solo, go solo! If you choose a co-leader, ensure it’s someone with whom you share a good flow and connection. Participants can pick up on energy nuances, and the magic of your connection can be the deciding factor for their return to future retreats. Can you co-create laughter, joy, and wonderful memories, and teach a stellar yoga class together?

3) Attention to detail is everything. Plan meticulously and then plan some more. From logistics and spreadsheets to selecting the right chef, thoroughly researching destinations, curating thoughtful gifts, and crafting intentional agendas with fun excursions – every detail contributes to the overall success of your retreat. The amount of positive feedback I receive about the little details proves that caring for even the smallest things is what separates a good retreat from a truly special retreat.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Absolutely! In addition to teaching yoga classes, retreats, and trainings, I manage the Yoga & Fitness programs at Bouldering Project in Austin, TX. Immersing myself in various aspects of yoga– from a deeply personal practice to managing studios and a team of teachers– always leaves me with a heart full of gratitude and excitement each day. I feel privileged to use and share the tools of yoga in numerous ways daily.

I am the co-founder of Your Dream Retreat with my teaching counterpart, Lisa. Together we form a dynamic duo, equally inspired by the practice of yoga and the joy of travel. We believe in the transformative power of community, yoga, and travel as tools to open your mind and learn more about yourself. Our retreats are more than a vacation; they are a space for self-discovery, connection, and personal growth.

We have the powerful ability to create a sense of belonging and make people feel comfortable. In the matter of a weekend retreat, we’ve witnessed strangers turn into best friends. We understand that it takes a special skill to bring people together and foster genuine connections. Our shared values of joy, self-care, and authenticity provide a space for participants to connect with that in themselves.

We also realize that the art of inclusion is built in our weekly studio classes. When students leave a class feeling connected and at peace in their bodies, hearts, & minds, we introduce the joy and safety of connection that can be tapped into in a retreat setting. Weekly studio classes are the foundation on which retreats are built, and we give the same amount of heart, care, and attention to our classes that our retreats get.

Your Dream Retreat is not just about doing a yoga class away from home, but about creating a space where individuals can find comfort, joy, and connection with themselves and others. We are committed to crafting retreats that offer an opportunity to recalibrate, find balance, and form lasting connections. We want to show others that joy in community does not just have to last a moment, but can be carried home and become a way of being.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Training and knowledge only get you so far. In my opinion, passion and care are two essential components of success. These aren’t subjects learned in school or skills you can pick up from an online course or self-help book. Passion and care come directly from living. They are ways you teach yourself to show up in the world and for yourself. When you do everything in your life with passion and care, your business succeeds because of it.

Passion is the heartbeat of Your Dream Retreat. It’s the invisible thread that weaves through every aspect of our offerings. Beyond yoga poses and sequences, passion fuels the desire to create experiences that transcend the physical practice of yoga. It’s the driving force that propels us to craft retreats that are not just events but tools for self-discovery.

Genuinely caring about what you are creating is a massive part of retreat cultivation. Yoga retreat creation is not merely about putting together an itinerary – it’s about curating an environment where individuals feel seen, heard, and nurtured. Believing in and caring about the transformative potential of each retreat is what makes it transformative. When you genuinely care about what you offer, it becomes more than a business– it becomes an extension of who you are.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche is the book I buy and give to everyone who shows an interest in creating a heartfelt connection with themselves and the world around them through the lens of yoga. The Radiance Sutras invite you to embrace the full spectrum of being a human – to find the sacredness in an ordinary moment, and to holistically engage with the present moment. This philosophy is not just a way of showing up in your private, spiritual journey, but a way to show up in your business endeavors.

One of the poetic sutras even inspired our INDULGE Italy retreat coming up next year:

“Tasting dark chocolate,
A ripe apricot,
A luscious elixir—
Savor the expanding joy in your body.
Nature is offering herself to you.
How astonishing
To realize this world can taste so good.

When sipping some ambrosia,
Raise your glass,
Close your eyes,
Toast the universe.
The Sun and Moon and Earth
Danced together
To bring you this delight.
Receive the nectar on your tongue
As a kiss of the divine.”

Contact Info:

• Website: kayleeyoga.com
• Instagram: kaylee.yoga