BrandWell Designer Retreat Prep
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Victoria’s spilling the tea on BrandWell's third designer retreat! It's been an incredible journey creating a space where collaboration and like-minded creatives thrive, and this Nashville getaway is BrandWell’s way of saying thanks to the designers, for the late nights and the brilliant designs. With anticipation bubbling, Victoria weaves together the threads of this retreat, from the venue that'll be their creative home to a special photography opportunity, slated to capture the team's essence and sprinkle a little more BrandWell sparkle into the world.
When you're part of a team that feels more like family, every moment is an opportunity to bond and bask in the glow of collective genius. So, as they experience Nashville's vibrant branding landscape, they’re not just tourists – they’re searching for inspiration and dissecting the branding strategies that make the city pulse. Back at their AirBnb, they’ll share their top picks and plan their own project of rebranding a local gem, because nothing screams 'teamwork' like a friendly competition that sets their creative fires ablaze.
Here's the thing about retreats – they're not just frivolous getaways; they're the cement in the foundation of a thriving company culture. Sure, it's a break from the hustle, but it's also about deepening the roots that keep BrandWell’s design family standing tall. We're talking personalized gift bags that ooze thoughtfulness, and awards that shine a spotlight on each unique contribution to BrandWell’s story. Investing in these moments of camaraderie and recognition pays dividends in loyalty and a culture that everyone wants to be a part of. So enjoy today’s episode, get a little inspired, and who knows, you might just start plotting your own team retreat by the time we're through.
Who is this retreat for? [01:08]
BrandWell Designs is a design agency that host, Victoria Marcouillier, started back in 2018. She now has an entire team of creative females that help carry out her vision for BrandWell each and every day, but back in 2018, Victoria herself was a side hustler. She was working full time and spending her nights and weekends at a coffee shop building websites for clients. It didn’t take her long to realize that the only way she could scale her business was to ask for help, and before you know it, Victoria has scaled her team to more than ten people. Beyond reaping the financial rewards of scaling her business, Victoria also reaps the emotional and spiritual rewards and everything that comes with collaboration with like minded people. At this current time, Victoria has six designers on her team and they live all over the country. In 2021, when Victoria hosted her first retreat, she kept that close to home in Lynchburg, Virginia. Listen to how her first retreat went in this podcast episode! In 2022, she held her second annual retreat in Georgia which you can listen to the prep that went into this retreat here and the recap episode here! There was no retreat in 2023, so this year Victoria is going big! Five of the six designers will be joining Victoria in Nashville, Tennessee for the third annual BrandWell Designers retreat! This retreat is a place where Victoria can pour back into her designers and thank them for all the hours and time, hard work, and emotional energy that they give to BrandWell.
Planning process of hosting a team retreat [06:35]
Set a Date [06:35]
Having two young children and a husband that works at a hospital with not very flexible hours, Victoria had to first find out what her options were for childcare. This looked like calling her mom to see if she would be able to watch the girls for a long weekend. Once she locked in two different weekends, she gave those weekends to the team to see what would work best for everyone going.
Choose a Location [07:53]
Victoria already knew that she wanted to go to Nashville, but she needed to find a place to stay once they got there. Ideally, she wanted to have everyone under one roof to allow for more bonding time in the mornings and at night. The venue that Victoria decided on is such a unique and cool destination spot, it has six bedrooms, so everyone can have their own bedroom and it’s perfect for their needs! When traveling to a highly traveled city, be sure to book your location three to four months ahead of time as these cool locations book early in advance.
Brand Shoots / Team Photography [10:25]
Typically during the BrandWell retreats, Victoria likes to have some form of a brand shoot since the whole team is together and that’s a rare occurrence. For this retreat, Victoria is trying something different to capitalize on the time they have in Nashville because brand shoots can easily take up half of a day. Rather than booking a photographer that Victoria has never met before, she decided to reach out to one of her lifelong best friends that lives close to Nashville and also happens to be a photographer. Suzy Collins will be joining the BrandWell team and take photos throughout the entire retreat and then sending the images to the photographer that BrandWell usually has for brand shoots, just to keep a consistent aesthetic with all the imagery.
Thank goodness for moms! [14:29]
As previously mentioned, Victoria called up her mom to see if she would be able to watch the girls so that Victoria can host this retreat in Nashville, but Victoria’s mother-in-law also reached out and offered to watch the girls. Victoria took her mother-in-law up on her offer and then asked her mom to go on the retreat with her. The last BrandWell retreat was hosted at Victoria’s parents’ lake house in Georgia and her mom was there to help with prepping dinners and cleaning up and she really was the hostess with the mostest. With having seven people in Nashville, it would be a lot of work to make sure that everything is prepped and ready to go when people wake up, want coffee, breakfast, and all the things, so having Victoria’s mom there will be a lot of help and allow Victoria to bond with the designers on her team as well.
Determine a Theme [16:06]
Before jumping into the itinerary, Victoria chose a theme for this retreat. This year’s theme is the Brand Experience Tour of Nashville. In past years, during the retreat they would sit down and do a strategy session but this year, Victoria has decided to go out and really experience brands. Something that Victoria has noticed about herself is that she oftentimes will look at a store sign or billboard and think, why did they use that font? Or why did they choose those colors? Or I know exactly why they chose those colors. It’s made her a better designer by experiencing other people’s brands, seeing how it makes her feel, and then making judgements based on how she might rebrand that company if she was given the opportunity. Victoria wants her designers to also think this way, so as a team, they are going to go into various coffee shops, bakeries, boutiques, and restaurants in Nashville, and experience the brands that the businesses have curated. They’re going to answer some questions that Victoria has prepared but even deeper than that, they will get to order, purchase, and truly experience the brand.
Healthy, creative competition [21:28]
A lot of creatives who find a way to monetize their passion, kind of lose creativity as a hobby. But it’s so important to do so just to keep that creative spark alive and remind you of why you’re doing what you’re doing. So to encourage creativity for the fun of it, Victoria is holding a little contest for her team. While they’re in Nashville, there’s a good chance that there will be one or two brands that they don’t particularly care for, and so everyone will get to select one brand that they want to rebrand. This will surely look different, probably for each person on the team, because at the end of the day, design is subjective. Each designer will get one month to complete this hypothetical rebrand and get the chance to win a $300 shopping spree to the store of their choice.
Plan the Itinerary [25:30]
Everyone will arrive on Friday, so after a long day of travel the only plans are to hang out at the house. Victoria has also planned to do a fun session of friendship bracelet making, paying homage to Taylor Swift, as so many of her designers are Swifties. On Saturday, they’ll have breakfast at the house and then get ready to go experience Nashville as previously mentioned. This is really their only full day in Nashville, so they’re making the most of it! On Sunday, they’ll just be hanging out in the morning together before everyone heads out!
Creating Company Culture [31:03]
Who you work with and who you work for is a huge part of anyone’s job satisfaction and of company culture. Even though the designers work remotely and only get together via video once or twice a week, Victoria wants them to be able to know and love the other people they’re working alongside and really unite them on the vision that BrandWell has about serving creative females. Victoria’s mission is to serve these girls well, to provide them with jobs they love, with jobs they can be proud of, and with jobs that they wake up excited to do because they believe in BrandWell’s mission, too.
Goodie Bags [32:05]
Gifting is Victoria’s love language and she loves to spoil her team with gift bags! Each gift bag will have one branded item, some fun other goodies that she can’t share quite yet, awards to acknowledge the designer, and some cash so that they don’t have to spend a dime when they’re experiencing Nashville’s brands.
Final Thoughts [36:06]
If you’re thinking of throwing a retreat, do it! You can do it on a budget, and there are unique ways for you to make your team feel really special and valued outside of work! It creates a better company culture, and it creates more loyalty amongst your team. That’s always an investment that’s worth it. Be sure to check back for the retreat recap episode coming in the next couple of weeks!
Key Quotes
“[Retreats] create more loyalty amongst your team and, honestly, that is an investment that's always worth it.”
Victoria Marcouillier
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