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Lifestyle

I have been SO excited to share about this day ever since it happened in May! I planned for months the experience I wanted to share with the Elevate Workshop attendees. I wanted them to learn about what it means to run a luxury brand not only by telling them, but by allowing them to experience it as well! The Sanctuary Resort was our luxury-experience host hotel, and they brought their A-game for our gathering. We had all meals delivered to our suite and their attentive staff ready to meet our every need (even the bizarre ones, like needing a screwdriver at 9PM at night–really, they were that good! :)).

On day 1, we kicked off our time by sitting around a gorgeous suite at the Sanctuary Resort talking about our “WHY” for showing up.

“WHY is it that you want to build a luxury brand? Let’s get clear on your why, so that we can create specific, strategic goals that make sense for the life you actually want to live.” I asked attendees.

Here were mine when I started on this road 5 years ago:

+Spend quantity and quality time with my family. Be a working mom, but do it differently.

+Play a vital role in supporting my family while husband is in school.

+Less weddings at a higher dollar. More money for my time.

+Be one of the best. Pursue excellence.

It was so inspiring sitting around that living room and hearing attendees’ share their own. Some answers were similar, some were different, but what I loved the most was that people were participating in deep reflection and discovering their real motivations. “Luxury Business” sounds flashy and exciting, but one thing I preach is that there are so many ways to be successful, this is just one avenue that fit so beautifully with my number one priority: my family. It was a way to capitalize on my time. I wanted attendees to get clear on why they were showing up, so that they could identify their own values and establish a business plan that was actually in line with the life and purposes they ultimately wanted to achieve.

We spent the rest of the first half of the day in lectures covering what I call the 4 Power-players of building a luxury brand: Brand Identity, Pricing, Network, and Client Experience. We finished the night sitting at the very table we had styled and photographed earlier, enjoying a delicious dinner prepared by the Sanctuary staff, bonding over good food and chatting and laughing about personality types.

The morning of Day 2, we photographed attendee’s headshots, with the goal of creating a headshot that would portray the feeling of a luxury brand. It was hot, but you wouldn’t know it looking at this handsome crew!

After headshots, attendees got to enjoy one-on-one business consultations with both myself and Lara (our INCREDIBLE planner/stylist) and discussing next specific goals for each individual. I can’t pick a favorite moment from these 2 days, but the time spent with each attendee individually was definitely in my top 3.

To finish our time, we enjoyed a last meal together at a local favorite, Flower Child, and handed out prizes from sponsors (HUGE thank-you to Showit, Kiss Books, Align Album Design, and Foil and Ink for their incredible contributions!). It was tough to say good-bye, but I did so with a full heart and so stoked about what this talented crew was going to accomplish with what they received at our time together.

Below is our incredible shoot that Lara Kreutner designed for us to give attendee’s high-end content to add to their portfolios. I can’t say enough about this girl. She pulled it off beautifully. Enjoy the highlights below, and make sure to scroll to the end to view the video showcasing our experience together.

Xoxo,

Charity