Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brie Doyle, Founder of She Glows Retreats, located in Boulder, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We host transformational retreats for people who are seeking to heal their past, reconnect with their creativity and a sense of purpose, and live their dreams. Our retreats have a special component we call our "Heart Curriculum" content that takes participants on a very specific internal emotional, and energetic journey while with us. So, along with yoga, meditation, breath work, dance, ceremony, and ritual, our Heart Curriculum content offers participants a personal growth curriculum, as well.

Our clients are mostly women (though we've just launched the DREAM Retreat in October 2023 that will include men!). Ages range anywhere from 25-78. Really, any woman or person in a stage of transition who is looking to feel more alive is a good fit for our retreats. Anyone who wants to move from living life on autopilot to living with more confidence, clarity, and inspiration will find meaning at our retreats.

Tell us about yourself

I started She Glows Retreats after hitting my own low after having my third child. I felt constantly tired, depressed, uninspired, and alone. It was at this time that I went on my own solo retreat, having done them at many points in my past. What I realized at this particular time and retreat was not that something was wrong with me but that I'd been expending all my energy on everyone else and very little on myself. Retreating was what brought me back to myself.

I came home from that retreat determined to offer retreats to other people because it had helped me so much. I knew that I wasn't the only one who struggled with feelings of depletion and lack of inspiration.
After nearly six years of watching incredible transformations happen as a result of these retreats, I feel inspired to continue to research the latest scientific breakthroughs in wellness in order to offer cutting-edge experiences for people to continue to up-level their lives. It has been a gift to get to hold space for these incredible retreats.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

One of my biggest accomplishments as a business owner was writing and publishing a book about the importance of this work of retreating: You Should Leave Now: Going on Retreat to Find Your Way Back to Yourself.
One of my goals is to put retreating on the map as a valuable form of self-care for everyone to use as a proactive mental health tool. Writing the book and sharing it on podcasts, in articles, for corporate and personal groups, and more have been deeply meaningful. Watching the message spread has felt so rewarding.

Of course, anytime ANY participant has a breakthrough on my retreats, from reading my book or using my Self Retreat Kit, and they let me know, it is a huge accomplishment, too. My wish is to change the narrative around mental health in our country and beyond. Hearing how retreat helps this, even for one person, feels huge to me.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things for me as a business owner at this time in my life is balancing family and professional aspirations. I have a lot of big ideas for these retreats as well as for more books, all of which take time. I also have young kids at home. And being a stable and present mother is my most important job. I know my kids won't be young forever. So, I have to pace myself with my work. I see it as how I "live the work." If I'm helping the world with mental health but am not there for my own family, then something is amiss. Though it's a challenge with a bustling business and a lot of creative ideas, I'm big on prioritizing what matters.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Hire help as soon as you can. Too many of us (me included!) wait too long to hire appropriate help. If you don't, you'll burn out before your time.
  2. Prioritize your health. The business world operates with an urgency that I don't believe is always healthy. Don't be pulled down by this. It is not admirable to always be working on your business, even though our culture may portray this. This is not what freedom looks like; it's a trap. If you have a worthy business and you are coming from a place of service, you shouldn't have to sacrifice your health to make it operate well. No one will prioritize you if you don't. And creating from a space of health has a more positive ripple impact than one of frenzied stress but maybe "on time." Remember the Tortoise and the Hare story. Live well, serve well.
  3. Know when to stop, slow down, or pivot. True innovators are able to make changes. True sages know when to step back or stop. People don't talk about the brilliance of backing down. But sometimes, it is the wisest move. Know yourself enough to know when you may need to take a step back, slow down, or even begin something completely different. Our world could use more modeling of business owners who live and operate from integrity. Sometimes this means taking it back a notch. This is not failure but deep wisdom.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.briedoyle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellbeingbybrie/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellbeingbybrie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrieDoyle
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/she-glows-retreats/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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