As a health club operator with a busy schedule, it can be easy to fall into a rut with your routine — making it difficult to get perspective. When you’re in the weeds, breakthrough ideas and solutions occur a lot less frequently.
Therefore, it’s important to break out of your routine at least once a year in order to recharge and get some much-needed perspective. And a great opportunity to do just that includes industry-specific intimate events, which typically max out at 75 people.
Unlike trade shows, where you’re one among a sea of thousands, intimate events allow you to network and really get to know your peers. As a result, you get the opportunity to problem solve and pick other attendee’s brains on issues they too may be struggling with or have already solved. After the event is over, these relationships will last far beyond the event’s dates.
For Shawna DeShazo, a regional account manager for Active Wellness, getting to network with peers is one of the most valuable aspects of the Club Solutions Leadership Retreat, an intimate event that occurs annually in the fall.
“I leave every year with more industry knowledge and better strategies to take back to my clubs and fellow colleagues,” said DeShazo. “The opportunity to have two days where we can put our heads together and talk through ideas, challenges and best practices is an experience that is hard to find. My biggest takeaway is that I leave with new friends and colleagues I can reach out to and work with moving forward.”
Intimate events are also a great opportunity to get to know a small selection of sponsors. You’ll have a sponsor’s undivided attention, meaning they can provide a solution truly tailored to your club, versus a mass-market pitch. At a trade show, it’s impossible to meet with the hundreds of vendors in attendance.
Steve Groves, the CIO and vice president of information technology services for GoodLife Fitness, echoed this sentiment, citing his experience at the annual Club Solutions Leadership Summit at The Kentucky Derby. “The most striking aspect as an attendee was the realization as the weekend progressed that I couldn’t remember who was a sponsor and who was a club operator,” he recalled. “Everyone came together during the roundtable sessions to discuss ways to make the entire industry better. There were no hidden agendas. It was a refreshing change from being sold to, as is often the case in sponsored events.”
As you plan your 2018 calendar, consider adding an intimate event to your schedule as an opportunity to recharge, network and find solutions to issues plaguing your business. I promise you won’t regret it.
Interested in attending an intimate event? Consider the 2018 Club Solutions Leadership Retreat, which will take place September 5-7 at the historic Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Fifty health club operators and owners alongside limited sponsors will come together for two days of roundtable discussions, networking and fun. Take away tangible ideas and invaluable connections. Interested in attending or sponsoring? Limited spots remain. Email carrie@peakemedia.com while spots last and visit www.peakemediaevents.com/retreat for additional details.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
