#312: Everything We Learned From Our Second In-Person Event — The Good, The Bad, and The Full Economics
Notes de l’épisode
This week, my wife Mallory joins me for only her second podcast appearance ever to break down everything from The Lab Offline Powered by Circle — our second annual 2-day in-person retreat for Lab members, hosted June 8–9 at Hotel Renegade in Boise, Idaho. Mallory planned essentially everything: seating charts, venue contracts, menus, swag, run of show. She's been at it for roughly 6 months.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The full economics of running a community retreat (we lost $8,300, which is actually an improvement)
- How we took breakfast from a 4.8 to an 8.1 rating — and what we'd cut to reduce costs next year
- What ranked #1 for attendees 2 years running, and why trivia (our favorite activity) came in 7th
- Whether we'll keep doing this in Boise — and what Columbus, Toronto, and doing 2 events per year might look like
By the end of this episode, you will have a clear picture of what it actually costs to run a high-quality community event, what's worth paying for, and what we'd do differently.
Full transcript and show notes
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Cold open: people were moved, tears were shed
(00:53) The Lab Offline explained: 2-day member retreat, goals, and agenda
(06:44) Initial impressions: a reunion feeling, smoother logistics, zero fires
(13:08) Attendee feedback numbers: 9.3/10 overall, 91% returning, 34% said underpriced
(18:46) Event economics: $30,459 revenue, $38,800 costs, $8,300 loss
(23:05) Top cost drivers: hotel catering, travel, venue rental, dinners
(26:52) Planning challenges: acoustics, dietary restrictions, every decision is a trade-off
(36:52) What to keep: assigned seating, Kat's Immunity to Change workshop, Fighting Off the Sleepies
(42:04) What to improve: more mastermind sessions, less solo writing, better acoustics
(47:49) Open question: should the event stay paired with Craft and Commerce?
(53:49) The case for Columbus, 2 events per year, and an international option
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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE
#260: Detailed Breakdown: Our First Offline Event (And What We’ll Do Differently Next Time)
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