Event Recap Series : Blueprint Retreat 2014
Intro by Shanna Skidmore | Recap by Britt Bass

One of my favorite traditions as a financial advisor was our end of the year annual planning retreats. As an office, we would rent a cabin and spend a few days digging into our goals and dreams for the upcoming year, mapping our plans, and sharing those action steps with each other.

As I ventured into entrepreneur-land, I was blown away that most people don’t practice this tradition of annual planning and intentional goal-setting.

While in the process of officially launching my consulting company, I knew I wanted to provide a place for this time of annual planning and goal-setting to happen. A time to get out of your business long enough to work on your business.

And that’s how the Blueprint Retreat was born!

In 2013, I officially launched Skidmore Consulting AND Blueprint Retreat (formally known as Inspire Conferences) on the same day! I realize now how crazy ambitious that was, but somehow those 15 seats filled up!

I will always cherish this very first retreat and many of the attendees who have now become dear friends.

But today, I’m beyond honored for one of those attendees, Britt Bass Turner, to share her experience of attending this very first retreat and what it’s done for both her business and her life!

I hope you enjoy the recap and of course join us for an upcoming retreat!

xo,
Shanna

Blueprint Retreat 2014 Recap | written by attendee Britt Bass

Name : Britt Bass Turner
Business Name : Britt Bass
Industry : Atlanta based abstract artist

Hi, there! I’m Britt Bass Turner, an Atlanta based abstract painter.

I’ve always been very creative and loved crafting and making from a young age.

My mom is an interior designer so I was immersed in art, design, and color as well as exposed to a successful female-run creative business in my developmental years.

I shadowed a family friend who is a super talented full time artist here in Atlanta, Andrea Costa, the summer I graduated high school. I just loved that day in her studio and couldn’t believe that that was her actual job! I wanted to do that too! So when I looked into the Art Program at UGA, I was pretty hooked.

I always loved art in school and went on to earn my BFA from the University of Georgia in 2011. Since the month I graduated, I started my little business, and I’ve been painting and sharing my happy, colorful artworks with the world!

What did life look like for you before attending the 2014 Blueprint Retreat?

Going into the Blueprint Retreat in January 2014, I had just finished my first 4 months working as a full time artist.

I had a growing audience, increasing demand, and was definitely very busy already at this stage, but due to workflow, pricing, and goal setting problems (or lack thereof) I had barely any profit to show for it. I knew something had to change in order to keep pursuing this dream of painting as a career.

Enter Shanna’s Blueprint Retreat.

I learned so many life changing and tangible action items that completely transformed the way I thought about my business (wait did I even think about the business side before Blueprint? 😉 ).

Shanna helped me, for the first time, establish my mission, vision, and goals for my business. We overhauled my pricing structure, discovered my ideal studio practice, and created workflow and schedules from that.

Blueprint taught me how to budget for taxes, savings, and investments which created margin and allowed me to take some risks that exponentially grew my business.

By the end of 2015, I had an out of house studio space, my first part time employee, purchased all of my own printing equipment, and increased my profit 10x.

For years I’ve heard clients and students say they want to replace their corporate salary with their creative business. There’s something about hitting that level of income that somehow justifies us leaving our “responsible” desk job — have you ever felt that way? Learn my 3-step plan for replacing your corporate salary with income from your creative business.

What did attending an in-person event mean for you?

It changed everything for me, for my life, and my business. I was hoping to find answers to making a long term career out of my dream of painting.

The actual event is incomparable in terms of taking a break from your business to work on your business in such an encouraging and inspiring environment. I have truly loved them so much and hope to go again soon!

I’ve already shared how it’s changed my business, but it also changed my life by creating boundaries, establishing priorities, and creating a healthy, sustainable workflow to prevent burnout.

I felt welcomed, encouraged, and inspired from the moment I stepped into the room and there is definitely a bond between the attendees that you can’t describe unless you experience it!

What is one word to express how you felt after leaving the 2014 Blueprint Retreat?

Equipped

You’re given all the tools and resources at BPM, you are fully equipped to leave and implement them to change everything!

What would you tell your best friend, biz bestie or someone walking through similar struggles in their life and business about attending a Blueprint Event?

Of course there’s always hesitation, will it be worth it? I can hands down say YES it is.

Go, it’s worth it.

Shanna is so authentic, knowledgeable, empathetic, and inspiring as a leader. You will love learning from her and just being in the presence of the room and community she has created. She’s a great steward of her gifts and we can all learn from that!

And lastly : what is the best thing you’ve learned about money?

I’ve learned how to put money in its place 🙂

Shanna has taught me the tools to create financial goals and budgets from the beginning so that I can then make decisions and implement strategies accordingly. It’s freeing now, to have that kind of financial structure so that I can actually focus on what I do best—painting!

2014 Blueprint Creative Team :
Photographer : Morgan Blake Photography
Floral & Decor : Amy Osaba Designs

Interested in joining the Blueprint Family and attending one of our live events?!
*All Blueprint live events are exclusive for students of The Blueprint Model.

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