By Erin B. Haag, Founder of Luxury in Business Retreats®
In the spring of 2021, my father passed away after a sudden illness landed him in the emergency room and led to a rapid, one-month decline. Just weeks earlier, he was vibrant and well—with no warning of what was to come. One moment, life felt normal—and the next, I was grieving an enormous loss that came out of nowhere. I was bewildered, heartbroken, and thrown into a season of questioning everything: my purpose, my pace, my priorities.
The day before he passed, we had a conversation I’ll never forget. Something in me whispered, “Record this,” so I picked up my phone and hit record. As if on cue, he looked at me and said, “Happiness. Success. Has virtually nothing to do with what you put in your bank. Nothing. Happiness and success is about the quality of the journey. If you enjoyed the journey, then you were indeed successful.”
At the time, I had built what many would consider an incredibly successful business. But in the wake of his death, that definition felt shaky—unmoored by the loss of one of the most important people in my life and deeply rattled by the clarity of the message he left me.
Something inside me was shifting.
In my search to reconnect with my dad, I began turning to psychic readings. Time after time, the message was the same: “You’re meant to lead groups of women around the world.” I’d smile politely, nod, and quietly tuck the message away, unsure of what to make of it.
But one morning, as I stood under the hot spray of the shower, it hit me like a ton of bricks—a download so clear I could see it as if it were already happening: me, surrounded by a group of my clients, live and in-person. A retreat. I was meant to host a retreat.
Still dripping wet, I wrapped myself in a towel, ran downstairs to my desk, and started mapping it out. Within 24 hours, the vision was alive. A week later, it sold out.
That moment changed everything.
A Different Kind of Business Model
Before retreats, my work mainly lived behind a screen—Zoom calls, coaching sessions, client deliverables. It was purposeful, and I genuinely loved helping business owners earn more than they ever thought possible. But after losing my father, I realized something was missing.
I began to feel a deep, undeniable pull to connect with my clients in real life. I craved the kind of face-to-face connection that no spreadsheet or 60-minute Zoom call could ever replicate —though anyone who has worked with me knows how much I love a good spreadsheet.
And I knew I wasn’t alone. My clients were craving the same thing—especially after weathering COVID-19 closures, navigating relentless uncertainty, and fighting to keep their businesses afloat. Many had shut the doors of their brick-and-mortar spaces and reinvented themselves online. By the time they were finally given the green light to reopen, everything had changed.
They had just come through the hardest season of their professional lives, and they had the scars to prove it. They didn’t just want connection—they needed it. They needed to be in the room with others who had walked the same path. People who got it. They had stories to tell—about resilience, reinvention, and survival. And they deserved a space to exhale, to rebuild, and to dream again.
Stepping into the retreat space felt almost as sudden and life-altering as the moment I lost my dad. But this time, it wasn’t a loss I was met with—it was clarity. I realized something profound: retreats aren’t just a different business model. They’re a different way of being. And while that shift was powerful for me, it was equally transformative for my clients.
For many, walking into my retreat after months of lockdown felt strange, vulnerable, even scary. They were used to the safety of their screens, the structure of virtual routines. But something happened when they gathered in person: the walls came down, the masks came off (literally and figuratively), and the transformation began – personally and professionally.
Almost immediately, a quiet knowing turned into a bold declaration: “I need to do this for my clients.” They had experienced firsthand the kind of magic that unfolds when people are brought together in an intentional, high-touch environment, where conversations go deeper, breakthroughs come faster, and transformation feels tangible.
It wasn’t just inspiring; it was activating. They couldn’t unsee what was now possible. One by one, they began weaving retreats into their business models—not simply as another offer but as a more powerful, heart-centred way to serve, lead, and create lasting impact. And as they leaned in, the results spoke volumes. Their retreats didn’t just transform their clients; they transformed their bottom line, generating tens of thousands of dollars in profit from a single retreat, all while working in a way that felt more aligned than ever before.
What began as a spontaneous idea—born from a mix of grief and intuition—has evolved into the most powerful, profitable, and purpose-driven work of my life. Today, I have the privilege of helping business owners integrate retreats into the very fabric of their business ecosystems. Not only does it allow them to serve their clients in deeper, more meaningful ways—it also unlocks a pathway to sustainable, abundant profitability.
Retreats didn’t just transform my business—they transformed how I define success. These days, I don’t only measure success by what’s in my bank account or on my spreadsheets (though, yes, I still check them daily). I measure it by the depth of the relationships I’ve built, the ripple effect of my clients’ breakthroughs, and the joy I feel doing work that actually matters.
Because real business transformation doesn’t live in spreadsheets and sales numbers alone. It lives in deep conversations over candlelit dinners in the French countryside. In early morning journaling sessions as the sun rises over the Irish hills. In late-night laughter fits beneath the Northern Lights of Iceland. It lives in bumpy safari jeeps rumbling through the Serengeti. In vibrant street dancing during Aruba’s Carnival, saltwater dips before dusk on Florida’s east coast, mountaintop breakthroughs in the Swiss Alps, and soul-stirring stillness in a Slovenian castle.
These aren’t just poetic moments—they’re real places where I’ve retreated with my clients. And in every single one, something powerful unfolded: a return to self, a deepening of purpose, a bold reimagining of what’s possible for themselves and their businesses.
For me, retreats have become the most meaningful and profitable part of the journey. They’re where I feel most alive. Most aligned. Most at peace. Most abundant.
And if that’s not success, I don’t know what is.
“Happiness. Success. Has virtually nothing to do with what you put in your bank. Nothing. Happiness and success is about the quality of the journey. If you enjoyed the journey, then you were indeed successful.” – Ed Blanchette
Erin B. Haag is the creator of Pricing Overhaul® and host of Luxury in Business Retreats®, helping entrepreneurs transform their pricing for profitability and financial confidence. A self-proclaimed “math nerd” and full-blooded Capricorn, Erin has 20+ years of experience working with numbers, metrics, and pricing strategies for corporations and private businesses. She combines advanced financial expertise with a proven system to help retreat professionals shift their money mindset, maximize earnings, and create sustainable success—all while enjoying travel, wine, and cheese!