A WOMEN IN BUSINESS RETREAT
June 20 – 22, 2025
Matthews, VA
Step away from the hustle and into a space designed to nourish your mind, body, and business. Nestled along the serene shores of the East River in Mathews, Virginia, this retreat is an opportunity to pause, reflect and rise with renewed energy.
What’s Included:
Accommodation
Coffee & Tea
Snacks
6 Plant Forward, Healthy Meals
4 Educational Workshops
3 Yoga Classes
1 Group Meditation
Professional Headshots
Time + Space to Rest, Connect, Learn and Grow
1:1 Coaching Session w/Ellie Burke at an additional price
Workshops + Classes
Business Strategy + Social Media Content Development that Aligns with your Brand
Running a small business is both rewarding and exhausting/isolating. And when the leads slow down and the bank account gets slow, it can be hard to find someone you trust to figure out what to do next.
In this session, we'll have casual, real conversations about the challenges of business ownership and the best ways to pivot and overcome when the going gets tough.
In our session, we’ll take a deep dive into your brand and business strategy:
What are your social media platforms and website saying about you?
Who is your ideal customer, and how are you attracting them?
How quickly are you responding to leads, and in what voice?
How long is your customer courting process, and is it working?
Through a fresh, experienced perspective, I’ll break down these big questions into actionable, digestible strategies to help you launch your business with confidence or pivot out of stagnation. Let’s get your business moving forward with intention and success!
Christine Greenberg is a multi-business owner in the Richmond wedding industry. She started as a part-time wedding planner in 2011, left her corporate job in 2013 to start renovations on a commercial space in Church Hill and opened up a bridal shop with her mom in Spring 2014.
From there, she was able to start growing her wedding planner team (now called the Hive Wedding Collective) and both businesses grew slow and steady over the years.
After being approached over and over again with comments like "I'd love to take you out for coffee and pick your brain," she decided there was a need for a casual yet experienced small business consultant for creatives.
She opened that branch of her business tree back in 2020 to serve as the experienced entrepreneur she wished she had when she was first starting out.
Whether you are interested in diving into the world of small business ownership with a great idea but no clue where to begin OR if you are an existing business that's stuck in a rut and can't figure out what the next move should be, Christine uses her 12+ years of experience to help guide her clients with advice, unfiltered opinions and realistic plans for moving forward. No judgment, fully confidential and realistic advice for any creative small business owner.
How to Create Sustainable Equity in Your Brand
Equity isn’t just a value—it’s a practice. In this session, we’ll explore actionable, practical, and tangible strategies for integrating equity into your business in ways that are both sustainable and impactful. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or leading a team, this workshop will guide you through approaches that move beyond intention and into action—from individual business practices to communal collaboration. Together, we’ll reimagine what it means to build a business that not only thrives but actively contributes to a more just and inclusive world.
Cheyenne Varner is a nationally recognized certified birth worker, health equity advocate, and illustrator. She is the founder of The Educated Birth and Everyday Birth Magazine, platforms dedicated to advancing reproductive health equity through inclusive educational tools and amplifying underrepresented stories.
Her work has gained global reach, supporting birth professionals and families with resources that foster informed decision-making and culturally competent care. In 2023, The Educated Birth was recognized as an Official Perinatal Safe Spot by Common Sense Childbirth’s National Perinatal Task
Force, affirming its impact in creating safer, more equitable spaces for birthing people.
Cheyenne’s illustrations and educational materials have been used internationally and featured by organizations like Babylist, The Birth Place Lab, and Hypnobabies. With a focus on storytelling and representation, her mission is to transform how pregnancy, birth, and postpartum are experienced and understood.
Somatic Business Coaching: How to Lead from a Regulated + Balanced Nervous System
with Kim Kimball
When you think about the leaders and business owners who you most admire and have been the most impactful for you, what is the number one quality about them that comes to mind?
Sure, they probably kill it at business strategy and are great at the actual craft of whatever it is that they do, but it's likely the quality of their presence and way of being that makes them stand out and draws you to them like a magnet.
In this workshop with Kim Kimball, we will explore nervous system tools and how you can learn to support yourself somatically as a business owner or leader so that you can have the impact you know you were made for as you lead from a regulated nervous system.
Kim Kimball is a certified somatic leadership coach who helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent women business owners learn to support themselves on a somatic and nervous system level through the challenges of entrepreneurship so they can have a business that truly fits them and make calm, steady, sustainable progress.
Using a holistic approach, she coaches women to transform their inner world and create the conditions for an intentional business that thrives financially, while also honoring their true capacity, energy levels, sensitivities, boundaries, and values.
Kim’s work uses somatics, nervous system tools, parts work, and CBT to provide a holistic approach to healing. To experience her work, head here: www.kimkimballcoaching.com
The Fulfilled Plate: Aligning Mission, Values + Vision for Purposeful Success
with Suzanne Burns
Your work is a reflection of your unique experiences, skills, and essence. This workshop is designed to help you bridge your personal ethos with your business vision, creating a foundation for clarity, confidence, and fulfillment.
This workshop uses guided self reflection to support drafting a clear, written mission statement and to identify 3-5 core values that serve as guiding principles for decision-making and business growth. This process is intended to create a sense of freedom and clarity in your work-life rhythm — empowering you to move forward with renewed focus and enthusiasm.
Suzanne Burns is the founder of Humble Haven Yoga which opened its first brick and mortar location in January of 2016. Suzanne is passionate about making classes and spaces accessible to all individuals who desire to show up, particularly individuals with varying disabilities, and her advocacy extends beyond the world of yoga and into the realm of inclusive employment and education. Suzanne is a mother of three and a small business owner and mentor. She is passionate about empowering others to personally define what balance and fulfillment means to them.
Retreat Photography
with Megan McSweeney
At Rest and Rise, Meghan’s intention with your headshots is rooted in ease, presence, and natural expression. In a setting designed for rest and rejuvenation, she will create space for you to be seen. Prior to the retreat, you’ll receive a short questionnaire to help guide the session, ensuring your headshots are aligned with your story and personal goals for the shoot.
Whether you're looking for a photo that reflects your business or a portrait that captures your embodied presence, Meghan’s goal is to craft a photo session that feels authentic and aligned with your current journey.
With over 25 years of experience, Meghan McSweeney has mastered the art of storytelling through photography, capturing images that reveal authenticity and presence. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, and she has served a diverse range of clients, from entrepreneurs to industry leaders. Yet, her greatest passion lies in uncovering the beauty in life’s authentic moments by creating images that feel as deeply true and real as the people she photographs.
A degree in commercial advertising photography ignited Meghan’s lifelong passion for capturing the unique personality and stories behind every person and brand. As a longtime business owner, she understands that branding is about more than just visuals. It’s about connecting to the essence of a brand. She often says she does soul work with her photos be it for a portrait or a brand.
Movement, Meditation
& Mindfulness Sessions
Yoga by the Water
with Margo Tacey
Let's move in the space of transition between our full lives and our fulfilling retreat with a Vinyasa Style yoga practice together. During this practice, you can expect a flow that balances quick movements with long holds and breathwork. Please bring your own mat if you have one. All levels are welcome!
Margo Tacey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Registered Play Therapist (RPT) and Baptiste Certified Yoga Teacher. She is the owner of Upstream Therapy and Consulting and offers Individual Therapy and Leadership Coaching. Margo is also a trained Baptiste Yoga Teacher and proud teacher at Humble Haven Yoga. She loves partnering with individuals, families and organizations to build healing centered communities.
Group Meditation
with Ellie Burke
Join Ellie for a guided meditation practice aimed at increasing self-awareness and compassion. Ellie's teachings are grounded in the understanding that we can experience space and conscious choice in relationship to our minds rather than through trying to control or stop our minds. This empowered approach to practice illuminates what is possible when we can respond to life from a more free place inside of ourselves.
Along with guided meditation, Ellie will be offering 1:1 coaching sessions for those interested in deeper self-exploration and/or integrating what they've learned throughout the weekend. Take advantage of this opportunity to take the insights, clarity, and guidance you've received this weekend back into your life and work. - 1:1 Session (45 min) - $125
Ellie Burke, M. Ed, Certified Life Coach, and ERYT-500 has been working in the fields of holistic wellbeing and directed self-discovery for over two decades. Ellie blends her background in education, knowledge of learning philosophies and methodologies, human development and life coaching techniques with 20+ years of experience in the mind-body sciences of yoga and meditation.
Ellie’s work is anchored in and guided by her own lived experience working with and understanding awareness-based self-discovery tools, coaching methods, as well as how holistic wellbeing impacts one's physiological, emotional and mental wellbeing.
She has the unique ability to help individuals identify deeply unconscious patterning and to help them make connections they haven't otherwise made in other forms of self-development or self-discovery work. Ellie is extremely pragmatic and works to make what feels like out-of-reach, inaccessible understandings accessible, relevant, and practical so that real tangible changes can be made in individuals and in communities.
Yoga Nidra
with Suzanne Burns
Yoga Nidra, often referred to as yogic sleep, is a guided deep relaxation technique for the body. While in a comfortable resting position of your choice, Suzanne will guide you through a series of prompts that support rest and deeper awareness. This practice of conscious rest promotes stress relief, emotional insight, and connection to a set intention.
Yoga on the Dock
with Meghan Smithson-Hall
Yoga on the dock is her favorite practice—being by the water is her happy place, and she believes the river has a way of teaching us everything we need to know.
Meet Meghan! Her yoga journey has led her to teach in a way that prioritizes sustainability—movement that supports mobility, strength, and balance for life. Her classes blend elements of Pilates, mobility work, and yoga postures at a slower pace, but don’t be fooled—they’re spicy! She encourages students to tap into their energetic life force, breathe deeply, and embrace the mindset that they can handle anything life brings their way.
Sound Bath Under the Stars
with Kelley Farlow
Enjoy a full hour of restorative sound healing meditation under the serene summer sky. We’ll begin the session with a few minutes of grounding and intention-setting…. Kelley will then use a calming combination of 432Hz tuned crystal singing bowls, various chimes, and several other peaceful instruments to help you relax and reset. If you’re new to Sound Baths, you are in for a treat! Sound Healing can help promote a deep state of tranquility and mental clarity, assist in releasing stuck trauma and energy within the body and mind, gently alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and inflammation and much more. A few tips on optimizing your session: wear your cozy clothes, bring a water bottle, yoga mat and blanket if desired.
Kelley Farlow is the Founder of Frequency Field Guide, Certified and Clinically-Trained Sound Meditation Practitioner, and Holistic Wellness Blogger. Originally from Richmond, VA, she spent 10+ years living and working in Charleston, SC and Los Angeles, CA. In late 2023, Kelley relocated back to her hometown of RVA. After over a decade of working as a photographer and natural makeup artist, Kelley discovered the transformative powers of Sound Healing while living in LA. A few years later, in 2020, she decided to expand her professional offerings and pursued her Level 1 and 2 certifications as a Sound Practitioner with Helane Anderson of Sacral Sounds. Kelley currently teaches both private and group sound bath sessions, and also works as a PRN Expression Therapist in a local hospital’s Behavioral Health unit, teaching patients how to use Sound Therapy and Meditation for their emotional and mental health. She is passionate about non-toxic living, organic skincare, plant medicine and merging alternative wellness into the world of modern medicine. She is currently working on expanding her brand, Frequency Field Guide and launching a line of organic, small-batch made skincare and apothecary items that she’s been formulating and perfecting for over 4+ years now! In her free time, Kelley enjoys spending time with her loved ones, traveling, being out in nature, and staying engaged in anything creative.
Melanie Russell
Meet your retreat host, Melanie Russell. Before having 6 children and owning multiple businesses, Melanie first found her calling working in restaurants, curating events and managing a clandestine supper club out of her own kitchen. Connecting people around food quickly turned into connecting people around care. Melanie has owned A Brighter Birth/the ABB Collective for the last 17 years and has grown the small childbirth education classes it began with, into a thriving collective of over 70 practitioners providing all kinds of services to individuals and families in the Richmond, VA area. She also owns ToLABOR, where she trains and certifies Doulas all over the country, creating safe spaces to learn and share, and spreading the skills it takes to do so for others. Melanie has attended close to 700 births as a Birth Doula and focuses on guiding her clients holistically throughout the process, taking into consideration the whole being of each client, not just one part. At this point, Melanie is ready to merge all of her passions into one with the Rest + Rise Retreat. She has developed a weekend full of connections, inspiring education, movement, meditation and rest, all simultaneously happening around beautiful, delicious and healthy food.
"Magic happens when you bring wise, relaxed women to a table and feed them well. They open up and bloom under that kind of care and attention." Her hope in this retreat is to give women in business the space to truly, deeply REST so they can leave the weekend satiated in mind and body, with new friends, inspiration and energy, ready to RISE in their communities and beyond.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Main House
Rooms + Pricing
You can choose to stay solo or to share your accommodation at a discounted rate. In addition, you may pay in full or secure your spot with a $500 deposit. The full retreat fee is due by May 1.
King Bed
King Bed
En Suite Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,600
Buddy Up
$1,200 each
RESERVED
The Library
Queen Air Mattress
Private Outdoor Shower
Shared Half Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,050 per bed
Buddy Up
$750 each
RESERVED
The Queen Room
Queen 1, Queen 2
En Suite Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,250 per bed
Buddy Up
$850 each
RESERVED
ACCOMMODATIONS
Carriage House I
Rooms + Pricing
You can choose to stay solo or to share your accommodation at a discounted rate. In addition, you may pay in full or secure your spot with a $500 deposit. The full retreat fee is due by May 1.
King Bed
King Bed in Large Shared Room
Shared Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,150
Buddy Up
$750 each
RESERVED
Twin Beds
4 Twin Beds Available
Shared Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$950 per bed
or
ACCOMMODATIONS
Carriage House II
Rooms + Pricing
You can choose to stay solo or to share your accommodation at a discounted rate. In addition, you may pay in full or secure your spot with a $500 deposit. The full retreat fee is due by May 1.
Room One
Queen Bed
Shared Full Bath
Line Text
Stay Solo
$1,300 per bed
Buddy Up
$900 each
RESERVED
Room Two
Twin Bed
Shared Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,150
RESERVED
Room Three
Queen Pullout Couch
Shared Full Bath
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Stay Solo
$1,050 per bed
Buddy Up
$750 each
or