For the first time, The Mama Ladder® set sail on the ocean blue for #MamaSpringBreak® Business & Adventure Retreat! We cruised from Southern California to Catalina Island and adventured in Ensenada, Mexico. This was our sixth time since 2018 hosting our signature retreat for moms who are business owners.
Moms work hard to care for their kids. Business owners carry the burden of leadership for their team. When you’re doing both at the same time, you have a double cognitive load. (We get it! It’s not easy.) But burnout does not have to be the norm. Taking periodic breaks and giving yourself the gift of fresh perspectives can reset you physically, mentally, and emotionally. #MamaSpringBreak® is an annual retreat specifically for ambitious, heart-powered mom entrepreneurs to take a real break, play, and be pampered. No diapers to change, dishes to do, or deadlines to meet — what a treat!
Between March 17-21, 2024, We ziplined in Mexico. We cruised Catalina waters. We connected over meals and focus times. We shared ourselves, and came away stronger. We rested from daily mom + business owner duties. We talked real numbers, real struggles, and boldly shared our big business dreams. We cried, we laughed, we opened up to each other.
Take us back to #MamaSpringBreak!
We honor the vulnerability and confidentiality of this retreat and will not share any details on heart-to-heart conversations. However, you can meet this year’s attendees, and get a peek at highlights of each day’s itinerary below. If you are interested in joining us at a future #MamaSpringBreak, please apply for 2025.
Meet Our 2024 Attendees
Every mother invited this year is a confident, capable, caring leader. Each has come far in her business ($100K up to $1M+ revenue) and has big vision for her future. It’s so refreshing to be in company of big-thinking, generous entrepreneurs and mothers.
We encourage you to learn more about these leaders and their businesses. Connect on LinkedIn. Follow them on Instagram or Youtube. Most of all, see if their services or products are a fit and buy from these mom-owned companies:
Amber Worthen of Email Maven, expert email services including design, writing, and sending emails for organizations who want to look and sound good.
Brianne Taggart of Breezy Babies, the happy place for boobs and babies to help ease your transition into parenthood. In-home lactation consults plus telehealth secure video from anywhere in the world.
Charlene Li of Eatable Inc., gourmet popcorn for curious palates, with flavors are inspired by Happy Hour: infused with classic cocktails, wines and spirits for a sophisticated and refined snacking.
Crystalee Beck, cofounder of The Mama Ladder and owner of Comma Copywriters, a team of talented writers and editors who save time for smart marketers through high-quality content.
Jessica Pumple of Pregnancy and Postpartum TV (with more than 1 million subscribers now!) helps you have a healthy and fit pregnancy, an easier delivery and fast recovery postpartum. Here you will find safe pregnancy and postpartum workouts: Yoga, HIIT, Pilates, Dance, Diastasis-Recti Safe..
Keren de Zwart of Not Your Father’s Lawyer and Legal Launch Lab, who provides a simple, flat-fee model for your business needs while providing high-quality, personal service.
Lynette Evans of Senior Transition Care helps families with senior parents to move out of their homes quickly during hospice or post-funeral.
Natalie Taylor of Multi-Six Figures is a performance and business coach who helps professionals get to $20k/month with her 7-Fig Framework.
Stephanie So of Total Healthcare Solutions, which enables client-centered recovery to manage rehabilitation in her Canada-based practice.
Thank you to all of them for making this retreat what it was! Together, we created a space for connection, support, love, and strength.
Day 1 - Meet, Greet, & Eat
The cruise set sail at 4 p.m. on March 17, and we all wore green in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. We met on the Lido deck and talked for about an hour before our first dining experience.
During dinner, we all did a “check in,” sharing how we felt at the start of this retreat. Many felt tired after the journey to get to Long Beach, but we also felt a shared excitement to start our adventure together. We each shared our goal for this year’s retreat, what we personally wanted to experience in our time together.
Day 2 - Catalina Island
We arrived early in beautiful Catalina Island, welcomed by blue skies that matched the bay. We took a small ferry boat from our cruise boat to Avalon. We had about an hour to explore the town, and split into smaller groups to wander the streets, parks, and beaches.
Peek of our cruise boat, Carnival Miracle, from Catalina Island
Then we met up for a group photo shoot. Blush Pix treated us like queens, tucking away our flyaway hairs and helping us feel confident in front of the camera. As part of the #MamaSpringBreak experience, each attendee receives all the group photos and new headshots for their LinkedIn bio, social media posts, or website.
The Mama Ladder cofounder, Crystalee Beck
The Mama Ladder cofounder, Lynette Evans
We had our first Focus Time session this afternoon, when Amber and Brianne led us in their areas of expertise and interest: email marketing and gut health. Then we enjoyed the formal evening with dinner and several attended the ship’s stage show.
Day 3 - Ensenada, Mexico
¡Viva México! We ate breakfast on board, then set off for a sunny day of adventuring in Ensenada. Our local, private tour drivers took us to an adventure park where we squealed over ziplines and boldly crossed bridges at Las Cañadas Canopy Tour. Go Mamas!
We ate genuine Mexican tacos for lunch and enjoyed ocean views at La Bufadora (The Blowhole), one of the world’s largest marine geysers in the world, which can shoot well over 60 feet high. The best parts of this retreat are the in-between conversations, and Ensenada was a colorful place to get to know each other.
After free time and dining together, Lynette shared her topic during our focus session, with all of us in the Lido Deck hot tub. We soaked up the time to share, and lucked out to have an hour together before the evening dance DJ and crowd showed up. (The best meeting is no meeting. The second best meeting is a hot tub meeting, right?!)
Day 4 - Sea Day + Focus Sessions
With a full day at sea, we spent several hours together, learning and connecting in Focus Sessions. Charlene led us in meditation and self-reflection. Lawyer Keren guided us through steps on how to legally prepare for business exits. Jessica offered her experience on building one million subscribers for her YouTube channel in a few years.
We explored Energy Accounting with Stephanie. Crystalee asked each attendee to present how on we want to use our money for good (see the remarkable The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist). Natalie guided us in seeing our future selves and appreciating our current opportunities and challenges.
Per #MamaSpringBreak® tradition, we each shared our family pictures and our personal declarations for 2024, affirming what matters most to us in a room full of love and supportive friends. After a final evening and breakfast together, it was time to return home to our babies and businesses as transformed versions of ourselves.
Want to join us in 2025?
Every year, we adventure somewhere new. The location has not yet been decided for March 2025. Please apply below. We invite a select number of women with diverse backgrounds, companies, and expertise to join us for the intimate, powerful experience of #MamaSpringBreak®.
High fives to mom business owners
The Mama Ladder also hosts the High Five Grant for Moms, a business grant competition specifically for mom-owned companies. We’re opening applications for the High Five Grant for Moms from September 1-30, 2024 and look forward to seeing your application at highfivegrant.com.
