In exactly 11 days, we will be gathering 35 of our 60+ creators from across the globe for our fourth FARQ Retreat.

‍

It’s always the most highly-anticipated few days of the year for our FARQ family and arguably, for me, the most important.

‍

So why do we host an annual retreat?

‍

Everything we do at FARQ is rooted in Community, Support and Education - and our retreat is where those core pillars really culminate.

‍

Yes, our Community is built and nurtured virtually 365 days of the year, but nothing beats turning those online connections into real-life friendships.

‍

Yes, we offer a monthly series of Educational workshops virtually, but again - being able to invite external speakers in to meet with our creators and initiate challenging and thought-provoking conversation is invaluable.

‍

And yes, we have the most Supportive team in the business. But how incredible to be able to deepen those connections with team and talent and get to know one-another outside of ‘work’.

‍

I spoke to a new creator two weeks ago, who said they’d spoken to so many agencies who talked the talk but never actually walked the walk.

‍

They promised communication, they promised regular meet-ups, they promised in-person connection - but it turned out to be just that, empty promises.

‍

What struck her, was our level of follow through.

‍

She said, “I can really tell that you actually do the things you’re promising - there’s proof in the pudding and actionable events throughout the year that back up what you’re saying.”

‍

That is my why.

‍

I can only really liken the planning of our retreats to a wedding. Stressful, expensive but always amazing.

‍

So let’s get into the nitty gritty…

‍

How far in advance do you start planning?

‍

Back in 2023 when I hosted our first retreat, there were only 13 creators. So naturally we could leave planning a little later.

‍

Now, however, there are really only a couple of months of downtime between finishing one retreat and starting to think about the next.

‍

There is also the small issue of us raising the bar so much each time that the pressure on the next one naturally increases.

‍

‍

So as soon as our 2025 retreats (yes, we hosted two last year - more on that later) wrapped up last April, we began brainstorming and reflecting on what went well and what we could improve on.

‍

The hardest part for us now our roster is much bigger is a. finding a venue that can host us all and b. a date that all of our creators are free.

‍

We nail both of those things as soon as we can (July 2025 we locked in this year’s retreat date and venue) and then the rest follows in time.

‍

After that, I’d say the real intense planning kicks off 3-4 months before the event

‍

Don’t get me wrong, a LOT of it comes together in the final few weeks. It’s a little crazy, but thrilling when the pieces of the puzzle start coming together.

‍

Do you have a team to help?

‍

I wish we had a full events team to organise the retreat for us, but alas we do not! But I do have a wonderful team around me to help with lots of the leg work.

‍

This year we formed a smaller ‘retreat-team’ to keep things streamlined and although we’ll get the whole team’s input on lots of parts of the event (speakers/ sponsors etc) we wanted to avoid a ‘too many cooks’ situation. I’d say this has worked really well.

‍

Ultimately though, I am a control freak. And outsourcing is not my strong point. I feel a lot of responsibility for wanting the retreat to be perfect, so I take a lot of that pressure upon myself. It’s definitely not a perfect solution and as we grow it’s something I’d love to get an external (professional) to help with.

‍

How do you choose location?

‍

Our retreats so far by location have been:

2023: London
2024: London
2025: Manchester/ Dallas
2026: Just outside of London

‍

It’s a tricky balance to strike because in the UK we have creators all spread out - from Bournemouth to Wales, to Scotland and Newcastle. It’s hard to find a spot that works for everyone.

‍

In the US, naturally everyone is far more spread apart - so they know there’s going to be an element of travel. We picked Dallas last year because that’s where we’re based and also because it’s a great travel hub that has regular and direct flights going in and out to other states.

‍

‍

The main reason behind picking a location is the venue. It’s arguably one of the most important factors of the retreat and one of the hardest to lock in, so that does determine a huge part of it.

‍

There is a London-weighting behind a lot of our industry (which is probably quite annoying for our creators based outside of London), but thankfully there are good travel routes into the capital (except if it’s a Bank Holiday…!) and most people don’t mind travelling down.

‍

Why are you bringing the UK and US rosters together this year?

‍

Last year we hosted two separate retreats - a UK one and a US one - and both were hugely successful, but it was a LOT for us to plan two. It didn’t help that we did them one week after each other. Oops.

‍

Having been at both events, I really felt that both markets could learn so much from each other and was desperate for them to have an opportunity to meet.

‍

I also knew from speaking to lots of our US creators that they were all SO keen to come to England. Plus the fact that the cost of domestic flights across America and the international flight across the Atlantic really aren’t that different, so it made sense to float it. And it’s safe to say the US gang jumped at the chance.

‍

It doesn’t mean we’ll always do them combined, but I’m so excited to see the two rosters meet and mingle, having met virtually so much throughout the year.

‍

‍