For the past few months, we’ve been planning our Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network’s Annual Summit. Now, I love event planning so this was a fun project, but I don’t think I realized the impact and importance of this event until last week when we had around 60 people on a bus driving through the Continental Divide.

Our talented marketing consultants, people who own and run their own businesses and rarely take time off, were all ready and willing to spend a week on a ranch with the Duct Tape team to learn more about marketing and strategy and grow their businesses.

The Annual Summit was held at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado. Holding the summit at an all-inclusive location like this was new to us this year, and many were hesitant that having so many activities to choose from (besides attending meetings) would take away from the learning part of the summit that so many of them looked forward to every year.

To ensure the focus stayed on business development, throughout the week, consultants were asked to lead breakout sessions to cover topics that the group had shown interest in. They covered everything from creating a business plan, gaining and converting leads, maximizing Wordpress websites, and strategizing content creation. Other consultants lead case study presentations and an active conversation about systemizing your business.

While we stuffed ourselves with delicious meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner each day and filled our brains with tons of marketing and business knowledge, it was hard to ignore the beautiful place we were in. During free time each morning and afternoon, consultants took trail rides, hiked through the mountains, enjoyed the spa and even learned to shoot trap and bow and arrows!

Our theme for this year’s Annual Summit was “Climb Together,” and after spending a week with these talented business owners, I was told that the main bonus of having everyone on a ranch and spending so much time together was that they really felt comfortable getting to know each other on a personal level. As entrepreneurs, it can be hard to find those people you trust to collaborate with, and getting to know the Network members personally has helped each consultant make connections they will feel confident “Climbing Together” with this upcoming year.

Connections were made, resources were shared and a good time was had by all! Because our group is all over the world, these events we hold throughout the year are pivotal to our success as a network and team!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a huge success, and if you’re ready to take your consulting business to the next level and interested in being a part of this collaborative and talented team, sign up to join John on our next Discovery Call.

Kala Linck is the Community and Content Manager at Duct Tape Marketing. You can find her blogging her travels and tweeting about marketing, coffee, and cats @tadasunshine.