THE EMPLOYEE TO DESIGNER RETREAT
A Beautiful Escape for the Women Building
Beautiful Businesses.
An intimate, all-inclusive business and wellness retreat for 14 interior designers and decorators. Step away from the everyday, reset your body, mind, and spirit, and do the work that moves your business forward.
July 29 – August 1, 2027 · Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic · Limited to 14 guests
THE EXPERIENCE
You don't need more ideas.
You need space to act on them.
You spend so much of your time showing up for clients, managing projects, and thinking about everything your business needs next. Somewhere along the way, you stopped making room for yourself.
The Employee to Designer Retreat is your invitation to step outside that routine. For four days on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, you'll rest, reset, and get focused support while you work on the business you're building. This isn't a conference where you take notes and promise to implement later. Every workshop gives you time to apply what you learn, so you go home with real work done and a clear plan for your next chapter.
WHY YOU NEED TO BE THERE
Less rushing.
More room to be.
01
Reset
Morning meditation, movement, journaling, and devotion time, plus a spa treatment of your choice, to help you recenter and show up as your best self.
03
Connect
An intimate group of 14 designers who understand the ambition, the responsibility, and the possibility of building a business of your own.
02
Implement
Four hands-on workshops built on the Transition, Build, Grow, and Scale framework. You learn it, then you build it, right there in the room.
04
Celebrate
A glam and makeup session and a private celebration party honoring our Designer's Circle 2027 Cohort graduates and every guest who has made significant strides in her business. We believe in celebrating the small wins and the big ones.
THE DESTINATION
Puerto Plata.
A different rhythm.
Puerto Plata sits on the Dominican Republic's north coast, where turquoise water meets golden sand and lush green mountains. Most visitors fly into Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP), a short drive from the resort.
We'll stay at Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club, a luxury, all-inclusive resort community. Your days include beachfront relaxation, resort pools, international and gourmet dining, bars and live entertainment, and the Yin Yang Spa, with its pool, jacuzzi, gym, and spa bar.
All-inclusive
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, plus house wine with meals, beer, spirits, cocktails, juices, and soft drinks.
Restaurants and bars
International cuisine, gourmet specialties, al fresco dining, and poolside and beachfront bars.
Beaches and pools
Caribbean beach views, cabanas, and resort pools made for slowing down.
The spa
One spa treatment from our curated retreat menu is included in your stay.
Activities
Live entertainment and beach celebrations, plus optional excursions like snorkeling, horseback riding, and hiking (booked separately).
Final guest amenities and access are being confirmed with the resort.
TOUR THE RESORT
WHO IT'S FOR
For the woman
behind the business.
This retreat is for interior designers and decorators who are ready to invest in themselves and their businesses, wherever they are on the journey.
Emerging designers still working a job
You're building your design business on nights and weekends and want a clear, healthy, well-planned path to making the leap.
Designers who have already taken the leap
You're running your firm, but you're stretched thin and ready for better systems, steadier clients, and habits that support you.
Designer's Circle members
You want deeper connection with your cohort and focused time to put what you've learned into action. Circle applicants and members receive priority access.
Women ready to grow with intention
You believe success includes your health, your peace, your finances, and time to enjoy the life you're creating.
This is not a passive conference or a fully unstructured vacation. Expect a thoughtful balance of guided workshops, personal time, and community. Bring your laptop and come ready to work.
THE RETREAT DETAILS
DESTINATION
The place. The dates.
The possibility.
Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
RETREAT DATES
Thursday, July 29 – Sunday, August 1, 2027 (3 nights)
GROUP SIZE
An intimate group of 14 guests
WHO CAN REGISTER
Designer's Circle applicants and members get early registration from November 7 through December 13, 2026. Open enrollment for all interior designers and decorators begins December 14, 2026.
KEY DATES
November 4, 2026
Designer's Circle Fast-Action Bonus application deadline
November 7, 2026
Retreat registration opens for Designer's Circle applicants and members
November 30, 2026
Designer's Circle applications close
December 13, 2026
Circle enrollment and early retreat registration deadline
December 14, 2026
Open enrollment begins for designers outside the Circle
March 4, 2027
Final registration and payment deadline
DESIGNER'S CIRCLE FAST-ACTION BONUS
Your retreat stay, included.
The first four accepted designers who apply to The Designer's Circle by November 4, 2026 and enroll by December 13, 2026 receive The Employee to Designer Retreat as a bonus, with accommodations and meals included. Airfare and travel are not included.
WORKSHOPS AND SPEAKERS
Four phases. Four workshops.
One intentional next chapter.
Each workshop is built on Monique Nicole's Transition, Build, Grow, and Scale framework. You'll learn something practical, then put it to work on your business right away.
TRANSITION · HEALTH, MINDSET, ENERGY, AND LEAP READINESS
Fuel the Founder
Entrepreneurship asks for all of you. Whether you're still working your job or already running your firm, you'll replace takeout, exhaustion, and putting yourself last with routines that support your body, mind, and spirit. You'll learn healthy meal planning and prep, workouts that fit a busy schedule, and simple ways to reset and recenter through meditation, visualization, journaling, devotion, and prayer. You'll also check how ready you are for the leap, from insurance to savings to licenses.
BUILD · BUSINESS FINANCES AND CASH FLOW
Profit by Design
A beautiful business still needs a solid financial foundation. You'll separate business and personal money, build a budget, plan for profit and taxes, and take control of your cash flow so you can end the feast-or-famine cycle.
You'll leave with:
Your business account structure
A business budget
A profit and tax set-aside plan
A Cash Flow Management System
You'll leave with:
A weekly meal-prep plan and workout schedule
A daily reset routine for mindset and spirit
A calendar built around your energy
A Leap Readiness Checklist and timeline
GROW · BRANDING, IDEAL CLIENTS, AI-POWERED MARKETING, AND PAID ADS
Magnetic by Design
Become the designer clients remember and choose. You'll use AI to identify your ideal client, define your brand with a framework inspired by Chris Do's personal branding approach, and find a voice that's unmistakably yours. Then you'll automate your social media, learn how to use paid ads intentionally, and connect it all into a marketing system that brings in inquiries consistently.
You'll leave with:
An ideal client profile and brand statement
A brand-voice guide and reusable AI prompts
A 30-day automated content plan
A paid-ad readiness checklist and first test ad
A complete marketing system map
SCALE · AI EFFICIENCY, DELEGATION, AND LONG-TERM WEALTH
Freedom by Design
Freedom means time and financial security. You'll use AI to streamline the tasks that fill your week, such as inquiries, proposals, onboarding, and follow-up, and decide what to automate, delegate, or keep. Then you'll learn the basics of saving and investing for retirement as a business owner, and why starting early matters.
You'll leave with:
A tested AI-assisted business workflow
A delegation plan
A Future Wealth Plan
Fuel your body. Design your profit. Grow your reach. Build your freedom.
Also on the itinerary
Morning meditation, visualization, and journaling
A group workout session
A glam and makeup session
One spa treatment of your choice
A private celebration party
Guest speakers coming soon
Monique Nicole will be joined by guest experts in health and wellness, finance and investing, marketing and advertising, and AI. Speakers will be announced soon.
Nutrition, fitness, and investing content is led or co-led by qualified professionals and is for education only, not personal medical or financial advice.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND ALL-INCLUSIVE
Your home for the retreat:
Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort.
Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort sits along the shores of Cofresi Beach, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Its accommodations are designed for space and comfort, with air conditioning, ceiling fans, cable TV, and shaded patios or verandas in many rooms.
Your retreat package includes your accommodations and the all-inclusive plan, so you can spend your time resting, working, and celebrating instead of planning meals or watching a bill.
Included in your stay
Three nights of accommodations at Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort
All-inclusive meals and snacks
House wine with meals, beer, spirits, cocktails, juices, and soft drinks
Access to resort restaurants, bars, pools, and beach
One spa treatment from our curated retreat menu
All retreat workshops, sessions, and materials
The workout session, glam session, and private celebration party
Not included
Round-trip airfare
Travel insurance
Passport fees
Extra nights and room upgrades
Additional spa services and optional excursions
Personal purchases
ROOM TOUR
Take a look inside.
Your room at Cofresi.
Here is a quick look inside a room at Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort, from the king and two-bed layouts to the jetted soaking tub and spa-style bathroom. Final room categories will be shared with the investment details.
Room category (Studio or Beach Studio) and shared or private room options will be announced with the investment details.
Monique Nicole in Puerto Plata, on the trip where it all began.
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE VISION
Meet Monique
Nicole.
Business Coach. Professor. Author. TV Host.
Years ago, Monique Nicole was working a high-demand job in corporate marketing and advertising. She was successful, exhausted, and quietly sure she wanted out of the rat race. She just didn't know what she wanted to do instead.
So she booked a solo trip to the Dominican Republic, to this same resort, to rest and do some soul searching. Away from the deadlines and the noise, she asked herself a simple question: What do I love to do?
The answer was waiting for her. Monique had recently bought her first home in Downtown Newark, New Jersey, and decorating it had been the one thing that brought her joy and peace and never felt like work. She realized it was interior decorating.
“That trip didn't just give me a vacation. It gave me my purpose.”
She came home and got to work. Within one year, she had built her decorating business to six figures and replaced her corporate salary. Within three years, she left her job to run her interior design business full time.
Since then, Monique has used her corporate marketing background to help hundreds of design professionals build profitable businesses through Employee to Designer. Now she's bringing designers back to the place where her own journey began, so you can find the same clarity and leave ready to build what's next.
MY SUMMER RITUAL
My safe space.
And now, I'm inviting you.
Every summer, I return to this resort as a ritual to rest, restore, and reset. It's my safe space, the same place where I first found my purpose. Now I want to share it with you, so you can slow down, hear yourself think, and leave with a clear vision for what's next.
— Monique Nicole
HELPFUL DETAILS
Before you
step away.
When and where is the retreat?
Thursday, July 29 through Sunday, August 1, 2027, at Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Do I have to be in The Designer's Circle?
No. Designer's Circle applicants and members get early registration from November 7 through December 13, 2026. Open enrollment for all other interior designers and decorators begins December 14, 2026.
Is airfare included?
No. You'll book your own round-trip flight. Plan to fly into Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP) in Puerto Plata. We'll share recommended arrival and departure times before you book.
Are airport transfers included?
Transfer details are being confirmed with the resort and will be shared with the investment details.
Will I share a room?
Shared and private room options are being finalized and will be announced with the investment details.
What do I need to travel?
A valid passport is required. You'll also need to complete the Dominican Republic's free electronic entry and exit form (E-Ticket) before you travel. Please check the entry requirements for your citizenship before booking.
What should I bring?
Your laptop and charger, workout clothes, swimwear, comfortable resort wear, and an outfit for the celebration party. A packing list will be shared before the retreat.
Are the workout and makeup sessions required?
No. Both are optional and designed for every comfort and fitness level.
Can I bring a partner or friend?
Retreat sessions are reserved for registered guests. If you'd like to bring someone to stay with you, please ask and we'll share what's possible.
Can dietary or accessibility needs be accommodated?
Yes, please let us know when you register and we'll share your needs with the resort.
THE INVESTMENT
Details
coming soon.
One flat retreat fee will cover your accommodations, the all-inclusive plan, one spa treatment, and every retreat experience. Pricing, payment plans, and room options will be announced soon. Registration opens November 7, 2026, for Designer's Circle applicants and members and December 14, 2026, for everyone else. Join the priority list to be the first to know.
