Aligned: A Vision Intensive for Female Founders
hosted by Aelsa Socials in collaboration with Starling Rising Collective
A Business Retreat Experience for Midwest Women Entrepreneurs
October 3–5, 2025 • Eureka, Illinois
A powerful, retreat-style weekend for female small business owners and entrepreneurs ready to gain clarity, align their marketing with their vision, and build real momentum from Q4 going into 2026.
ALIGNED isn't your typical retreat. It’s an intensive weekend workshop designed with the intention and pace of a business development conference — but hosted in a cozy Airbnb in Eureka, IL (Central Illinois, just outside Peoria and Bloomington-Normal). This experience blends coaching, collaboration, and strategy in a retreat-style setting where female founders can step back, reflect, and move forward with clarity. With registration starting at $400 and payment plans available, we’ve designed this event with you and your business in mind. Click below to learn more—we hope you can join us!
Room availability:
Single-Occupancy/Family Rooms ($450 or $500 on payment plan): 2 SOLD OUT
Shared-Occupancy Rooms ($400/bed or $450 on payment plan): 4 3
Amounts shown below are deposits—the remaining balance will be invoiced to you based on your payment plan selection!
Registration open now!:
Who This Vision Intensive is For
Why Join Aligned?
Female entrepreneurs and small business owners
Founders who want a clearer vision for their brand, content, and next steps
Women looking for a Midwest business retreat without the fluff
Those craving strategy, clarity, and connection surrounded by other women business owners
This is more than a retreat — it’s your chance to zoom out and reconnect with your purpose, vision, and people.
You’ll leave with clarity on your next steps, practical marketing strategies, and content you’ve already started creating.
All while building meaningful relationships with other women business owners in Illinois and across the Midwest.
Weekend Agenda
Friday, October 3rd
5:00 PM – Check-in
7:00 PM – Charcuterie & Icebreakers
9:30 PM – Quiet Time
Saturday, October 4th
8:00 AM – Breakfast
9:00 AM – Vision-casting & Journaling (with Caitlin)
11:00 AM – Content Marketing Strategy Session (with Aelsa)
12:00 PM – Working Lunch
1:30 PM – Content Creation Hour
3:00 PM – Group Brainstorm & Peer Coaching (with Aelsa)
6:00 PM – Dinner Out @ Wendy Puff Pizzeria + Pub*
7:30 PM – Vision Board Session + Fancy Drinks (with Caitlin)
8:30 PM – Games & Connection
10:00 PM – Quiet Time
*This meal is the only meal not included in registration fee. Dairy- and gluten-free menu options available.
Sunday, October 5th
8:00 AM – Breakfast
9:00 AM – Headshots + Group Photo
10:00 AM – Check-out
Meet the Coaches
Aelsa Woods
Consultant, content creator, and connection curator—marketing strategist with a holistic and empathetic view of business.
I became an entrepreneur for the first time at the age of six, and through a winding journey of coursework and careers, have found myself still an entrepreneur over twenty years later.
I’m a graduate of Illinois State University’s music program and an alumna of the School of Communications, a wife, a mom, a stepmom, and an active member of multiple organizations, including The Village Collective and my church.
Since 2016, I’ve partnered with small businesses and nonprofits to grow their online presence and attract their target audience through customer-centric marketing. This framework of empathy, layered over the marketing funnel and other traditional marketing concepts, allows business owners to feel competent and confident in their marketing.
In addition to consulting and creation services, I host bimonthly marketing events for female business owners to network—the other kind of “Aelsa Socials.” Aligned Vision Intensive is the Aelsa Social for October. To learn more about the nearest upcoming Aelsa Social, visit aelsawoods.com/rsvp.
Caitlin Danford
Life coach, photographer, and designer with a passion for helping women rise, heal, and pursue the life they were made for.
As a single mom of two, a believer in Jesus, a coffee enthusiast, and someone who’s been chasing light with a camera in hand since 2018, Caitlin’s heart in everything she does is always the same—to help others feel seen, valued, and wildly empowered.
Her passion for coaching began while she was working in a design role for a coach. She found herself naturally drawn to deeper conversations—supporting clients not just in their visuals, but in their mindset, confidence, and clarity. That experience opened my eyes to how much she loves walking alongside women as they step into their truth and purpose.
She’s especially drawn to women and female entrepreneurs with big dreams and bold hearts—the ones ready to break through the fear of being seen and start showing up fully and unapologetically. She believes in cultivating authenticity, not perfection, and creating space for women to reconnect with who they truly are.
Through coaching, she offers a safe and sacred space for transformation—where healing meets clarity and self-worth leads the way. And through photography and design, she helps women and brands show up in their fullest expression—confident, creative, and completely themselves.
