There’s a moment most women in construction know it well. When you’re standing in the middle of a job site, or sitting at your desk at 11pm reviewing bids, and a quiet thought surfaces between all the noise: Is this really what I built?
Not doubt, exactly. More like a reckoning. A recognition that you’ve worked so hard, come so far, and yet something still feels misaligned. Like success arrived, but fulfillment is still somewhere out ahead of you.
That moment? That’s exactly why the BuildHer Retreat was born.
Just Wrapped the BuildHer Retreat, It Changed Everything
We just came home from one of the most extraordinary weeks of our professional lives. The BuildHer Retreat, an immersive, all-inclusive executive leadership experience designed exclusively for women who own and lead construction companies, brought together a powerful, intimate group of female contractors, builders, and industry leaders in a stunning setting that felt worlds away from the everyday demands of running a business.
And it was transformational. That word gets thrown around a lot. But there is no other word for what happened in that room.
Every single day, we paired hard-edged, strategic business deep-dives with soulful, grounding mindfulness practices. We moved between financial planning and journaling, between profitability strategy and releasing old stories about what we deserve. We didn’t just talk leadership. We embodied it. We lived it. We cried it, laughed it, and walked out of there carrying it differently than we ever had before.
This is the story of that week, and an invitation to join us for the next one.
Who Was in the Room
Let’s talk about the women who showed up because the room itself was part of the magic.
These were not women who were just getting started. These were owners and CEOs of residential and commercial construction companies. Women who have managed million-dollar projects, carried payroll, navigated subcontractor relationships, and built businesses from the ground up with their own two hands. Women who have sat in rooms full of men and held their ground. Women who have done the hard, unglamorous, often invisible work of building something real.
They were also women who were hungry. Not for more hustle, they’d had plenty of that. Hungry for clarity. For strategy that went beyond the spreadsheet. For a space where they could exhale and say, “here’s what’s actually hard right now”, and be met with wisdom, not judgment.
Your hosts: Allyson Anderson (Certified Passive House Builder, Founder and CEO of Integro Builders, and keynote speaker at major international conferences), Meg Billings (Founder of Meg & Co, engineer, builder, and designer who graduated at the top of her class from Weber State), and Morgan Molitor (Co-Founder of construction2style, designer, builder, marketer, and founder of multiple companies across design, media, and community impact), led every session with hard-won experience and radical honesty.
Together, they created a container where the walls came down fast. Where women who normally had to be the strongest person in the room got to be human. Where vulnerability wasn’t weakness. It was the whole point.
Morning Mindfulness: How Each Day Began
Every morning, before the strategy sessions, before the numbers, before the business. We gathered together. Each day opened with a reading that spoke directly to the heart, followed by journal prompts designed to surface what lives underneath all the noise.
What are the blocks you’ve been carrying?
What intentions have gone unspoken?
What dreams have you been too busy, or too scared, to claim?
It was quiet. It was personal. And it was powerful in a way that no traditional business conference has ever been.
Starting from that grounded, clear place meant that everything that followed landed differently. The strategy felt more meaningful. The decisions felt more aligned. The conversations felt more honest.
The Power of Intention: Owning Your Energy
We opened with The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, specifically the concept of “upper limit problems.” The idea that we unconsciously cap our own potential. That just as things start to go really well, something in us pulls the emergency brake.
We journaled on the stories we’ve told ourselves about our limits. We got specific. We got uncomfortable. And we asked: What if we let go of those stories? What if we chose expansion instead?
Key Themes from Day 1:
- Energy is everything. How you enter the day sets the tone for every decision that follows.
- Your upper limits are not permanent. They are learned. And they can be unlearned.
- Intention without action is a wish. Action without intention is chaos. We need both.
You Were Not Given This Vision by Accident
Day 2 cracked open Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and centered us in the knowing that our vision isn’t random. It’s intentional and meant for us.
Journal prompts from the morning asked us to go deep:
- What would it look like to lead without needing permission?
- Where am I letting doubt control my decisions?
- What’s one bold move I’m ready to take?
Then we pivoted to the business side because vision without financial strategy is just a dream. We dug into bid writing, and our guide was direct and unflinching: Write bids like stories. Clear, specific, transparent. Own your pricing. Own your worth.
Top Takeaways from the Financials Session:
- Your time is not free. Ever.
- Write bids like stories, clear, specific, and transparent.
- Use buffers: the BS Buffer and the BuildHer Buffer. Protect your time and your profits.
- Site management is a hard cost, itemize everything.
- Change orders must be charged consistently. Every time.
- Understand your per diem and how to apply it to change delays.
- Capitalize on the good times: open credit, invest in growth, and build with confidence.
Her quote of the day? “This is marriage. If we don’t like each other later, we have to get a divorce, and divorces take lawyers.”
We walked away with clarity around pricing, contracts, and our worth.
Breaking Through Limitations
Day 3 hit differently. We read The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest, and we explored the invisible cages we build around ourselves.
Big Questions We Answered Together:
- What story have I been repeating that isn’t serving me?
- Where did that story come from?
- What’s one thing I can do today to break free from it?
This day felt like a massive release. We journaled. We cried. We connected. And then we moved into strategy because the work never stops, it just gets clearer.
We went deep on business forecasting, profitability planning, and what it looks like to actually own your calendar and your schedule. We tackled:
- What success looks like to you, on your own terms.
- Creating a personal “Definition of Done.”
- Planning family and business around each other, not against each other.
Releasing What No Longer Serves You
Day 4 was sacred.
We gathered under the open sky, around the fire, and we released it all. The resentment. The fear. The relationships that had cost us more than they gave. The versions of ourselves we’d been dragging along out of obligation.
We opened with The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, a framework so deceptively simple it cuts straight to the bone.
We also talked about Thursday as the reset day of the week, and built out real, practical tools for:
- How to reset your week, your mindset, and your business rhythm.
- Grounding practices and small nervous system shifts to regulate yourself under pressure.
The afternoon held space for something that doesn’t happen at typical business conferences: real rest. Connection. Laughter. The kind of conversation that only happens when you’re away from the noise with women who truly get it.
The Day We Brought It All Home
The final day was integration. Taking everything. The mindset work, the financial clarity, the vision-setting, the emotional release, and weaving it into a plan we could actually carry home.
We left with more than notes. We left with a new relationship to ourselves as leaders. We left knowing that the women in that room were now part of our story, and we were part of theirs.
Thank You to Our BuildHer Retreat Sponsors
None of this happens without the brands who believed in this mission before the retreat ever began. Our sponsors didn’t just write a check. They showed up. They immersed themselves in the vision of BuildHer, invested in these women, and made the experience richer, more beautiful, and more impactful in ways that were felt every single day. We are deeply grateful for each and every one of them.
Andersen Windows | Yoga Sponsor & Beach Lunch Sponsor
Andersen Windows has been a trusted name in the building industry for over 100 years, crafting windows and doors that blend beauty, durability, and energy efficiency. At the BuildHer Retreat, Andersen brought that same commitment to quality into our space, sponsoring both our morning yoga sessions on the top terrace and our beach lunch gathering. There’s something powerful about opening your day with intention and breath, surrounded by product from a brand that understands what it means to build something that lasts. Andersen Windows gets it. They’ve been building it for generations.
Streamline Construction Services | Roundtable Sponsor
The roundtable sessions were some of the most electric moments of the entire week, raw, honest, strategy-driven conversations among women who are actually in the work. Streamline Construction Services sponsored that space, and it felt right. Streamline is built for the construction industry, offering services that help contractors run leaner, smarter, and more efficiently. Sponsoring the roundtable was a natural fit for a company that understands the real challenges contractors face every day because they’re in the trenches alongside them.
Contractor Staffing Source | Wellness Sponsor
We talk a lot in the industry about building better businesses, but Contractor Staffing Source understands that building a better business starts with building a better team. As our Wellness Sponsor, they supported the restorative, grounding moments of the retreat that helped these women breathe, reset, and reconnect with why they do what they do. Contractor Staffing Source specializes in recruiting and placing top talent in the construction industry, making them a go-to resource for contractors who are ready to grow without burning out. Having the right people around you, on your team and in your life, changes everything.
Katlyn Slocum Design | Breakfast Sponsor
There is something about a beautifully curated morning that sets the whole day in motion. As our Breakfast Sponsor, Katlyn Slocum Design brought that same artistry to our mornings because when you care about the details, people feel it. Katlyn Slocum Design is an interior design studio rooted in creating spaces that are deeply personal, thoughtfully layered, and undeniably beautiful. Their work reflects exactly the kind of intentionality we brought to every session of the BuildHer Retreat. We are honored to have had them sponsor the start of our days.
Emser Tile | Bar Sponsor
Emser Tile is one of the most recognized names in tile and natural stone, offering a stunning range of products that designers, builders, and contractors trust to bring spaces to life. As our Bar Sponsor, Emser brought energy and beauty to the social moments of the retreat. The evenings at the bar where conversations deepened, friendships formed, and laughter filled the air. Any contractor or designer who has worked with Emser knows: their product is exceptional. And their support of the women in this room meant the world to us.
Huber Engineered Woods | Villa Hospitality Sponsor
Huber Engineered Woods is a name every serious builder knows. Their products, including ZIP System sheathing and AdvanTech subflooring, are the backbone of high-performance construction, trusted on job sites across the country. As our Villa Hospitality Sponsor, Huber elevated the entire retreat environment, ensuring that every woman who walked through the doors felt welcomed, cared for, and surrounded by the best. It’s fitting that a brand built on strength, protection, and performance would show up to support the strongest women in construction. Huber didn’t just sponsor a retreat. They invested in the future of the industry.
Ressio | BuildHer Up Sponsor
Ressio is a construction management software platform built specifically for residential builders and remodelers, designed to simplify the chaos, streamline project management, and give contractors back the time and clarity they need to lead. As our BuildHer Up Sponsor, Ressio supported the spirit of what this retreat is all about: lifting women up, giving them better tools, and helping them build the businesses, and the lives. They actually want. If you’re running a construction business and you haven’t looked into Ressio, now is the time.
What the 2027 BuildHer Leadership Summit Is
Here’s the truth: you can keep going the way you’re going. You’re clearly capable, you’ve built something real. But capable isn’t the same as fulfilled. Busy isn’t the same as aligned. And doing it alone is not the same as doing it well.
The 2027 BuildHer Leadership Summit is an immersive, all-inclusive week designed exclusively for women who lead and own construction companies. It is the place where ownership-level leadership gets developed, not in a classroom, but in a room full of women who are living it alongside you.
When: 2027 (exact dates announced to registered attendees, tickets are live now and seats are extremely limited)
Who it’s for: Women who run the business, residential or commercial. Women who are being prepared to lead the business. Women at the leadership threshold who need peer-level conversation, real strategy, and a room that finally sees them clearly.
Who’s leading it:
Allyson Anderson, CPHB , Founder and CEO of Integro Builders. Certified Passive House Builder. Keynote presenter at major international conferences. Contributor to the International Energy Conservation Code. Former Steering Committee member under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, where she helped guide the passage of Chicago’s ADU ordinances. Allyson brings deep expertise in building science, civic responsibility, and real-world delivery.
Meg Billings , Founder of Meg & Co. Engineer, builder, and designer who graduated at the top of her class from Weber State University as one of only two women in the Manufacturing Engineering program. She can weld. She can build. And she will help you see the business you’re building in an entirely new light.
Morgan Molitor , Co-Founder of construction2style. Designer, builder, marketer, and entrepreneur. Alongside her husband Jamie, Morgan has built a design + build firm, a media company (Neon Lion), and a non-profit (resilience2reform), all while raising three kids and leading a team. She has built national industry conferences, marketing workshops, and online courses for contractors across the country. She has a gift for helping people see what they’ve built, and what they’re capable of building next.
What’s Included
This is not a conference where you show up, grab a tote bag, and sit in a hotel ballroom. This is a fully curated, all-inclusive experience in a stunning destination, where every detail is handled so you can be fully present.
Your ticket includes:
- Ground transportation from the airport (you book your flight; we’ve got everything from wheels-down onward)
- Private sleeping quarters (single or double occupancy, your choice)
- All amenities and excursions
- All in-house leadership events and sessions
- Private dining with butler and bartending services
- Housekeeping and gratuities
Single Occupancy: $7,500 , Your own private room. Full privacy. Total presence.
Double Occupancy: $6,500 , One bed in a shared room. A chance to connect even more deeply with a fellow attendee.
Seats are intentionally limited. This is a small, intimate gathering, by design. Because that intimacy is what makes it work.
This Is Your Sign
If you read this far, you already know. Something in you recognized itself in these words. Something in you is ready.
You’ve spent years building for everyone else. Building the company. Building the team. Building the life. This is the week you build yourself, as a leader, as a woman, as someone who deserves to take up space in the room she created.
The women who will be in that room in 2027 are women just like you. They are owners and executives and builders and dreamers. They are tired of doing this alone. They are ready to do it differently.
Visit BuildHerAlliance.com to learn more and secure your seat.
We’re keeping it intimate. Only a limited number of tickets will be released, and they are live right now.
Don’t wait for the “right time.” There is no right time. There is only now, and the decision to show up for yourself the same way you show up for everyone else.
Grab your spot at the 2027 BuildHer Leadership Summit →
