Should I Start a Mastermind Group as a Business?
How can I determine if getting into the mastermind group business is a good fit for me? It does require a versatile skill set to have a successful practice. But how do you know if it’s an ideal fit for you personally? What specific skills are needed? What values are required? And, what are the ultimate benefits to you? Let’s explore the answers to those questions now.
How do I know if I am a good fit personally for this business?
You know when your vision and your passion are in alignment with running mastermind groups. It starts with your love of business and your passion for business. Part or all of your core being has an entrepreneurial spirit. Running your own business, yet being part of something bigger is energizing for you. You like being independent and in charge of your time, your freedom, yet also value being part of a team, a community. You want to leverage your current business contacts and expertise. And, particularly you want to build a legacy. Building a recurring revenue stream gives you peace of mind while driving value in your business model, creating a legacy. And last you value meaningful, ongoing relationships that a recurring, monthly interaction with the same business leaders provides.
What specific skills should I have?
Business Experience: A high level of business acumen usually is a result of being a CEO or owner of your own business, particularly of a small, privately held company or a senior leader within one. You've likely had profit and loss responsibility which gives your experience in making strategic decisions and being responsible for people, profits, sustainability, and vision.
Business Knowledge: Because you are dealing with business leaders, knowledge of business and the vernacular is important. It’s important because when conversations are happening around the boardroom table in your meeting, knowing what your members are talking about helps you moderate the meeting. It also helps you know when it’s time to move the conversation on or let it go for a while longer. Equally, being on top of business trends is critical in staying relevant with the group and the group staying relevant in the business environment. Being a member of business organizations, reading journals, magazines, and participating in webinars will assist in staying current on changes in the business marketplace.
Continuous Learner: Your clients will be continuous learners. That is one of the reasons they will join your groups. They want to learn. They recognize they don’t have all the answers. They want to be better business leaders, have the best business possible, and build a better company for themselves, their employees, and their communities. Being curious about business, wanting to be the best in moderating, learning a new skill or hobby will keep you interesting in your members as well as help push them to learn more. You will bring new ideas, new contacts, new thoughts into the agenda that enhance their experience and make it more valuable.
High Emotional Quotient: The ability to be diplomatic, empathic, collaborative, calm, respectful, and a good listener at the same time command accountability, discipline, focus, collaboration, inclusion, and results. This balance is tricky and requires being on point and aware of all dynamics showing simultaneously at all times from your members. You’ll use a lot of brainpower to moderate your meetings, so don’t be surprised you are exhausted afterward.
Confidence: Having confidence in yourself and the concept of mastermind groups will enable you to close new members, conduct a meeting with authority, address member conflicts or poor behavior. Confidence will also help you instill the same in your members as they grow as leaders in their business. They need the same confidence in running their business as you do in moderating your groups.
Team Building: You are building a team. A team of peers that when together they are better together than alone. They compliment each other. There are differences in skill sets and experiences. There is diversity and that aids in different thinking. There are synergies. There are shared values and they genuinely like each other. When putting your group together, treat it like building your dream team because it is building their dream team.
The top values to possess for success
Values are important in this line of work because values are important in business. Values steer your behaviors and behaviors steer your values that result in everyone rowing the same direction. A successful mastermind practice is built on a few solid values that you possess and emulate.
Being Vulnerable: Is this a skill set or a value? It’s being put in the category as a value to possess because you either want to be vulnerable or you do not. Being vulnerable is similar, to be honest, but it is more. Being vulnerable will lead your group by example to be the same which is the heart and ultimate level of a high functioning group. If you cannot be vulnerable, then this work is not for you.
Seek first to understand: Not jumping to conclusions and assuming the best is critical when working with executives. Running a business is challenging and personally integrating family and work is challenging. You never know what people are dealing with. Just the other day this happened to me. A member was late for her meeting. She texted she was running late, didn’t explain why, but would be 15 minutes longer. Instead of me thinking she must have not gotten up early enough, didn’t respect the group enough to be on time, was being lazy, disrespectful in general, not prioritizing the meeting as it should be, etc. Essentially, I could have created all kinds of negative head trash. Instead, I did not. When Tracy arrived, I could tell she was frazzled. I let her get settled in and then asked how are you doing and gave her space to “vent” and explain. She preceded to tell her morning story that started with dropping her son off at his grandmother's that was going to take him to his summer camp later that morning. As she was pulling in the drive to do so, she got a text that a camp student he was with has lice and no one was to come to camp that day. She then went into “mom” mode calling her doctor for advice, making arrangements for her son to be treated just in case, who would take him to do so, who would watch him for the day, and whether she needed to have her home or his clothes treated, etc. She did all this and was only 15 minutes late! Wow! The point is, don’t judge and don’t assume. Business owners are adults and treat them as such and treat them with empathy giving them the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise.
Give first-come from abundance: Every time you give first, you can be certain it will be returned to you in spades. There will be many times you will be faced with doing the right thing or not. This decision will usually have tied to it, to give of your time, money, expertise, or connections. Helping someone without the expectation of anything in return will build deeper relationships and loyalty. Besides, it feels good too!
Meaningful relationships, not transactional: Wanting and desiring relationships with your clients that are not transactional but are ones of genuine caring and interest in them is essential to the retention of your groups. Be personable. Don’t be superficial and expect the members to thrive and your group to thrive when the foundation is supposed to be based on trust and comradery. Having socials, paying attention to their interests, and asking questions to learn more about them, are just a few ways to do this.
Confidentiality: A comedian I just listened to summed this up so well. He said he learned he could not be a therapist when after his first few sessions with patients 1) he discovered he didn’t like whiners 2) he couldn’t keep a secret. You have to keep secrets. Understanding this is the foundation of success and will make or break your group if you or if a member violates confidentiality. If you gossip or reveal anything that is said, it’s over.
Benefits of a Mastermind Group to you
Developing, creating, leading, and managing a group and its dynamics are extremely rewarding both financially and psychologically. Helping others succeed, experiencing joy from seeing their success, and knowing you have had a part in that journey is very fulfilling.
Financially, you are in charge of your destiny, you're in charge of your income, you're in charge of the outcome. It is limitless. You can be paid handsomely, nearly the equivalent of USD 1000+ per hour or more. You can do this full-time or part-time.
The model has a lot of flexibility and personalization capabilities. You can have different types of groups such as geography, industry, profession, or/and virtual/ or in-person only. And the reward of seeing other's success and the impact it makes on their employees, industry, and community is astonishing.
