Effectiveness of a Mastermind Group

[Wayne Liew]

Is anyone here part of a mastermind group?

The concept of a mastermind group is basically a group of like-minded individuals or individuals that are in similar businesses coming together once or twice a month to discuss about latest learnings or problems that they are facing with their business. Theoretically, this should keep members of the group motivated (to constantly realize that you are not alone with issues) and to open the members up to new ideas that they may never thought of.

Are you part of a mastermind group? Do you find it to be effective? How does its formation come about?

[Harold Mansfield]

Is anyone here part of a mastermind group?

The concept of a mastermind group is basically a group of like-minded individuals or individuals that are in similar businesses coming together once or twice a month to discuss about latest learnings or problems that they are facing with their business. Theoretically, this should keep members of the group motivated (to constantly realize that you are not alone with issues) and to open the members up to new ideas that they may never thought of.

Are you part of a mastermind group? Do you find it to be effective? How does its formation come about?

No I'm not, and I'm not a big networking fan and here's why: Any problems pertaining to business that I have, I can usually figure out with a few Google searches or forum posts without having to sit around a meeting of people bouncing ideas off of each other.

Second, I read up on new advances, products and marketing everyday. My inbox is a constant parade of what's going on in the industry. By the time I get to a monthly meeting, there's nothing new to talk about. Anything that comes up in a once a week meeting is already old news.

That may all sound a little anti social, but the reality is that I move faster than twice a month on stuff, and when I do get out, unless I'm talking with someone about making money via development or getting hired...I don't feel like sitting around and spit balling about work just for the hell of it unless I can bitch about stuff and crack a few jokes....with beer.

But that's just me. I spent 20 years constantly being around people who wanted to talk. And also I find that when I'm in these situations, I always get acosted by someone who wants to work "together" on some great new idea, but, what they really want is for me to build it for free and split ( what will be) no revenue 50/50.

Yes, I can be cranky sometimes.

I think something like this would interest me if it were around people that know more than me and are light years ahead. Now that would be fun.

[rshughes]

I think we may sometimes use friends, relatives, or business acquaintances as informal business consultants. The idea of a networking group (you call it a mastermind group) really just formalizes the process and makes it into a regularly occurring event. Nothing new, and can be done as easily online (like this forum!).

What I would NOT want to do is sit around a room with a bunch of my competitors and sharing MY good ideas with them.

David


I think something like this would interest me if it were around people that know more than me and are light years ahead. Now that would be fun. I feel the same way, Harold, I only want to go to parties where the people are better looking than me .....J/K :p

[Steve B]

Ironically, Harold is one of our biggest contributors in this on-line version of a Mastermind group :) I guess this forum just saves the trouble of going somewhere and allows people to skip the small talk.

I am in a group exactly like you have described. I started the group myself. We even have a website and do a bit of advertising together. It has been helpful to me and to many of the other participants, but, what I've found (or actually confirmed) is that people are ultimately selfish. We get people to join our group when they are a new business and struggling to grow. Once their schedule fills up a bit, they stop showing up to the meetings (once a month for about 2 hours). It should work much better in theory than it actually does. This is just my experience and maybe I'm not a very good leader.

With that said, I have made a few connections in my group that have totally been worth it all. They have given me great ideas that I would have never thought of on my own or with all the Google research in the world. I just always think we could be doing more.

[Harold Mansfield]

Ironically, Harold is one of our biggest contributors in this on-line version of a Mastermind group :) I guess this forum just saves the trouble of going somewhere and allows people to skip the small talk.

And that's exactly it. Praise the internet for making it easy to get knowledge and advice without having to get dressed and drive across town, or sit in a classroom twice a week with everything paced out over the course of a semester.


We get people to join our group when they are a new business and struggling to grow. Once their schedule fills up a bit, they stop showing up to the meetings (once a month for about 2 hours). It should work much better in theory than it actually does. This is just my experience and maybe I'm not a very good leader.

And that's the other thing. I've found that groups tend to fizzle out of experienced members and become a constant rotation of noobs looking for free advice and then never come back to share what they've learned.

A testament to this forum is that I've never out grown it. There's a core group of people here who keep up on things, have varying expertise's, and share freely what they know in their field. With so many things out there, there's always going to be someone that has seen or knows of something that you've never heard of that may halep you. The quality of information here has actually matured and grown with the forum. Something very few forums (Including some published by big companies and banks) have been able to sustain.

I've been a member of quite a few forums over the last few years, one of which I credit to helping me tremendously with WordPress troubleshooting when I first started out. But after while you start to surpass the quality of information there and it gets boring. I used to log in every so often to "give back", but the last couple of years it just turned into hundreds of people asking the same question over and over again, any variation of "How do I make quick money on my blog with adsense?", "Where can I get a premium product for free?", or " What are some shortcuts to bypass hard work and commitment?"...and after while you get tired of posting the same answers over and over again.

Also the owner of that forum was indicted for fraud and cookie stuffing and I was never completely sure that he (or other members involved) wasn't jacking the sites in other member's sig links. I used to get some strange emails and fluctuations in my Ebay numbers when I listed my sites there and that was the company that they were defrauding.

I'm very giving when it comes to helping others, but, I have little patience with the "internet is easy money" crowd.

[smallbizjunkie]

Mastermind meetings are very powerful. If run properly, everyone in the group grows their business and finds themselves more successful, more productive and more invigorated with their business. My company, Business Success Unlimited, runs an online Mastermind program where businesses brainstorm, share their ideas, learn from each other, and find accountability for themselves. I just can't say enough about the benefits of these programs! They are excellent ways to grow your business.

[Wayne Liew]

I think something like this would interest me if it were around people that know more than me and are light years ahead. Now that would be fun.

Yeah, I think I'm sort of in the same situation as yourself, at least locally here in Malaysia. Most of my conversations will end up having the other party goes, "Is it? I didn't know that?!" and at the back of my mind, I will go "Duh!" :p

Instead of being a part of a large 20 to 30 person networking group which I find the bulk of the discussions will be small talk rather than things that will really help grow our business, I'm thinking of having a group of maybe 3 to 5 members, with the list curated by ourselves.


What I would NOT want to do is sit around a room with a bunch of my competitors and sharing MY good ideas with them.

It doesn't have to be competitors right? It can be people from similar businesses but in a totally different industry. Sometimes we are so engrossed in things happening in our business or industry, we fail to see and come up with ideas coming up from things happening beyond them. Perhaps it's just me but I had some great ideas come by when I start reading and listening things that are not related to my business at all.


I am in a group exactly like you have described. I started the group myself. We even have a website and do a bit of advertising together. It has been helpful to me and to many of the other participants, but, what I've found (or actually confirmed) is that people are ultimately selfish. We get people to join our group when they are a new business and struggling to grow. Once their schedule fills up a bit, they stop showing up to the meetings (once a month for about 2 hours). It should work much better in theory than it actually does. This is just my experience and maybe I'm not a very good leader.

With that said, I have made a few connections in my group that have totally been worth it all. They have given me great ideas that I would have never thought of on my own or with all the Google research in the world. I just always think we could be doing more.

Thank you for sharing your experience, Steve. One thing that I realized about setting up physical meetups is that it takes a lot of time and effort, and I want to see if it is going to be worth it. Do you mind sharing how large is your group?


A testament to this forum is that I've never out grown it. There's a core group of people here who keep up on things, have varying expertise's, and share freely what they know in their field. With so many things out there, there's always going to be someone that has seen or knows of something that you've never heard of that may halep you. The quality of information here has actually matured and grown with the forum. Something very few forums (Including some published by big companies and banks) have been able to sustain.

I am actually on the lookout for forums with great, helpful and like-minded members and the amount of quality discussions here convinced me that this is going to be a great place to spend my time. :)


Mastermind meetings are very powerful. If run properly, everyone in the group grows their business and finds themselves more successful, more productive and more invigorated with their business. My company, Business Success Unlimited, runs an online Mastermind program where businesses brainstorm, share their ideas, learn from each other, and find accountability for themselves. I just can't say enough about the benefits of these programs! They are excellent ways to grow your business.

When you say your business runs an online mastermind program, do you mean that businesses actually pay you to be part of the program? Do you mind sharing why a paid mastermind program is better than self-organized groups or meetups?

[Steve B]

My group currently has 9 members. We meet at the same time and place each month - so it's easy for everyone to keep it on their schedule. We do not allow competitors in the group - so if they want to keep their spot and be the only person in their category (for instance - Dog Groomer) then they have to attend 2 out of each 4 meetings. Home - Bluegrass Pet Services Network (http://www.BluegrassPetServices.com)

[smallbizjunkie]

Hi, Wayne. I can answer your question a couple of different ways. I have been in mastermind programs for many years and have gotten to rely on them for guidance when I'm checking in with my business... when I have questions about new things to try, problems that I've had, and much, much more. I also RUN mastermind programs as part of my business model. I have both in-person groups AND online groups that meet via phone and Internet. Again, they are very effective, and with my model you can choose either a short-term (3 month program) or a yearly program. If you'd like more info, just email me and we can talk more.

[smallbizjunkie]

In answer to an earlier question about paying for a group, all I can say is that (to use an example of a gym membership) you tend to go more often because you've paid for it. You have more of a sense of accountability to the others in the group. And with my group, you get more than just the normal sharing of thoughts. Each meeting has a breakdown of 1: what good has happened since we last met; 2: a discussion of a particular topic (often led by guest speakers who are experts in the topic); 3: time to discuss someone's burning issue. There are generally handouts, exercises and homework to do. And since I'm a certified mastermind facilitator, as well as a business coach, I am able to provide each person in the group with a FREE consultation once during the 3 month time to help them get a handle on any issue that they may need support with. I think this is a pretty good deal for $45 for six two hour meetings.

[MikeAppleton]

I have been part of a number of mastermind groups in the past and they tend to burn brightly then fizzle out in an anticlimax. People are excited at first, then (especially with new developments) they tend to get guarded and paranoid that you're going to steal their idea. I'm in medical research and I believe that collaboration can cure cancer, the problem is that everyone wants to be the first to "break it" so they don't collaborate.

[smallbizjunkie]

I'm sorry Mike, but I tend to disagree. I've been involved in groups for many years and find them to be fantastic. They rejuvenate you, help you to see more clearly, and get you motivated. Perhaps it's because the ones I belong to (and the ones I run) have a facilitator, an agenda, and are paid so they keep people coming back (to get their money's worth in the beginning). I can't say enough about the benefits of a GOOD mastermind program.

[dmck]

Hi,

I am not part of a mastermind group but I am a member of some business forums. I find them extremely helpful. I learn a lot by browsing and reading what members are sharing and here and there I also contribute to the discussion. In addition, running a business can be stressful and I feel that being part of a community reduces some of this stress. The only thing is not to be carried away and spend time you should be dedicating to your business...:)

[Gabe]

I've never been part of a mastermind group, but it doesn't really appeal to me. The closest thing I'd be interested in is an industry conference that lasts a few days. Anything that requires scheduled, regular attendance isn't appealing.

I'm with Harold on this one though, the internet and forums like these are a treasure trove of information. What I do like though is meeting up with friends every once in a while and catching up, talking business and whatever else in a casual environment...i.e. while watching a game on TV, at a bar or shooting some pool. I'm not a fan of the formal stuff.

But then again, different things work for different people. I'm sure some people thrive in that environment.

[smallbizjunkie]

Since we have been discussing mastermind programs, I would like to invite you all to my next one which starts April 4th at 10 am. It is an online program where we call in via phone/internet. And while it is a discussion in which we all share, there is also an educational component. Normally, the charge for this is $45 for the 3 month commitment, if you tell me you're from this group, I'll let you sit in (and be a full member) this session (2 hours, 2x a month). Gabe, while this may not be something for you as you mentioned, it is NOT a mandatory meeting, but you lose out when you're not there, and the others who are there to support you lose out as well. Just another way of looking at it. Hope to "see" some of you there.