One Focus Marketing
How and Why I Started My Own Mastermind Group
Why I Am Writing This Article
Often when people find out I’m in a mastermind group they ask about it. Recently I respond to a post on the Freedom Hackers Mastermind which as of this writing has exactly 20,000 members. The post was asking about forming a mastermind group with other women which of I don’t qualify but nevertheless I chimed in about starting a group and offered to help.
I received several private messages and responses to my response and was asked to make a quick post. So here I am. Posting away.
I really hope it helps and if you need any assistance please feel free to schedule some time with me. No cost at all. My schedule is on the right side of the page or the middle of my home page.
Background
Quite a few years ago I was reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill which unless you have been in a coma you have read it or are going to read very soon, like as soon as you can get it from Amazon. In Mr. Hills book he talks about a mastermind group. These types of groups had been around for centuries before his book but his writing made it popular, especially in recent years.
The premise from Mr. Hill is that whenever you have at least two minds coming together who are both on a similar path this creates a ‘third mind’, a mastermind if you will, thereby making it much easier to work on projects and solve problems.
Since then I have been in a couple of different mastermind groups. A couple were ok but not awesome and a couple were just- well, crappy. The groups didn’t seem like they were going anywhere and I really struggled with why I was continuing in a group that didn’t have a purpose and there was no benefit to me.
So I moved on and went without a group for a long time.
Revelation
It wasn’t really a revelation but more like a return to my roots. I knew mastermind groups were helpful and I knew I needed one but the missing piece was finding one which was right for me.
I looked on some Facebook groups and found a few posts of people starting a mastermind. I responded and some did not reply and a couple said they were full.
Now I figured if this was going to get done, I would need to do it on my own.
It was time to figure out a how to run a mastermind. I searched a little bit and listened to a podcast by Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income which was an actual mastermind meeting.
I knew Pat had credited in another post that Jamie Tardy of Eventual Millionaire had great mastermind groups so I searched for her format and found one. I customized it for my purpose and put together a basic agenda and guideline. See at the bottom of the page.
How I Found Mastermind Members
I knew from experience I only needed 4-6 maximum. I also knew there had to be a strict attendance policy. So, I posted on a few Facebook groups that I was starting a mastermind and for anyone interested to send me a message.
Hint: You can weed out those who are not really reading a message by giving clear instructions on how to contact you. If they contact you any other way you know they didn’t read the instructions. Then it is up to you if you still want them to be eligible for the mastermind group.
There were about 100 total that responded and I weeded them out fairly quickly. Ended up with around 20 or so who were “serious”. Then when it came to the actual commitment had 8 and only 4 ended up in the final round and only two on the first call.
From previous experience this is about right. Many have good intentions but poor follow through. I didn’t go back and try to contact those who didn’t follow through for obvious reasons.
I did go back and contact those who I told our group was full and asked if they now wanted to join and now we have a core group of 4.
How to Start a Mastermind Group:
As the moderator you need to be clear on what the goal of the group is – example – “We strive to help each other get past obstacles which are keeping us from achieving success in our business by providing honest feedback without any negative intent.” – I think you get my meaning.
1. Decide which Facebook groups which have a large target audience for potential mastermind members who would most likely meet the groups goal. Pick two or three. You probably don’t want to post in a cooking group about a business mastermind group. Obvious I know but just want to make sure I’m clear. Clarity and focus are crucial so I’d rather throw it out there than leave it up to interpretation.
2. What to include in your post:
- Your intention to start a mastermind group
- Goal of the group
- Maximum total members 4 to 6
- Method of communication – i.e. Skype, Hangouts, conference call, etc
- Frequency (once a week is my suggestion)
- Day of the Week
- Time (include your local time and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT – Mine is GMT-5)
- Length – One hour is suggested and have a hard rule to stop by this time
- Attendance policy – example -If you miss more than 1 a month your are out.
3. Once you get responses – and there should be quite a few – go ahead and reply to your original post that you are full but if anyone would like you to contact them if an opening comes up you will and to just REPLY to the post, not to PM you.
4. Make contact with the first six people and send them a PM – just to say hi and how excited you are to be doing this. Give them a deadline to respond on the questionnaire (example below) or ask them to describe their business and what they hope to get out of the group.
5. Don’t be surprised if many don’t fill out the questionnaire or respond quickly. Reach out to more original inquiries until you come up with a core group.
6. You can use the guidelines below to moderate the call or come up with your own but either way you are now ready to rock.
7. Set the first date and have your first call! Yeah!
This concludes the basics and feel free to schedule some time with me if you need any additional help.
Also, if you do follow this plan, let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear about it regardless if its good or bad. The best way to contact me is going to my Ask Ben page or you can schedule time on the right side of this page.
