How To Run A Mastermind Group

I’m going out on a limb here, but it is my opinion that you CANNOT possibly build a successful business without having access to a mastermind group. You look at people you know who have a successful business and every one of them will have access to people to advise them, throw ideas around with and people who expect them to be the best they can be.

I’ve seen first hand numerous times the impact a mastermind group can have on my business, the business of my mentors and those of my students.

There is nothing more powerful to help you grow your business.

I feel so strongly about it that we help all our customers  join one of our mastermind groups. It doesn’t matter if they have purchased our $47 per month Wonderful Web Women membership or our higher end products and mentoring that run into the thousands, we help them you find other people from our community to support you.

I’m a member of 2 mastermind groups myself and another faculty that meets a few times per year to help each other grow our businesses. I can’t imagine being in business without them.

There is a good reason a Mastermind Group is listed as the 9th Step Toward Riches by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich.

OK so you know this is something I’m passionate about. Let’s look at what a Mastermind group is and how to run one.

What Is A Mastermind Group?

At its simplest, a mastermind group is 2 or more people who share a similar purpose and meet to help each other achieve that purpose. Now that purpose could be for many things, but here I’ll be talking about the purpose of building successful businesses.

Each of the groups I am personally part of formed to help each other create a successful business. Interestingly, we all have a very strong personal development focus as well. This makes sense really as I’ve found business development to be the fastest tool for personal development I’ve ever experienced.

Mastermind Groups can meet in person, or via a phone meeting. You may meet on a regular basis, such as weekly or every 2 weeks or maybe you only get together for focused days or retreats.

As an example:

• One of my mastermind groups meets for breakfast as a coastal cafe every 2nd Friday.
• Another group used to meet via conference phone every 2 weeks but now we meet for a retreat once per year and a second weekend later in the year (this shows that a mastermind can change how they meet to adapt to the dynamics of the group)
• Another group only meets once a year or more for a structured “closed door” faculty meeting to share latest business building methods.

Rules To Run a Mastermind Group

Over the years I’ve found the perfect structure to run a mastermind group. It doesn’t matter if you meet in person or via phone, the structure works in all situations. We give our customers a detailed structure to follow but here it is in a nutshell;

• The group must agree to why they are meeting. For eg, is it to focus only on business, or is it on personal issues etc
• Anything discussed in the group is confidential. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…not on Facebook
• There needs to be a facilitator for each meeting to keep people on track and time. The facilitator should change each meeting so no-one is seen as the boss
• No whining. The group needs to focus on solutions, not complaining and making excuses as to why a problem exists in the first place.
• No personal criticism. Judge the actions, not the person. Each person must feel safe to discuss their failings.
• Strict time-keeping is essential to make sure each person has an equal opportunity to get help from the group
• You must allocate time at the beginning and end for the group to socialise and catch up on each others lives. If you don’t the group is nowhere near as much fun.
• Be on time. This shows respect for the group
• Laugh a lot. Life’s too short to take it too seriously.

I’d love to know what experience you have had with mastermind groups. Please leave a comment below and if you have any handy tips it would be great for you share.