Before we dive more into mastermind groups, we’ve got to define what such a group is. A mastermind group is a group of two or more people that consistently meet every few weeks. The goal of these meetings is to grow the companies or projects of the people that are in the group.
Wikipedia’s definition of a mastermind group is: “A mastermind group is a peer-to-peer mentoring group used to help members solve their problems with input and advice from the other group members. The concept was coined in 1925 by author Napoleon Hill in his book The Law of Success, and described in more detail in his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich.”
The group consists of like-minded people who share their struggles, successes, useful tools, their network, and their knowledge. As an entrepreneur, you can often feel that you are on your own, but your group is there for you. They’ve got your back!
If you find you are weak in persistence, surround yourself with a Mastermind Group.
Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
Ever heard of the saying, “You are the product of at least five people you hang around?”. Now let’s think about the people you surround yourself with. Question yourself, are they helping you to succeed in some way, or are they rather taking you down?
It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours, and you’ll drift in that direction.
Warren Buffett
It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours, and you’ll drift in that direction.
Currently, I’m in the process of creating a mastermind group for people who specialized in conversion rate optimization. If you would like to join this mastermind group, feel free to let me know by completing this Google Form.
There are two roles. The first role is the facilitator’s role, often a specialist in the subject as well. The facilitator organizes the meeting, makes a little agenda and during the mastermind sessions the facilitator it’s focus is on giving everybody the same amount of time to talk about their problem or give suggestions. After each mastermind, the facilitator will provide everybody with a summary of that mastermind.
Joining a mastermind is not only about getting information, but it’s also about giving. You know your stuff, so you can help others as well.
There are many mastermind groups nowadays, some only online, offline, combination of online and offline, free or paid, etc., etc. Every combination is possible.
Last week I’ve started a mastermind group for people who are working on side-projects and look to make an ROI (Return of Investment) on it. This mastermind was started during the pandemic COVID-19 period, so it’s currently online. Probably it will be a combination of online and offline in the future.
The online mastermind groups are becoming very popular, I’ve seen groups popping by with the maximum amount of WhatsApp users in one group. These are often groups started with a lot of beginners, but growing to something more sustainable over time. Also, these groups are often free, the downside is that there are many people which means it isn’t focused on a niche.
Communicating directly to fellow like-minded people in person will bring extra value since you can socially interact which each other to have a real conversation. You can easily start doing workshops to find proper solutions to a hard question.
The downside of offline-only mastermind groups is that everybody needs to be able to make it to the meeting. To make this successful you’ll need to have a good facilitator for the meetings, somebody that can lead and direct where it’s going, otherwise it might be more of a networking event.
The combination of an online and offline mastermind group is also a way to go. This is for the people that don’t have enough time to do real-life meetings every two weeks or every month, but only once a quarter. They have time to do online meetings, though, since this doesn’t require much traveling.
Offline, so in real life, would have my preference but only if there’s a good facilitator. But choose whatever fits your needs! Remember, it’s better to start with something than not do something at all.
As one person to another, I would highly recommend you to join a mastermind group and experience how it is. If you’re really introverted and don’t want to talk, this might not be something for you. During mastermind sessions, everybody’s honest feedback is respected.
Looking to start or join a mastermind? Try and ask around on LinkedIn, and connect to me, so I can share your message. If you don’t know how to start with LinkedIn, I’ve written a post about that as well.
Working remotely from Groningen, the Netherlands. Get in touch and let’s schedule a meeting, no strings attached.
Get in touch
