Many people form mastermind groups to help build their business. But business mastermind groups aren’t the only type of masterminding going on these days!

Mastermind groups are becoming more and more popular. Recently I did a little web research to find out what types of people are forming mastermind groups. This list might give you some creative ideas for starting a mastermind group of your own:

People who are:
small business owners & entrepreneurs
CEOs and executive-level managers
new managers
sales people
artists
authors
moms
landlords
real estate investors
singles
recently divorced
internet marketers
dentists
painting contractors
parents
retirees and soon-to-be retirees
inter-departmental employees working as a team
musicians
consultants
People who want success in:
network marketing
living the law of attraction
fitness & weight loss
growing a business
building wealth
creating a healthy lifestyle
dealing with people
finding a new romantic partner in life
dealing with teenagers
adding more spirituality to their lives
Mastermind groups…not just for business anymore!

Many of my mastermind group facilitator students try to fill a 10-person group, often ending up in hot water (or not being able to begin the group because they can’t find the 10 people).

Here’s a tip: Start with a core group of three or four people. Get your guidelines in place and have a few meetings. This will help to solidify the group and work out any kinks.

Next, take a vote on whether it’s time to add more people. If yes, how many? Don’t add too many all at once. I’d rather see you add only one or two new people at a time. This will help them to assimilate into the group and for the group to become cohesive. As the Facilitator, you want to help people to fit in and feel welcome, and not allow cliques to form among the “old members” versus the “new members.” It’s all about inclusiveness.

Keep repeating the addition of new members until everyone agrees the group is full. If someone drops out of the group, take a vote to see if the group should replace that person or simply stay the smaller size.

Warmly,
Karyn

Karyn Greenstreet,
Small Business Coach and Mastermind Group Expert
The Success Alliance
“Create Success: Start a Mastermind Group!”
www.TheSuccessAlliance.com
www.PassionForBusiness.com

Before becoming a speaker, I’d never heard of mastermind groups, let alone been a member of one. So, when I was asked to join one by several colleagues within NSA-Central Florida, I was honored to accept the invitation, but quite unsure of what to expect.

The format of our group is this:
• To give everyone ample time for weekly updates and individual brainstorming time, the group size is limited to 4 or 5 members. Every member of the group has a vote regarding group size and who is allowed to join. There must be 100% consensus for each vote.
• We hold weekly phone calls of one hour in length; each member is allotted 10 minutes to relate progress toward accomplishing set commitments for that week, as well as good news, updates and other important items. Each week, a different member creates an agenda, with everyone e-mailing all group members with their weekly commitments (to be included in the agenda);
• Every 6 weeks, the group meets in person for an all-day brainstorming/sharing session, at which time each member is allotted up to 1 hour to discuss anything they wish to bring to the group that day. Lunchtime is reserved for good news, short-term updates, accountability and other burning issues outside of each speaker’s dedicated time.
• Once a year, we hold a two-day planning retreat, at which to discuss our annual goals, plans and commitments.

From my humble expectations grew a quite impressive reality – one that was difficult to fathom at the beginning of the process:
• When I thought to myself, “I don’t have time for weekly calls!”, I now see that I can’t afford NOT to have them because they are valuable and productive and save me time down the road.
• When I wondered how I’d set aside a full day every 6 weeks for a meeting, I quickly discovered that these meetings not only provide fresh ideas I cannot get from brainstorming alone, but they provide the camaraderie, support and commiseration needed to prevent me from feeling completely secluded in this very intense and often lonely business.
• And while I’m sure that everyone had similar concerns at the start, I know that every member of our group agrees that we are much more productive and successful (much more quickly) than we could ever have been if operating alone.

And that brings us to the most wonderful (and unexpected) gifts of this union – the incredible friendships that not only help us all on a professional level, but on a personal level, as we realize the true meaning of “going beyond friendship” and can now count our fellow group members as “family.”

So, I’d like to encourage each of you to properly form a Mastermind Group by:
• finding like-minded people whom you respect and trust implicitly;
• limiting the group to 4 or 5 people, so it doesn’t become too large and unmanageable, both in terms of scheduling and time for each member to receive full benefit of the group dynamic;
• holding each other accountable by setting commitments each week and requiring participation in each call and meeting, and requiring a “report” of accomplishments against goals that week;
• being available and dedicated to helping each other, no matter what’s going on; and
• spurring each other on to higher heights than any of you thought possible.

…because when you bond together with a common goal of higher success, the sky truly is the limit.

Happy masterminding!

Sandy Geroux
Immediate Past President, NSA-CF