Checklist for starting your Mastermind group
- Topic
- Group Size
- Participants
- Meeting Duration
- Frequency
- Location
- Schedule
What is a mastermind group?
Tony Robbins explains
A mastermind group is a group of peers who meet to give each other advice and support. It’s similar to mentoring, but has several important differences. First, it will have five or six members, instead of being a one-on-one meeting. In a mastermind group, you will both give and receive advice, while in a mentorship, you’ll typically be on the receiving end. You can use these sessions to do anything you like from creating a personal development plan and following it to solving business challenges.
Topic
The best masterminds will start with a strong topic or common theme based on a specific problem that you would like to solve. This could be either a challenge you face or the goal you want to reach. You can solve almost any challenge you face. But running a mastermind group will increase your odds of success and speed up your personal and professional development. Commit and write down the topic before you go out and find participants.
Participants
Members of the Mastermind should be peers – people with the same or similar goals and aspirations as you. Everyone who participates should benefit from the support and advice gained from the Mastermind. Considering people who are going in a same direction will allow you to get really clear on what it is you want to solve and who you want to help.
However, there’s an exception – you can not have conflicting interests or direct competitors in your mastermind group. You want the group to be a supportive community where everyone is helping each other to succeed. A good rule here is to pick participants from different niches. This will allow you to avoid risks with direct competition as well as benefit from different perspectives on your personal development plan or business challenge. This also has the added advantage of being able to offer complimentary services and referrals to the other members of the group.
Meeting Duration and Group Size
Mastermind group meeting duration is directly related to size. To keep the meetings short, deep and allow enough time for everyone to share their challenges (hot seat) and brainstorm solutions allow at least 15-20 minutes per participant. I would suggest starting with a group of 2-5 people (including yourself). If your group is 6 or more people you need to consider 2-hour meetings. It’s essential that everyone has time set aside for them and actively participates to get maximum benefits.
When starting, plan an additional half an hour as buffer time so there is no pressure on participants and the conversation flows freely – you can end early if everything has been covered ahead of time and adjust duration of the upcoming meetings as needed.
Frequency
Mastermind group meeting frequency depends on how often you and your peers want to hit milestones. As a rule of thumb, weekly meetings are a good starting point. This will allow everyone to share their business challenges or personal development plan progress. Meeting frequently will also help prevent overly-long sessions.
Location
You’ll also need to decide where your mastermind group meetings will take place. A great idea is to host business or self improvement meetings virtually using video/audio conferencing tools such as Zoom, Teams or Google Meet etc. Virtual meetings are great because they offer flexibility and practicality when Mastermind members are located around the world. If you are all local – you can meet at a central office, cafeteria or local library. For sport-related activities, consider meeting together in a gym or doing some exercise together outside.
Schedule
Last, but not least – you’ll want to set the schedule for your mastermind group. Now that you have chosen them members, duration and meeting frequency you can pick a time and day for meetings which best suits all your members. This will ensure consistency so your members know what to expect and when. Do not fall into the trap of “we’ll figure it out during the week” – as it will derail your personal development plan or business goals right from the start. Set the exact time and day and make sure it’s scheduled in everyone’s calendar. What’s not scheduled – doesn’t get done. It may be helpful to book specific dates on your calendars for upcoming meetings in the next 3-6 months.
What’s next?
Download this checklist as a tool to start building your Mastermind. Attract like-minded people and start some interesting conversations.
Are you struggling to find your first Mastermind members? ACHIEVEup is made to solve this problem. It’s specifically designed to help people can connect, collaborate and network with others who have similar goals.
We look forward to seeing your success on your Mastermind journey. Good Luck!
