Do You Need a Mastermind For Your Business?

When it comes to growing a sustainable business for the long-term, there are many choices out there for how you deal with both the emotional rollercoaster of running a business and the very real challenges between you and your next lantern (our term for a vision-aligned goal).

One of the options out there is the very popular concept of belonging to a business mastermind. A Mastermind is typically a group of business owners who are willing to support one another through the ups and downs of life while running a business.

All Masterminds are not created equal

While you might think, “Great, a supportive group of people who get how wild this journey can be. Sign me up!” There are a few things to consider when choosing the right mastermind for your business. Here are a few things to look for to make sure you pick the right group for you.

Formal and Paid or Informal and Unpaid?

Before you choose a group, first ask yourself, “What do I want out of my participation here?“ If you are looking for more of a social group, an unpaid, informal group might be all you need. This is wonderful if you want to meet with other business owners over dinner, maybe network and share information about what's going on for you.

If, however, you are looking for growth in your business and want everyone to give and receive a high value with their participation, the best choice might be a more formal, paid group. People tend to show up more seriously when they are investing money and have clear lanterns they want to light for their time.

What is the format?

Next, you need to know how you prefer your meetings to be organized. Some mastermind format choices include coach-led vs. member-led. While member-led masterminds can be great if you have someone willing to take the lead who is organized and loves admin, many business owners don’t have the time or bandwidth to spend on coordinating a group to meet.

Your time and energy are precious, so unless the members are all brilliant coaches and consultants who know how to manage time, you may feel the mastermind sessions get imbalanced with one person dominating the conversation and others not getting what they need out of the time.

On the other hand, a mastermind that is coach-led will typically be more organized and evenly distributed. When choosing a mastermind, be sure to find out how the sessions are planned out and how the leader will ensure everyone gets what they need from their experience.

In our Build Your Business Mastermind, we keep our group small and have weekly sessions for everyone to get coached together and opportunities for weekly check-ins and reflections so we can guarantee ample space for every participant.

How is the group chosen?

This is a question you can’t afford to skip. Are the participants interviewed to be chosen? Are they all at similar income levels? Some mastermind co-ordinators insist that folks all be in the same industry, claiming this makes it easier to get everyone on the same page. The downside to this is that some members may be unwilling to share fully, seeing others as competition. Other mastermind coordinators insist that no two folks work in the same field, so that there is no question of competition and therefore a more free and creative exchange of ideas.

What we prefer as Master Superabound Coaches

As coaches and business owners ourselves who have been part of dozens of different masterminds over the years we created our upcoming Build Your Business Mastermind combining our own preferences for what has helped us and our clients most in growing a successful business.

First, this is a paid mastermind. Everyone who joins is making an investment in themselves and their business during this fully coach-led program. Our members don’t have to do anything but accept the call invitations and participate in the weekly sessions, check-ins and reflections. Their ideas and thinking partnership are welcome for one another, but they do zero admin so they can focus fully on getting the most from the program and lighting their next lantern.

Because of that, the dynamics of the group are very important. We make sure everyone is a good fit for the program before our first meeting and facilitate the time in such a way that everyone gets the coaching they need in the way that supports them best. And because our favorite masterminds to have business owners from a variety of industries, we welcome a mult-industry collaboration as much as possible.

If you want to grow your business in a way that doesn’t lead you to burn out, join the Build Your Business Mastermind now or book a no-pressure 30 minute call with us here to see if it is the right fit for you.