I went to a blogging conference last year in Orlando. Hundreds of bloggers and online business owners gathered to learn about trending topics from Facebook advertising to business law for online professionals. It was an immersive three full days of keynotes, workshops and networking. I remember flying home wanting to read anything but topics about online businesses – my brain was fried! I learned so much in those three days though and when I got back to my normal routine I was motivated to put those things into action. But you know what happened? I forgot almost everything I learned that week. Sure, some of the tips were engrained in my brain and if I got my conference workbook full of notes out, I’m sure it would trigger some great ideas. But the truth is, like most of these conferences and seminars the experience of being there and the people you meet end up being the catalyst for what you really take home from it.
The experience. When I think back to that conference, it’s not the content that triggers my memories of being there. It’s the conversations, the people and what I have gained from those people since then. We were all challenged to start a “mastermind” group – essentially a small group of like-minded professionals who meet regularly to encourage, support and help each other improve their businesses. I went home and a few weeks later found 3 other people with small businesses that all live hundreds of miles away. We have since then met over video conference weekly to help each other in our endeavors. Do we all have the same business? Not at all. Are we all at the same level of business success? Nope. In fact, the diversity of our group actually helps us to be that much more effective. We can bounce ideas, knowledge and advice off one another because we all have something unique to offer. We all have weeks where one or more of us is not so productive, life gets in the way or we just are discouraged about our business. But we all come together to talk about it and after every call we always feel a little more confident, motivated and smarter in our business. Every single time.
If you are new in your business or if you have a well-established company or organization, I can’t stress how important it is to start a mastermind group of your own. If you are unsure where to start with finding people, start with Facebook. Find a Facebook group specific to online business or blogging. You may already be in one. Simply post to the group introducing yourself, what you do and if anyone would be interested in meeting over video conference or whatever. Make sure to specify what would be best for you to learn from. If your business is ministry, non-profit or brick and mortar, ask for people who are using the same platform. If you are a blogger, influencer or artist, find people who are doing the same. They don’t have to be in the same industry, niche, product line or topic but it’s helpful if they have the same platform so you can use each other to build your businesses effectively.
For video conferencing, there are some free options out there so you don’t have to pay to meet. Both Zoom and EZTalks are great options which allow multiple users to conference, mute (if you have a barking dog or busy kids in the background), and screen sharing. Both have a max of 40 minutes per meeting with the free version. Our group either wraps up at the 40 min mark or starts another call immediately to finish out our meeting each week. The screen sharing feature is an extremely helpful tool. We use it when we need help or to demonstrate something that is valuable to our group or to show where we are stumped and need help with something.
If your group all live locally, you can meet up in person as well. Be sure to bring your laptop and choose a coffee shop somewhere that you can focus and freely discuss your business ideas together. I would also suggest creating a private Facebook group for your mastermind group. I have found this to be the best place to keep in touch between meetings, post resources or tips discussed and to ask questions throughout the week. We also use the page to post scheduling conflicts, and call information so having the group private is a good idea.
If setting up a mastermind group sounds intimidating to you, it’s okay! It can feel a little awkward video chatting with people you have never met before but even after one call, you will be glad you took the leap to do so. We always go in a sequence so everyone can have a chance to update everyone on their business and talk about what they need help with. The group provides great accountability since you know you will be updating your group weekly with your productivity.
I can’t stress enough how important having a mastermind group is to your business. It’s easy to do, can be done virtually anywhere and the best part is it’s free! What do you have to lose? I challenge you to start one today. Get out there and find some people. They will become your biggest cheerleaders, I promise you!
