A founder with 25 years in mastermind groups explains how they work: 7 to 11 peers meeting monthly in person to solve problems together. He describes the emotional lift for lonely entrepreneurs and shares how his group helped him financially during a crisis.
It's so healthy to be in a mastermind. I've been in one almost since I started my businesses. So over 25 years I've been in, not the same one, but I've been in masterminds. So here's what a mastermind is, because this has also come bastardized. A mastermind is not a guru, hate that label, who then espouses, here's wisdom. Everyone's got wisdom. What a true mastermind is, they understand that the collective wisdom is more powerful than the individual. The ones I'm in, usually 7 to maybe 10 or 11 people. That seems to be the best size because there's intimacy. Then the challenges, the opportunities, the topics come on the table and the group collectively works on it. So instead of one brain working on what challenge, you got 10 brains working on a challenge. Well, I'm in a group and I went through a very difficult time in my business after losing everything. My daughter offers the piggy bank and we did an exercise of sharing with each other our challenges and this group embraced me. And gave me ideas and thoughts. And a couple people, not asked, said, "Mike, we'll give you money to help you out." It was unexpected and beautiful. And that's not an expectation a mastermind should have. It's just the idea of the collective thought, but it's also shoulders to cry on. And that's probably the most important thing. Entrepreneurship is effing lonely. Like, it is a lonely sport. You talk to, hey, the folks in your community or friends, most won't be entrepreneurs. And so the day you start your business, like, "Oh my God, you must be so happy making so much money and life is perfect for you." I got a sucky job. They think you're crushing it. You're like, all I do is work and I got no money.
My family doesn't even like me anymore.
That's my life. The entrepreneur community is unique. So surrounding yourself with other people and getting together periodically, we do it once a month face to face is how we do it. Not even on Zoom. It's powerful. And just, you have a shoulder to cry on at the bare minimum.
And do you find that most people are willing to share within the mastermind the real struggles? I mean, that's where the value is. So you would hope that they do come forward with those struggles because—
Yeah, they are, but it takes time to get there. Like day one, everyone's like, who's gonna share? When the first person is willing to share a little bit, the next person, and starts this cascade.
