Joining a mastermind group is a critical first step to success in your business. Driven entrepreneurs like you who want to grow thriving businesses will benefit from the accountability, candid feedback and timely advice given in a mastermind group.

This is the first part in a three-part series that will teach you exactly how to create an amazing business mastermind group.

First, let’s cover the basics…

What is a Mastermind Group?

In short, a mastermind group is simply a small group of people who meet on a regular basis to help each other accomplish goals.

Sounds simple, right?

You’re right, it is simple. Simple things can often have the most profound impact upon our lives.

Think about the lane marker stripes painted on the roads that you drive every day. Those are incredibly simple additions to the road, and we never think much about them.

That is, until it’s a dark, stormy night, and it’s raining buckets and the faded lines are difficult to see against the glare of the headlights from oncoming traffic.

It’s at those times we realize just how important those lines are, even though they’re so simple. They provide boundaries, and help us stay in our lane to get to our destination safely and quickly.

Mastermind groups are a lot like those lane marker stripes. They provide clarity, they provide structure, they keep us focused on the road ahead, and help us to get to where we want to go as efficiently as possible.

Note: While mastermind groups can be used for many purposes (religion, health and fitness, therapy, education and study, addiction recovery, etc), the rest of this article will focus on business-related mastermind groups.

Mastermind groups that focus on business can be categorized into one of these two general formats: peer-driven, and guru-led.

Peer-driven Business Mastermind Groups

A peer-driven business mastermind group is a small group of 3 to 6 individuals who are at roughly the same level in their journey.

Ideally, no single person in the group is more than a step ahead or behind on the journey. This helps everyone feel like they can give and receive roughly the same amount of value in their group.

In a peer-driven mastermind group, it is very easy to develop a close-knit, familial environment of shared purpose and accountability to your goals.

Guru-led Business Mastermind Groups

A guru-led business mastermind group can range in size from 4 to 20 people.

In this setting, the guru (or the organizer, or person in the leader role) is often two or more steps ahead of the members of the group.

The person in this leadership role is primarily giving more to the group members than they are receiving, which is why these groups are often paid membership groups with recurring fees that can easily soar into multiple thousands of dollars.

Think of this guru-led group as a mentor-mentee coaching relationship, but instead of a one-to-one coaching experience, more people are involved in the coaching sessions.

The guru-led style of business mastermind group can be lucrative for the leader, because they can more easily scale their effort. The leader can help more people with the same hour of attention than if they were focused only on a single client.

The guru acts as meeting facilitator, advisor, and arbiter of success, so it’s important you ask critical questions before signing onto their group so you know their background, their track record, and how you will measure success.

The right guru-led mastermind offers the participant a chance to get special advice from a knowledgeable expert in their area of interest—at a much more affordable rate than if it were a devoted, one-on-one coaching commitment.

Which Format is Right for Me?

In both cases—in peer-driven and guru-led groups— you can expect your mastermind group to be made up of well-screened, like-minded people who are committed to the following common goals:

  • Accountability
  • Advice
  • Encouragement
  • Feedback
  • Results

When those objectives are met in your group, you’ll see profound success, regardless of if it’s peer-driven or led by some facilitator or guru.

Are you ready to take the next step and recruit a close-knit group of entrepreneurs that can help you level-up your business? If you’re ready, keep reading…

Next Steps…

Continue on to the next guides in this series:

Part 2: Your 11 Questions for the Group Organizer
Before you entertain joining a business mastermind group, you need to ask these fundamental questions.

Part 3: The Essential Questions to Screen Mastermind Group Members
These are crucial questions for screening members for your mastermind group.