Mastermind Groups Help Build Self & Business
One winter morning a few years ago, Lisa Bell realized she could use some critical insights to grow Global Connections Speakers Bureau, Coconut Creek, Fla., home-based business. She found work-at-home environment isolating, and attending meetings at the chamber of commerce, National Association of Women Business Owners or Meeting Planners International did not fulfill Bell’s need for business critiquing.
So Bell and four small business compatriots sat near a pond, opened a bottle of champagne, and let the ideas, news, successes and the concerns flow. What they created was a MasterMind group, so named by Napoleon Hill, author of the classic business book, Think and Grow Rich.
The participants now dedicate about four hours to uninterrupted meeting, giving each member time to float ideas, concerns, successes or any item in need of feedback. The group uses the meetings to foster inspiration, instruction and motivation, or just “recharge our batteries” – all in a comfortable, confidential setting, Bell said.
“You have to trust the people you’re working with. It’s a creative process, and you bring some delicate issues to the table,” she said. “You have to have a genuine interest in what the other needs. When you break down everything, instead of one mind trying to figure it out, you have four.”
Small-business owners wear many hats to grow their businesses. As a result, they must seek guidance, education, inspiration and business leads from a variety of sources. From local symposiums or workshops, to networking and business card exchanges, the local chamber of commerce, or even recurring meetings among a select group of peers, or a MasterMind group, ideas get bounced around.
The need to learn and experience new ideas is especially keen for small businesses that don’t have corporate dwellers to mingle and share ideas with. Entrepreneurs may read business magazines or browse Web sites for ideas, but attending seminars or networking groups can help foster ideas and new thinking that the person likely won’t discover alone, he said.
By finding a group or training event tied to specific needs, entrepreneurs can augment existing skill sets, strengthen their knowledge base and continue the learning process, said Jim Rohrbach, a speaker and success skills coach associated with Nightingale-Conant Corporation (www.nightingale.com), a producer of audio programs for personal and professional development.
“As part of success, one needs to continually enrich themselves,” Rohrbach said. “Align yourself with organizations where there’s a natural synergy.”
