Automate Your Mastermind Group

I currently run three Toronto based Mastermind Groups and while it could be a lucrative opportunity for someone to turn into a full time business, for me it is more about having fun and helping out other entrepreneurs. One of the useful tactics I have used to help the groups succeed is to automate many of the processes around them.

Automation through technology helps give a better experience for the members, reduces my workload, removes me as the bottleneck for many of the processes needed, and allows the meetings to run smoothly.

Here are 3 of the things that we do to automate the process:

1) Goal entry system
At the end of each of our meetings the members are required to set goals for the next 30-90 days. Goal setting is an important part of almost every Mastermind Group that I have seen but ours take it a step further and requires the members to enter their goals into a computer program that we built. The members are forced to come up with their goals for the meeting and are held accountable by committing to the other members. On top of the goal setting feature we require members to partner up and call each other every week at a certain time to follow up with each other on the goals they set and help each other move forward. They have to put into the computer program who is calling who, at what time, and at what number. Again, this creates accountability to a specific person and in front of the rest of the group to follow through on their goals.

2) PayPal meal subscription
Our groups meet once per month on a set Thursday with a starting time of 6:30pm. We have found this to be the most convenient time for everyone to come out. As a result everyone gets hungry and we have the meal catered by a local entrepreneur. The cost is $15 per person for the meal which usually includes a main dish, salad, and dessert. I used to collect cash from the members and pay the caterer but we ran into issues such as people canceling last minute for an emergency and not having exact change on hand. To fix these problems and automate the process we have all the members sign up for a $15 per month charge to their PayPal account or credit card.

3) Goal reminder system
You can have all the goals in the world but you need to follow through on them to create results for your business. As a follow up on the goals that the members set in point number 1, the members are required to call each other at a specific time every week. The day before the scheduled call our program automatically emails the partnered members a reminder to call including who is calling who, what number to call and a list of both members' goals. It is an automated process that removes the excuses members can make such as "I forgot that we had a call scheduled" or "I was not sure what your telephone number was" or "I forgot what my goals were and what my partner's goals were." By eliminating excuses and automating the process we have made a more powerful and effective system for our members.

Do you have any additional ways to automate some of your Mastermind Group processes?

Setting Up A Technology Mastermind Group

The Mastermind Groups that I run each have members from different industries. If you're in the same business, or closely related, you cannot get into the group. The reason we set it up this way is that a) you don't want to share secrets with your competitors and b) chances are you know how things work in your industry - it's better to get ideas from people in different industries to learn how they do things.

There is an alternative way of thinking, however, for many groups where they set up a Mastermind Group for a particular industry. One recent blog post I came across highlighted this trend as the author, Glen Hopkins, shares advice on setting up a Mastermind Group in the technology sector:

One of the best ways I have found to create a mastermind group is through networking. The more you get to know like-minded people in your industry, the better the chances are of forming a powerful mastermind group.

For example, if you are an Internet marketer like me, you might want a computer programmer, a graphic designer, a copywriter and a sales professional in your group. This way, each of you can approach a challenge from a different perspective and offer valuable insight that the others would never have seen.

I suggest you do some research and learn as much as you can about mastermind groups. Start by networking and meeting with other people. Once you've formed a group, you should meet with each other once every week or two. This can be done online or via the telephone.

A mastermind group gives you a way to learn, understand and apply much more than you know now and at a much faster rate than trying to figure it out yourself. Nobody knows it all, that's why entrepreneurs need to help each other by forming mastermind groups.

Mastermind Groups For Technology Entrepreneurs

Technology entrepreneurs are ahead of the curve with new products and tools and many of them are also picking up on the Mastermind Group trend.

A growing trend in Mastermind Groups is to bring together entrepreneurs within the same industry with each member having a different focus. For example, in the technology world, entrepreneurs can specialize in eBay, SEO, Internet marketing, blog marketing, etc and share knowledge and resources to help each other.

Tan Kian Ann writes a blog helping business owners make a living through blogging. He wrote a recent post about the importance of Mastermind Groups for technology entrepreneurs. It included:

1. We need to work in a mastermind group that consist of people that complement each other. Mastering everything is crazy. Members of a mastermind team also help to push each other to keep up with work.

I'm looking forward to seeing more tech focused business owners getting involved in Mastermind Groups and the trend expanding to other industries as well!