How to Form a Fantastic Mastermind Group!

Actually Chris,

This is a very timely post...I just had my first
skype conference call on monday. It's great.

All we have to do is figure out how to punch
the person with all the background noise that
is buggering it up for everyone else.

I had one user that sounded like they were in
a hurricane. Once we found out who it was they
were sent to the naughty corner

Take Care,

Michael Silvester

My question is do you get spammed at all when you publish Skype ID on public profiles?

AND you can set Skype where only the people on your contact list can contact you!

Great Idea Chris,

Thanks for the tip

I also use skype- although it can get a little hokey from time to time (hang ups, etc)

This is also an option: VoIP audio and video webmessenger from dotlessdomain.com
http://www.dotlessdomain.com/?include=download

it's free- and you can communicate with as many people as you want at the same time.

I'm a little unclear on who should be in your mastermind group. Should they be people with the same goals? IE: Membership Sites

Should they be friends? Competitors? Do you have to like them? Do they have to like you? Should members of the Mastermind have a verbal or written non-disclosure?

Personally I think of it as a group of friends that like to tease, have fun, and are all in IM. The Friday Night conference that Judy has is the closest to what you propose using Skype I think. It would be different in that each person would propose or ask something they are working on and others would come up with ideas. The Friday night chat goes off into sports and all manner of wild subjects.

OK, but how does that help you find the right people and get them to join (which would seem to be the biggest problems)?

Well, you just described one of my mastermind groups to a tee but it has Kevin Riley in it so you can't expect much more.

In my opinion, the best group will be people with different skills. Each one fills a gap. As an example, one might be a marketer, one might be a programmer, one might be a writer, etc. The main thing is that they need to participate.

The most effective mastermind groups are smaller groups. I had 30 in one group and it was chaos. 10 and under would be best.

You should be developing relationships whether you are starting a mastermind group or not. I have developed a lot of friendships over the years in the WF and that is where I got the people in my mastermind groups. It is critical for every marketer get to know and be friendly with other people. Not just in the WF but in life, too. The people that make a large amount of money do it by leveraging their relationships. Start getting to know a lot of people!

Hope that helps and take care!

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the fantastic post. This is one I will definately be saving for future reference!

Excellent advice, Chris. Thanx for that. It falls directly in line with what I'm trying to do with TENForum.net - make it a place where groups like this can develop and communicate.

As Chris Lockwood said, finding people with the right skillset for a project can be really difficult unless you just happen to know someone already. You need to be able to search from a large pool based on skill/asset criteria. That way, you're more likely to find qualified people and get something accomplished. Yelling out on forums (the shotgun approach) may land you the partner you were looking for, but the odds are against it.

We need the ability to search from a large database of people based on what they bring to the table.

- Russ

I agree with Chris (believe it or not) but the "ideal" mastermind group are like minded folks, but with varied skills. Since my primary skill is article writing and pestering the other folks in my group with other questions when I need help they are there.

The great thing is the fun, jokes, throwing zingers at each other is as natural as sitting around the kitchen table with your friends. However, when it's time to get serious we are there for each other.

If we have a specific thing which needs to be discussed in private with say just one person in the group then we go private in Skype to the one we want to talk to. In fact the private conversations is where possible JV's/partnerships/projects usually come together.

I mentioned this in another thread, but there is one thing which hasn't been mentioned about "MasterMind" groups and that is the accountability to yourself and the other members of your group.

Let's face it when you make a statement or put forth an idea to your group you feel a certain amount of accountability to follow through. This accountability can become a great motivator, especially when the other members keep mentioning and asking you about it. (as long as they don't become a nagging spouse )

A great example of that happened to me just day before yesterday (not the nagging spouse, well that too :p). I was talking one on one with a member of our group and he reminded me about a great domain I had bought. He wanted to know if I had done anything with it and gave me a gentle push to go on and get something going. Frankly, I had forgotten about it, but now thanks to John it's back up on my list of priorities.

I can't say enough about a MasterMind group, from a social standpoint and business standpoint, but the really great thing is your still the boss of your own business and your the one that decides what your going to give and take from this group of MasterMinds.

As Chris said above, you have to participate, you just can't be a lurker and hope to captiliaze off everybody else.

Ken Leatherman
The Old Geezer

My tip for a great mastermind group is to create a group with successful people that take you to the next level. For example, say you make $150,000 per year, I would be in a group with people that make $300,000 per year and up. You become like the people you associate with.