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How To Use Mastermind Groups To Evolve Your Business

When I started my first business I thought I had researched my company name well, but what I found after about a year was that I more often than not would shorten the name. The shortened name's trademark was registered to another company and my company would eventually run into some limitations if I was to continue to use this name.

I used the concept of mastermind to find the right name and then the tag-line to transform my company's brand. It saved me a large amount of money and time and I ended up with something far better than I could get on my own. Let me explain a few things about mastermind first and then I'll let you know how you can use mastermind for small focused projects or to help grow your entire business.

What is mastermind?

The concept of mastermind was coined by Napoleon Hill (Master Mind) in his book Think and Grow Rich when he refers to the most successful people relying on their peer groups to help them come up with solutions and strategies around their issues. People such as Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie.

When you spend time with other people who think like you, the ideas start flowing. Have you ever had one of those coffee meetings where a new business idea is born? I will cancel meetings sometimes to be able to spend time with these people because the energy between us is larger than our two separate energies. Our ideas are magnified, or ability to see opportunity is cleared, as if a veil has been lifted. It is an incredible experience and after I leave these types of meetings I am motivated to implement new projects or products.

How does it work?

As individuals we can be confident and self-guessing at the same time. We can only see our own perspective. It is why we ask other people's opinions. In a mastermind group the people are chosen to fit together. You are not asking an opinion of an unwitting spouse, but asking the opinion of a person that has agreed to perform at their prime to bring their expertise to your requests and in return you will bring your expertise and perspective to theirs.

Like group coaching, a good mastermind group should have a facilitator and rules to help manage the group dynamic. The participants should all be evaluated to fit in the group and they should sign a contract stating their commitment to the group. The best participants are truly interested in seeing the growth and success of the others in the group as much as they are looking for that growth for themselves. I have found that with this attitude a participant will get much more information and ideas from the group, because every issue or struggle or idea could be applied to a similar situation in their own business. The answers and suggestions offered by other members will make their own process more valuable and functional.

There are some key points to consider when setting up a mastermind group.

What are the benefits?

There are two main benefits of belonging to a mastermind group, tangible and intangible.

Tangible Benefits

I quickly realized some tangible benefits when I re-branded my company name and tag line. In four weeks I would take a list of business names I had researched to my BNI meetings. I would tell people something important about my company brand and then I would ask people to tick their top three names. I also asked for comments and for other suggestions. Each week I could create a list of the top names and would get new names to evaluate. I would add the new names in the next week with the top three from the week before and talk about something difference and important to my company brand. After 4 weeks I had the name down to a clear winner. It met all my branding requirements and spoke to my client's needs. It was not the one I had initially picked, but it was better. I used this process for my tag-line and modified it for my second business as well. This was a great example of the tangible benefits mastermind groups provided for me.

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