We’ve all heard the gloomy statistic that more than half of new businesses fail during their first five years. One of the ways you can build a more resilient business is by tapping into the power of a mastermind group, also known as a peer group. There are universal challenges that many entrepreneurs and business owners experience and mastermind groups can help you navigate the choppy waters of entrepreneurship.
What is a Mastermind Group?
The term “mastermind group” is defined as a small group of individuals with similar characteristics that meet on a regular basis and serve as a catalyst for business growth. For CEOs and business owners, the group usually consists of non-competing organizations and there is a high level of confidentiality required. This creates a safe space for members to share and go beyond the surface level of challenges that they’re dealing with personally and professionally.
Other key characteristics of mastermind groups are accountability, commitment, and structure.
Accountability
Every business starts with a vision and there are strategies that need to be transformed into action items in order for a business to thrive. Mastermind groups provide a peer accountability think tank where members are challenged to set goals and create the plan to reach them through the process of a peer brainstorm. Members share experiences of wins and losses so that there’s a unique collective approach to goal setting and consistent check-ins to ensure follow-through.
Commitment
A high level of commitment is fundamental for any relationship to work. Being consistent and showing up for meetings helps to build trust – which is beneficial to the purpose of these kinds of groups. Your mastermind group is also your support system. It’s a professional network of individuals that genuinely want to see each other succeed.
Structure
Without structure, it’s easy for meet-ups to go off task. Mastermind groups are typically led by a facilitator or moderator and always follow an agenda to ensure that the conversation is balanced and that the time spent in session is being maximized.
A Mastermind Group Gives You a Competitive Edge
The most popular benefit of EO membership is forum, which is essentially a mastermind group. Forum provides a space for the complex intersections between business, personal life, and community engagement to be addressed so that you can achieve fulfillment in all of your endeavors. It’s the highest-rated benefit of EO membership. Each member’s contribution is crucial to the group. By surrounding yourself with other CEOs, you tap into a unique network of professionals that can give you a competitive edge.