High-End Mastermind: Why you need to start one NOW
Chances are, at some point in your career, you’ve probably thought about the idea of building a digital product or online course.
Digital products and services have been touted as “the way” to generate 6-figures or more in revenue for your personal brand.
But the so-called “gurus” that make these recommendations seldom reach such income levels. And if they have, they often fail to show the immense amount of time and work necessary to create a profitable online product.
Today we are going to challenge you with the idea that digital products aren’t always the best way to start. Instead, consider creating a mastermind.
Perhaps you’re highly knowledgeable or skilled in a particular field. You’re a consultant, entrepreneur, influencer, strategist, or coach. If this is you, you need to consider starting a mastermind group.
Now we know what you’re thinking. Creating a mastermind sounds overwhelming. And the truth is, that it genuinely requires a combination of preexisting expertise, hard work, and a willingness to level up. But it is all worth it because a well-executed mastermind group is a surefire way to put your entrepreneurial journey on steroids.
Building a mastermind helps you achieve rapid success in your business and provides you with a core foundation on which to fund and explore future business products, services, and endeavors.
Although there are many kinds of masterminds out there, in this post, we are going to focus on professionally run mastermind groups (paid).
If you are looking for information on peer-led mastermind groups, I’d recommend checking out the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Napoleon was one of the very first people to talk about how masterminds support positive growth and change.
So let’s break down what a paid mastermind is…
What is a mastermind?
Meet Richard Hawthorne.
He’s an architect with over 23 years of experience designing buildings. He’s at the point in his career where he wants to serve at a higher level while also increasing his income and impact.
Richard decided that he wanted to help people pass the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). After doing some research online, he felt discouraged and overwhelmed by his options for knowledge sharing.
Should he build a course? Write a book? Start a monthly program? Every option seemed daunting and inaccessible in his current circumstance.
Luckily, a wise friend suggested that he start a paid mastermind group. Tickled by the idea, Richard began his journey.
He tapped the people in his network that he knew would benefit from his knowledge and expertise. Richard was confident in his ability to add strategic value and results.
Starting small, he was able to get ten people to join him over the next 12 months at a price point of $6,000 each. During that time, he coached, consulted, and connected the people in his mastermind group.
Members of his group went on to pass the necessary exams to kickstart their careers. Others went on to design award-winning multi-million dollar buildings, and some even joined forces to create robust architectural firms.
Richard was experiencing financial freedom on a level he was unfamiliar with, and the combination of making more money while helping people had never felt so empowering. Word began to spread as members started sharing their success stories with their networks. Pretty soon, others in the architecture and building fields yearned to tap his knowledge and learn his secrets.
The possibility of creating more groups, and expanding his knowledge to the online digital product realm finally seemed like a logical next step.
Thankfully, the cash flow from his existing mastermind groups was secure and could be utilized for the production, marketing, and set up costs needed to take his newfound business to the next level.
This is the power of a paid mastermind group.
While the story about Richard is fictional, the results of starting a mastermind are not unlike the results our clients at PersonalBrand have seen.
In essence, a mastermind is a group of people who meet regularly and push one another towards mutual growth and improvement, particularly in a specific field or industry.
While there are many ways to design and run mastermind groups, we believe that the most successful ones are run by leaders who have built the skills, confidence, and network needed to serve and nurture a specialized group consistently.
If you already possess the credibility in your marketplace, people see you as an expert, and your clients are begging to tap further into your knowledge bank, you are well-positioned to start a mastermind group.
As the leader of a mastermind group, you will be expected to empower others to set and crush powerful goals, share your advice and insights on various topics/problems, and connect members in a way that will make a material impact on their personal and professional life.
And even if you aren’t the pinnacle of your industry, you can still utilize the best people in your existing network to stimulate learning and sharing. (Take Joe Polish’s Genius Network for example)…
So now that we’ve qualified you as the perfect candidate for starting a paid mastermind, here’s why you should!
Why you should start a paid mastermind before launching a digital product:
1. Masterminds are a low cost, high margin entry point for a thought leader business
Building a mastermind doesn’t require a lot of cost upfront, just a lot of sweat equity.
You don’t need to spend money on marketing dollars to acquire leads or sales to support your mastermind; all it takes is leveraging the key contacts in your network.
This also means that you can be selective of who joins, eliminating the tire kickers and those that would hold the group back. Because the group is highly curated, you can justifiably charge more.
Combining these factors with the low cost of starting a group makes the perfect recipe for high profits.
2. Masterminds are the catalyst for word of mouth marketing
“A personal brand isn’t what you say about yourself; it’s what others say about you.” – Michael R. Hunter
So the question then becomes, “How do you get the most people talking about you?”
Well…you get people results! When people experience change and transformation in their life, they can’t help but share it.
A well-executed mastermind will lead to measurable success within your group, which is sure to bring out raving fans. Raving fans share the results of their experience with their existing network accelerating your credibility and influence. (And one strategy to integrate into your Mastermind is your testimonial gathering approach! Make sure to intentionally document and share your clients’ stories and successes with the world.)
Imagine if the ten people in your mastermind told ten people about their experience. And those ten people shared with another ten people. You would have a community of a thousand eager and highly aware fans, which could result in an over six-figure business. No ad spend, no social media slavery, just pure word of mouth marketing!
3. Masterminds are the optimal launchpad for accelerating your thought leader business and personal brand
Imagine when you look back in a few years how thankful you’ll be for going through the process of creating a mastermind.
Through the journey, you will have created the foundation, frameworks, content, and community needed to launch the next phase of your thought leader business.
A paid mastermind group will allow you to figure out the important pain points in your industry, which you can help solve and use as content for future training.
You’ll get real-time feedback on frameworks, ideas, and potential new products. Not to mention, your mastermind members will act as an eager group of beta testers.
These results-driven members are sure to be your best advocates when it comes to promoting and plugging any new products you release in the future. Your members have the potential to become your affiliate network.
It’s easier to justify spending a lot of your time working with higher-level mastermind clients, versus slaving away creating digital products that are costly to produce and require regular upkeep.
It can also be challenging to measure the success and results of each member and ensure the completion of your training.
Lastly, creating a highly profitable mastermind group will allow you to build up the revenue needed to support your next business moves financially.
Whether it’s creating an online course, launching a book, hiring, or hosting an in-person seminar, your future self will thank you for allocating the dollars necessary to give you a boost in making your knowledge sharing dreams a reality.
Final Thoughts
Launching a mastermind group isn’t something I’d recommend if you are very early on in your wisdom-based business. However, if you’ve been around for some time, feel confident in your ability to serve your clients and pay attention to some of these guidelines, you can create a sustainable and meaningful new resource for your business.
We’d like to hear from you! What are your biggest questions about running a mastermind group?
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