Ep 66: What a Mastermind Can do for You and Your Business

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Dawn McGruer:

Welcome to episode 66 of Dawn of New Era, the podcast with a difference, covering all things marketing, motivation, and mindset. And in today’s episode, we’re going to be looking at the benefits of a mastermind. It’s one of those things that I think many business owners are aware of. They hear people talking about masterminds, but what really is a mastermind?

Well, they really are group where you can get this sense of connectivity and conversation. And I honestly think that it really helps keep moving your business forward. Because quite often in business, it’s easy to stagnate. It’s easy to stay at the same level. If we get comfortable in a business and we are bringing in money and we’re making profit and our business is ultimately sustainable, sometimes it’s difficult to scale to that next level because we need the sense of community sometimes to bolster what we’re doing.

You have people outside of your business supporting you

And I feel that sometimes creativity comes from all of those types of conversations. And most importantly, it tends to be the types of conversations that are not necessarily happening during the working day. And what I mean by this is that I believe that masterminds are absolutely critical insights in terms of leveling up faster in business and getting this kind of collaboration in place.

Because when I’ve been part of masterminds myself, one of the things that has been so important is having people from the outside of your business supporting you, looking in, stepping back and seeing the bigger picture, because these types of conversations that I’m talking about, that happen on these masterminds, can be sometimes just sitting over dinner, having a drink. If you’ve gone away on a three day retreat or something like that.

I run a retreat in Marrakesh and it’s called the strategize and energize retreat. Now, it’s five days. The first day everyone arrives, they meet. And the biggest thing, the bond that is formed on that biggest day is the dinner, the welcome dinner. And sometimes friendships are made on these retreats that are lifelong and are so impactful on our journey, because it’s that one time that we are all together with peers who are on the same journey.

When you take yourself out of the business, you start to think differently

We might not have the same goals. We might have completely different businesses, but we’re all striving for the same thing. And that is improving our business but ultimately, enriching our lives. All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy. And this is something that I really believe masterminds help because within my mastermind, the retreat is one of the meetups. And for me, stepping out the business is so critical to get that all important view of what’s happening.

And also, when you take yourself out of the pace of business, you start to think differently. And also, when you’re hearing other people’s views, other people’s struggles, the sense of camaraderie is huge because you start to get a different perspective. Now, everyone will have different experiences. And for me, it’s having these all important, inspiring minds in the room, whereby they’re not there just to listen to what you’re talking about. It’s really important because we are there to help each other.

And this is when a mastermind is truly a mastermind and also truly successful. Because it’s where you share challenges but also successes. You can be open. You can talk about your business. Every single person in my mastermind has signed to say that what goes on, the conversations that happen, they don’t go any further. So you have the absolute confidence in knowing that when you do a meetup or you are having an online call and we’re looking at each other’s business and we’re maybe doing hot seats. We’re talking candidly about things that are going on. And we’re trying to make important decisions, but also sharing very confidential information. We know that it’s going to go no further.

You get instant feedback

And what I love is that on a mastermind, you get instant feedback. And for me, working in business, I started my business at 21 and I’m 42 now. And it’s a long time. Sometimes I have experienced exhaustion, a bit fatigue in my business, where I need to switch things up again. I need to get that energy and refocus.

For me, the mastermind retreat are as beneficial as they are for my clients to my business, because the collaborations that come from that, these are things that you couldn’t plan for. I really believe that to sit down and do a strategy, you can’t sometimes plan for some of the outcomes that a mastermind bring, because it can just be that timely conversation or that spark of idea and it changes everything.

But it really helps me in my business make decisions and really feel comfortable about them. Because if I’m talking to people who have come from all different backgrounds, they have started the business under different circumstances. The viewpoints that you get are just so varied. And as much as I feel experienced in business, I don’t know all. I’m still learning each and every day. I run masterminds, but I’m part of masterminds.

And I think this is really important to share because I am in a 12 month mastermind. I go to LA actually, on Wednesday this week. So if you’re listening back to this, yeah, it’s December time. And this is a key point in the year for me, because it’s the time that I’m not running around. It’s a bit slower. It’s that last part of the year. And I love planning in December because I like to go into January really knowing what I want to be doing.

But most of all, I don’t like going back to work in January when I feel like I’ve got huge amount of tasks to do, like starting new projects. There’s nothing worse than having that time off, be it summer or Christmas, and then coming back and thinking, “Oh, I’ve got to do this.” I like to prep before I go somewhere.

I make better decisions

By having more of these timeouts, not only do I feel like I’m a better leader, better manager, better entrepreneur, but I’m making better decisions. And also, I’m really working in a quite timely, efficient manner because I’m working to that next point. Let’s say I go to LA in December and then I go again in February. And then I’m running my retreat in March in Marrakesh. It means that I time block and not just in my day, but in my year, so that I have these key points that I’m working to.

But one of the things with a mastermind, and you’ll probably relate to this, that as a business owner, accountability is something that you don’t always have because you are the CEO. You could be the top tier of your business. You might not have other people at your level. You might be the only person in your business. Accountability.

I know that when I go to a mastermind, for instance, I’m going to LA on Wednesday. One of the things I’ve done, I’ve prepped, I’m totally on it in terms of sitting down, taking time, thinking about what I want to do. Why do I want to do it? What do I want my life to look like? For me, business is one thing, but I’m in business because I want to have an enriched life. And by enriched, I mean, not being crazy busy, having time to do the things I want, having the freedom and the flexibility that I wanted ultimately, as a business owner, as an entrepreneur.

It helps me get ahead of my competition

When I go there, I’m open-minded. I’m thinking about the synergy that I could have with these people, the collaborations. And that’s what excites me. And sometimes to think bigger about your business, it’s easy to go into that comfort. I’ve been guilty of it many times where you get into that comfy point where you think, “Well, businesses are doing well. They’re turning over. But could they be doing bigger, better things? Could I be doing bigger, better things?”

And sometimes you just need that challenge outside of your business to think differently. But one of the things that I would say that masterminds do for me is it helps me get ahead of my competition, 100%. Because having someone else’s perspective of perception of view in the market, perception of what you do in the market, the need for what you do. Quite often, you’ve got your ideal clients in that mastermind. Often, in my own mastermind and masterminds that I have joined, I see people starting businesses together. I see people collaborating in events. I see people’s businesses change in a matter of weeks.

And this is the difference. Masterminds are not about coming in, teaching, all of those things. Yes, there’s mentoring. Yes, there’s coaching. Yes, you learn so much. But it’s everybody who is in that mastermind is bringing something different. And for me, you have to be really clear on the fact that when you join a mastermind or you think about joining a mastermind, what’s going to happen? How is it going to benefit your business?

A true mastermind is a group of peers who give each other advice and support

Because a true mastermind, for me, is a group of peers who meet to give each other advice and support. It involves brainstorming, educational presentations and discussing issues. And sometimes even personal issues because they go hand in hand. What’s happening in your home life will impact on your business and the decisions you make in that.

If for instance, on a mastermind, let’s say someone said a family member, the parents were ill and they needed more time to support those people. That is important to share because of the decisions in the business. But it also means that there’s a group of people to support you. Many people think these groups are classes, but they’re not. They are an amazing space to grow, not just in your business, but I really feel personally.

And for me, sometimes I’ll be in several masterminds and they are for different things. I constantly want to push myself forward because I have seen such change, not even in past year, but I say even in the past six months of what I want to be doing. What I feel as I get older, as my life changes. And there’s different wants and wishes that I have.

And I think it’s really critical that if you are a business owner, that you invest in yourself. Because going alone, I think I went on my own probably far too long when I was younger. Trying to think, “Well, I can do all this.” And I was doing so much in my business that I was just constantly on the go, but I thought I was so efficient. I thought I was the best planned business person, but I was doing all these tasks that actually, I shouldn’t have been doing.

And then I started to delegate. I started to declutter and I got better and better at that. But it was the outside influence of people saying to me that actually made me think, “Do you know what, Dawn, what am I doing?” You need accountability. And there’s nothing better than just having that knowledge that you’ve got a group of people who have got your back.

And when I started my mastermind, and it’s something that I really wanted to do for a long period of time, I felt such an energy just knowing that the people who were joining it are people that I’m going to learn from, I’m going to connect with. I think the opportunity excites me of a mastermind, even mine or joining someone else’s.

And the fact that you get to travel. Sometimes it’s just in the UK, sometimes it’s abroad, but having truly inspirational places to meet really does change of the dynamic of what you think, and how you think about yourself. You step into the person that you really want to be. You start to behave differently because you know you’ve got this solid team of people that are just really there to catch you sometimes when you might fall. And we all do it. We all hit pitfalls and challenges in our lives.

Have a think about it, think about what you’re going to be doing for the next year. Think about what really motivates you. What excites you? Where do you get your accountability from? And have a look at masterminds. Go and check out my mastermind, dawnmcgruer.com. Have a look. It’s the power circle, elite mastermind.

And we have a rolling enrollment. It’s application because obviously, with a mastermind, it has to be the right person, but it also has to be the right time for that person in the business because you’re making an investment. And you have to be 100% committed, otherwise you’re not going to get the results. But it’s important for everybody on that mastermind to be in that same feeling.

And I always think back to the first masterminds and things I joined and how excited I was. Some I’ve loved, some I’ve not loved. And it’s a journey, but have a look into where your support is going to come from. And if you’re not familiar with masterminds, go and have a look at several. Have a look at different masterminds, how they work. Think about what it is you want and start planning out in a piece of paper, the gaps, the bits that you would like.

If you feel that you’re working very solo and this has happened obviously a lot during the pandemic with people working from home and maybe not as connected in offices in person, or in networking events, think about what a mastermind would do for you. Is it right for you? Is it something that you really, really want to get to? And if it is, then start thinking in your business how you can put that money aside to invest.

Because if I give one word of advice, there is nothing better than knowing that you have some time out, because one of the biggest benefits is that when I’ve been on a mastermind, when I come back, I am absolutely on it. I am loving my business. I am re-energized, I am refocused. And the best bit is I have a strategy. And I feel excited again about some of the projects that maybe have got a little bit gritty or I’ve procrastinated over a bit. I’ve got a new lease of life. And I think being in business, we can’t always stay at the peak performance without sometimes widening our circle, widening our growth and widening our minds and learning.

I hope that was helpful. And yeah, if you would like to connect with me, you know I am dawnmcgruer.com. Come and join me on social media. LinkedIn is my favorite network. It’s the one that I probably spend the most time on. And just send me a message. Just let me know that you listen to this. If you’ve got any questions about anything to do with masterminds, again, I’m absolutely here for you. Have an amazing week. And I look forward to seeing you all soon and connecting in some way online. Have a super week. Take care.

Thank you for listening to Dawn of a New Era podcast. And for your free checklist to find out how to boost your business for growth, profit, and success, and join our community, go to dawnmcgruer.com.