What is Masterminds?

My business, PopUpFunds.com, didn’t just happen. I didn’t pitch ideas to investors, go through an incubator or even hire a development firm. I had a couple of people who are experts on a couple of things. The rest has been research, research, research and the mindset of, ‘just do it.’ I also had something most need but do not have. A mastermind group.

What is Mastermind? Nope, not that game you played when you were 10. It is simply a small group of like minded, purpose driven people that help you: set and keep goals, narrow your focus, give tip and advice, and more.

Small group/like minded:

Our group is small: 5 women. For me the ‘all women’ aspect is important. We are all moms juggling the bulk of the household/kid duties while trying to find direction on what our next step in life is. We were also chosen by our “moderator”. She is the one that wanted to start the group and chose us because we are all naturally  driven personalities. We are the ones that get things done at school and are reliable. We were people who had come to a crossroads and needed to find a new direction.

Help you set and keep goals:

When we started our mastermind group I didn’t have a concrete goal. My last kid had started kindergarten and I told everyone that I was taking a year to ‘think’. I wanted a school year to clear the 10 years of little kid clutter form my mind and find the ability to concentrate again.

After my first meeting, my goals were… and this is not a joke…ask a fellow gym member what training is involved for a triathlon, ride a bike to a friends house (I hadn’t been on a bike in 20 years) and go to a weekly painting class. That’s it. Weekly, my fellow masterminds would text me, asking how it was going. And I would text them asking about their goals.

Eventually after a few months, my mind did clear and the idea for PopUp Funds came to me. Who were the first people I ran the idea by? My mastermind group!

Narrow your focus:

After pitching my idea to the group, they helped me narrow down what my first steps should be. This is where having people from different backgrounds help. The corporate business mom pointed out things that I would need to research and be aware of. Another helped me brainstorm what steps should be taken first and what I could wait on. And they all helped me set REASONABLE goals for that month, making sure I didn’t overstretch myself.

Give tips and advice: 

Throughout this process, the group has been a great course of… NO. It seems negative, but in reality it is freeing. Many times we load our plate with too much and then wonder why we can’t get it all done. When you are trying to start something you want to say YES to everything. This group has been great at looking from the outside and giving me confidence to say NO to ideas that don’t get me directly to my goals. They also ask the hard and uncomfortable questions that friends won’t. Receiving advice from a more unfiltered group is necessary when you are trying to grow.

Ready to start your own Mastermind group? Take some time and think about who will drive you to be the best. And check out this post from Becky Mollenkamp on how to get started. Or hop on over to my other post about the Do’s and Don’ts for your mastermind group.

Need to streamline the rest of your life while you are at it? Give PopUp Funds a try.