How to Make the Most of a Mastermind

A Mentor or Mastermind – How Do You Choose?

I’ll never forget the moment I hired my first coach. It was right after I went to an event and realized that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing to grow my business online.

I was beginning to appreciate the power of the web and growing my business online but I was up to my eyeballs in decisions – what to choose for a niche, what to use for a free offer, what was the best website design, what was the best list building strategy and where should I be marketing my business online?

Many of my friends and colleagues were choosing to enroll in various group programs and Masterminds but I wasn’t feeling it, at least not yet.

At the time I just wanted to work with a mentor who could teach me 1:1 exactly what I needed to do – I wanted undivided attention and rapid growth.

It paid off and I grew my business extremely fast but then I got to the point of not wanting to be an isolated entrepreneur and I wanted to be part of a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who were at my same level or slightly ahead of me and that’s when I decided to join a Mastermind program.

So how do you choose between getting a Mentor or choosing to join a Mastermind program?

Let me help you sort this out for you:

First, you want to look at your specific goals. What is it you’re looking to accomplish in your business over the next year? Write those goals out in detail.

Next, you want to look at what you need to accomplish those goals. For example, if you want to start growing your business online, what do you need to know or be doing to do that? Write that out and if you don’t know then you want to speak to a specialist like an Online Business Coach to see what you need to be doing.

Then you want to decide how fast you want to get to where you want to go. If you’re in a rush then you would want to hire someone who can teach you 1:1. If you have more time then you can consider either a Mentor or a Mastermind program.

Next you want to do your research on mentors to determine who specializes in what you need help with. A great way to do this is to also ask your friends and colleagues for referrals.

After that you want to do the same for Mastermind programs. Look at the features of the programs, the benefits and the commitment.

In putting together my first Mastermind program I purposely considered something that would allow my clients to get the benefit of both, 1:1 private coaching and masterminding. This way my clients would get strategic business building in a small supportive environment, with 1:1 mentorship. 

Having worked with a private mentor and participated in Mastermind programs I can tell you that there’s a time and place for both.

So consider what you need to move your business forward. Evaluate your goals, determine what you need to learn and commit to finding a great mentor and community.

To learn more about my SHINE Online Academy (TM)and to see if it’s right for you feel free to check out the program details here too. 

Now I’d love to hear from you, what do you find valuable about working with a coach? What do you like about being part of a Mastermind program? Feel free to let me know below.

[Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/DavidCastilloDominic]