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Like prepping for a red carpet event, running a business takes a village. In other words, you need the unsolicited advice, ideas, wit, and wisdom of other like-minded business owners. Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie knew this all too well. That’s why you’ll find their names in history books as champions of the mastermind concept.
If you want to transport your business to the future, a good mastermind group can make your dreams a reality. But should you really pay for one, since there are millions of free masterminds out there?
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What Is a Mastermind?
Simply put, a mastermind is a small group of people who meet regularly to share their challenges and experiences. Additionally, they support each other in achieving their goals.
Such a group combines peer accountability, brainstorming, support, and education to inspire its members to develop better personal and business skills. Being a part of one helps you set great goals and work toward accomplishing them.
The members contribute to the discussion through their wisdom, experience, resources, and networks for the support and benefit of the individual in focus. A mastermind group can talk about any topic and use any format to exhaustively address it.
A Facilitator Steers a Mastermind Group
Either the members themselves or a leader or facilitator can run a mastermind group. The facilitator is ideally in charge of steering the group in the right direction. They help the members get into deep, thoughtful discussions that create success for each one of them.
Moreover, it is the facilitator’s responsibility to ensure the group runs smoothly. Even high-performing individuals experience conflicts in a group setting that need to be addressed by a neutral party. The leader also helps manage time and ensure everyone gets a chance to speak.
Being in a room with high-level business people is in itself uplifting and inspiring. Hearing everyone open up about their challenges and experiences is enough reason to keep it moving. What’s more, it is a safe atmosphere where you can talk about your own struggles, wildest dreams, fears, and goals and hear valuable feedback.
Should You Pay for a Mastermind?
The short answer to this question is a resounding yes! Here are four reasons why a paid mastermind works.
1. Commitment
The admonition, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be,” holds true in life, even in mastermind groups. There’s a linear relationship between money and commitment. In short, when you pay for something, you will be careful to follow through with it. Otherwise, you will feel like you’ve wasted a precious commodity.
So if you want to be committed to your mastermind, put some money on it. This will motivate you to show up for the meetings and fully participate.
2. Presence of a Facilitator
Apart from commitment, the facilitation offered in a paid mastermind goes a long way in making it effective. A leader is hands down the major player for a successful group. Often, free masterminds are run without a leader.
However, without a leader, the group will lack direction. The issues that come up will go unaddressed. Worse, the discussion could hit a dead end. Moreover, quiet members might not get an opportunity to say anything at all.
An efficient leader ensures the meeting runs smoothly. Additionally, they carry out important administrative tasks such as posting and replaying meeting announcements.
Furthermore, they know how to keep members accountable. You need someone to keep the group on track and keep you honest.
Granted, a mastermind run without a leader may register success. However, this is sure to be limited. Eventually, most such groups will fizzle out.
3. Quality
Paid masterminds are curated to register better success. That is, facilitators know how to group the members according to their experiences, goals, and stages of business.
For example, business owners with complex problems are often placed together, while those in the beginner stages are placed in another group.
This way, novice business leaders aren’t scared when they hear about the challenges that await them. In the same breath, experienced business owners can get feasible solutions from equally experienced folks.
4. Reward for Effort
Finally, a good mastermind leader combines coaching, consulting, and training to offer value to a group. What’s more, they will make use of a business coaching toolkit to sharpen their skill and effort to facilitate a mastermind group. This takes commitment, time, and consciousness. The benefit you get from an experienced and skilled leader warrants your hard-earned money.
A Good Mastermind Will Pay for Itself in the Long Run
In case you are wondering if you should dig deep in your pockets for a paid mastermind, we hope you know what to do. Take a risk and trade your coins for a quality mastermind. If done well, those coins will come back to you accompanied by their relatives.
Paying for the right mastermind group will keep you committed, accountable, and active during the meetings. Of course, there are other factors at play here, such as the size of the group, competency of the leader, and seriousness of the group in general. But it all begins with shelling out your cash for a valuable mastermind.