What Do You Do In a Mastermind Group?

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:05:55 +0000

Many of you have asked me what we do in my Mastermind Group, so I thought I would share the general happenings from our Mastermind meeting last week in L.A.

Here’s a photo of my group: from left to right – Sandy Grason, Sandra Martini, Andrea Blackwood Harriott, Alexandria Brown (head coach), Jane Button, Carolyn Ellis, Fabienne Fredrickson, Toni O’Bryan, Valerie Hayes, Jayne Brodie, (yours truely) Elizabeth Potts Weinstein.

Our mastermind group has a few components, including monthly meetings by telephone, a yahoo group for us to exchange emails, and we get six 15-minute coaching calls with Ali. But the core of the group benefits are the meetings we have three times per year.

At the meeting, each person gets 45 minutes to do whatever they want – to discuss particular issues or problems, to go over a business plan or new project idea, or to just brain dump a bunch of ideas and see what the group thinks.

During my session, I went through my current plans and asked the group some specific questions. I handed out a spreadsheet I had created that summarized all my marketing campaigns and my product funnels, and we talked about my target market and the group asked me to identify my passion. But the biggest part for me was just that the group made me focus on what I wanted to do, stop doing what I "should" do or did not enjoy, and help me figure out how to spend my time for the next 9 months.

Listening to everyone else’s presentations was very helpful to my own business — new marketing ideas, new wasy to spin my current offerings, and new ways to outsource work. Our head coach, Ali, also gave us some "insider-only" information about what she does in her million-dollar business, what works for her, and what she has changed to triple her income in just one year. And then at the end of the meeting, we went around the room and each person said what they are going to do by the next live meeting (90 days) and by the next telephone meeting (10 days).

This Mastermind group is a great balance of working with a coach and working with a group. There’s a clear leader to pass on information, give her opinion, and keep us on track. We also have the collective wisdom and experience of a group that provided more valuable feedback and ideas than any one person (no matter how great of a coach one person may be).

Ali launches her 2008 platinum mastermind groups at her next Online Success Blueprint Workshop in November. You can learn about the OSBW at her free preview calls – see you there!

Vacation With Toddler

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:20:52 +0000

We just got back from our first real vacation-with-kid, to the Big Island in Hawaii (pictures to come when I find the cord to connect the computer to my camera). When I say "real," I mean a vacation that was not people tagging along on a business trip, or a trip to visit family. I mean a vacation with no actual purpose, except to relax and spend time together. But is vacationing with a 2 year old relaxing? In a word … no. Not really. I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation, and was excited to put Gracie back in preschool on Monday. As wonderful of a time as we had, as a family, with minimal business work (Mark worked 1-3 hrs/day and I still checked email) in one of the most beautiful locations on earth … it was not really a complete vacation for me. Because even though I didn’t take my business with me, I still took my kid and my husband. So a big part of my "work" was still there. And, since Mark threw out his back on the first night, and then caught a bad cold the next day, I had two babies to mother. So now I am planning a girls-only, adult vacation for just me. I’m planning to visit a college friend this summer (who is still sans-child), for adult-only, no-kids, no-boy fun. As much as I love and cherish both my family and my business … sometimes I just need a break!

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein » business trip

What Do You Do In a Mastermind Group?

Vacation With Toddler