With people starting to travel again, I’m sure you’ve noticed that in-person industry conferences are back. While most of the speakers are good, many of us have realized that presenters aren’t what make in-person events so valuable; it’s the ability to network with fellow attendees during breaks and post-event happy hours. That’s where we compare notes and best practices, share challenges, help each other with staffing, vendors, and growth challenges.
Often, you meet several peers who have similar interests about growth strategies and are open to sharing. While these contacts can be part of a loose group with whom you keep in contact from time to time, I want to discuss the benefit of forming a mastermind group, a peer-to-peer mentoring group.
Why launch a mastermind?
Launching a mastermind group can be incredibly valuable for CPAs. Doing so will help you grow as a leader and a professional. Trust me, launching and leading a mastermind will force you to up your game. Whether developing your team or developing new clients, a mastermind is a fantastic way to do it at scale. That’s because most CPAs are always looking for ways to leverage their time and use it for high-value work. For more about leveraging your time, see my article Can you earn $10K per hour from your tax practice?
If you’re at a large firm, you can lead a mastermind with different professionals at your firm. If your goal is business development, you can create mastermind groups made up of clients and top prospects. Most CPAs have clients who are successful business owners. One of the challenges faced by many small to midsize business owners is feeling like they’re operating in a vacuum. They have no one else at their company that they can talk to about the challenges of managing and growing a burgeoning business enterprise. Who else is better positioned to facilitate a mastermind of non-competing business owners who are all looking to solve problems than their most trusted advisor — their CPA?
Getting started
First, get clear on the mastermind group’s goal, because that determines who you’ll invite. Next, get clear on the commitment level required of members. Will it be a quarterly, monthly or weekly get-together? I’ve found that the higher the commitment level, the more impactful the group will be.
Who should be invited, i.e., who is going to drive the most value to the group? For example, you don’t want to have several similar businesses in the group who are located just a few miles from each other. If you do, they’re not likely to share as much with the group because too many “competitors” can see their vulnerabilities. But assembling a nice mix of unrelated, non-competing business leaders can work well because they’re all trying to solve the same problems: staffing, processes, cash flow, growth, etc. Which of your clients do you think could have the most to offer you other clients in different industries?
More often than not, participants need a forum to discuss their issues. They can’t discuss issues like these with their staff or spouse. Creating a safe environment of their peers — with their CPA as the facilitator — positions you as the trusted advisor. It’s all about leveraging your time; using masterminds to grow your business in a way that’s helpful for you and your most valued clients.
In addition to having a diverse mix of successful, non-competing business owners, you also want to invite the right mix of personalities. It would be best if you had clients who are not afraid to speak up and share details about the challenges they’re facing. At the same time, you don’t want members who want to dominate the conversation, or try to sell to other members, or are just looking for free therapy or consulting advice. You want members with a willingness to give and take.
In future articles, we’ll talk about how to build and manage the group, set the agenda, establish ground rules, get everyone using the same vernacular, determine your technology needs and whether or not you should charge for your mastermind. We’ll also talk about how to measure the success of the group.
As a facilitator, you’ll need to be on top of things. I know what you’re thinking: “Sounds great, but I don’t have time to launch and manage a mastermind group.” You don’t have time to get in front of your best clients and prospects once a month? Isn’t that your job? Maybe you need to let go of some C- and D-list clients to free up more of your valuable time. Masterminds can be a core part of your service offering along with tax planning and advisory work. For more about getting the most out of your time, see my article: The 64/4 Rule.
What’s your take on mastermind groups? I’d love to hear from you.
