TMBA Masterminds
Behind the scenes at the TMBA, we work with a handful of service providers on a weekly basis (like copywriters, tech folk, sound engineers, etc).
Earlier this year, I was on the phone with one of my favorites. I don't remember exactly how we got there, but I must have been talking about our plans for this year and he said something I didn’t expect.
“Honestly… it’s a bit off-putting to me that you guys only do products for entrepreneurs making over 60K a year.”
Woah.
“I’ve been working for myself for a few years, I'm doing well, and I know I could benefit from the stuff you guys do. But there’s nothing at the TMBA for me aside from the podcasts.”
That stuck with me. I felt that our masterminds could certainly help him.
In the process of trying to describe how, a fellow entrepreneur helped me with a bit of insight that I agree with.
He was discussing how different successful entrepreneurs seemed to be. The paths they took to 'success' were all so unique.
Their success didn't seem to correlate to reading the right books, or being in the right place at the right time, or the information they consumed.
In his estimation, however, there are two things that almost all successful business owners have in common.
I'll paraphrase him loosely:
"One, a willingness at a certain point to stop thinking yet another book or course will solve their problems and take action...
and second, a willingness to change their peer group, and to surround themselves with those making similar changes in their lives."
A mastermind effectively addresses both key issues.
We’ve long believed this.
So much so that we’ve been facilitating them, in one form or another, for 1000s of entrepreneurs since 2011.
But, we just haven’t offered it to the majority of our readers.
Today we’d like to change that.
If you’d like to join a TMBA mastermind, you can get started today.
If, as some of you have indicated to me, you’ve already made the decision to join our first group, you can go to the registration form here.
Registration is open now, and closes on March 7th.
You’ll receive your mastermind placement by March 14th.
Calls with your group will begin as early as March 17th.
As a thanks for those willing to commit early, anyone who registers in the first 72 hours (by this Friday night) will be ‘charter members’ and will have the chance to join for $149 USD. Then, the price will go to the general rate of $199.
For those of you who’d like some more information about this initiative, settle in, it’s going to be a long read!
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When Ian and I started our first business --- waaaay back in 2007 --- we were desperate for anything that would help us to make it work and give us the kind of freedom we desired in our lives (ahem, we wanted to quit our jobs).
Remembering back to those times, it was exciting to be building a business but also isolating. We had a lot of ambition and decent ideas but absolutely no entrepreneurial support network (yes, we tried going to Meetup.com events… with not much success).
We were forced to start our own small group (it took a while, but we finally got it). And, when those phone calls with other like-minds got rolling, we finally felt connected to others who 'got it.'
Those people had been through many of the issues we were facing. They were able to give us feedback and accelerate our growth -- all from spending just an hour a week with them.
I would estimate we shaved years off our learning curve, and eliminated many costly mistakes just by dedicating time each week to those calls. Being accountable, and openly sharing the details of our struggles and challenges, not only helped our businesses to grow but was also liberating.
Since that first mastermind we have stayed active, continuing to participate in masterminds as a way of growing our businesses.
We truly believe that, with enough time and hard work, anyone can use these guides to start their own group.
We sent out some DIY guides to TMBA subscribers over the past few weeks on how to go out and build your own mastermind. Finding the right mix of people and pulling them together in an organized format can be hard work, but few regret it.
For those of you who want to save some time, we’re here to offer a shortcut to being in a mastermind (yours could start 3 weeks from now) and some guidance in getting the most out of it.
We’ll leave the hard work of growing your business to you, but this time you won’t be alone.
For the next 2 weeks, until March 7th, we’re inviting entrepreneurs to sign up to be hand-matched with others who have similar goals. You’ll be placed in an online mastermind, with 3-6 fellow entrepreneurs, based on backgrounds, personality, mindsets and time zones.
Doors will close on March 7th.
What are some of the TMBA Mastermind benefits?
We have found that a phone call, once a week for an hour, with other entrepreneurs is an incredibly powerful way to hold yourself accountable and grow your business.
But being in a mastermind is hard work! The people who join, show up and contribute in meaningful ways week after week, are the ones who tend to see the best results.
The main benefits are:
Being held accountable to your plans and goals. When you are starting a new business, you rarely need to consume more information. Execution is everything. Showing up and setting goals on weekly mastermind calls can be extremely effective.
Assistance and support to overcome challenges. There’s a good chance that someone else in your mastermind has had a similar challenge as you. They are going through it themselves - or knows someone who is or has.
Feedback from like-minded entrepreneurs. When you are a solopreneur, or have a small team, you are all in. Because you are so heavily invested, you are naturally going to have some blind spots. Your mastermind group can provide valuable, objective feedback that can help you spot potential biases, problems and those all important blind spots.
Motivation to push through the dip. When you are setting out to accomplish a difficult goal, it can be reassuring to have a handful of like-minded entrepreneurs who all have a shared interest in your success.
And exposure to the incredible serendipities that arise when smart people understand your core challenges and goals in business.
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What is the TMBA Mastermind format?
We recommend the hotseat format, which gives a different person each week the chance to dive deep into a goal, or challenge, that they want to work through and have the other members on the call give them feedback on.
These calls start out with 15 minutes of accountability check-ins, where everyone talks about the goals and progress they made from the last call, and sets out a vision for what they want to be held accountable for next week.
I’ve spent many a late night finishing the work I promised I would to my mastermind partners and my business is better off because of it.
Here's some comments we've received from readers after a recent round of masterminds:
“The accountability is great - I'm already making major progress, just after two weeks. It's great to have such a varied range of experiences, and expertise in the group, and then get feedback and ideas from all of their perspectives.” - Jed C.
“After the first week I spent about 10 hours working on systems and processes in my business, all inspired by our first call. It's great.” - Craig H.
“Joining a mastermind helped me stop doing stuff that doesn't really matter in terms of trying to grow my business. They helped me with some strategies to stop spending so much time doing tasks that I shouldn't be doing myself, but rather outsourcing and focusing on higher level strategy.” - Josh D.
Who should join a TMBA mastermind?
You must have a defined project in motion. That could be a few clients, a registered domain name and website, or a product and be accepting payments from customers or clients.
These masterminds are specifically for people who are serious about growing and up-leveling their business. You can be running it full-time, part-time, or as a true side hustle that you are building on nights and at weekends.
Some of the most successful and long-standing masterminds have included ecommerce businesses, Amazon FBA sellers, consultants, agency owners, SaaS startups, productized services, coaches and authors.
While your business doesn’t need to be large, there are a few more criteria that will greatly improve your mastermind experience:
Be able to attend a 1 hour long mastermind call every week.
Be able to spend time working on your business consistently each week (ideally at least one hour every day) to achieve results.
You are open to accepting honest - sometime critical - feedback from other entrepreneurs in your mastermind.
A mastermind isn’t a good fit for you at this time if you regularly find yourself going extended periods of time without regular consistent WiFi access, or you have a hectic travel schedule where you are rarely in the same place for more than a few days.
If after reading all of this, you think a mastermind would be a good fit:
Here’s where you can sign up. (There’s a one-time match-making fee of $199 USD).
This service is designed to eliminate the hassles of finding and vetting new members. It includes email support and training to help you schedule, and set up, your mastermind to have a solid foundation for success.
The $199 fee pales in comparison to what you’ll be called on to contribute as a regular member of a mastermind, in both time investments and energy. Not only are good mastermind members going to encourage you to take bold (and time expensive) action in your business, but they’re going to suggest that you make monetary investments in staff, services, contractors, and more.
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FAQs (many asked by TMBA subscribers, thanks!)
If you have other questions, let me know at Dan at TMBA.com and I’ll answer them in the coming week.
What do I need to do to get the most from my mastermind?
The most important thing you can do is show up to, and actively participate in, your weekly mastermind calls. Like so many things, we find the people who consistently show up, give constructive feedback to others in their group, and act on the feedback they receive week after week grow and get the most from their masterminds. We'll be providing you with helpful tips along the way as well.
How do I prepare for mastermind calls?
We recommend spending at least 15 minutes, if not 30-60 minutes, prepping for each mastermind call. In that time, you should reflect on the 1-3 big things you accomplished in the last week and what you hope to accomplish before the next call. We’ll also send training advice, and emails with tips, to help you prepare and get the most from each mastermind call.
I’m a pretty unique person, [insert outstanding fact, achievement or expertise here], am I going to be a good fit for these masterminds?
If there’s one thing that connects TMBA readers it’s that they tend to be delightfully unique. From Wall Street investors to artists, attorneys to MBA students, work-from-home parents to long-time expats, the only thing that connects TMBA readers is their desire to build a life, and a living, on their own terms.
Are there any businesses that you won’t place in masterminds?
Yes, anything that is sleazy, sketchy, or overly cynical. I know that’s vague, but we know it when we see it.
For sure NO’s would be anything related to multi-level-marketing or any business that benefits from criminal activity.
If you have any questions about the fit of your business, just contact us directly.
What happens if the mastermind I was placed in isn’t a good fit?
Just let us know and we’ll work to fix it.
Do you offer refunds?
Yes, we will honor full refunds up to 14 days after receiving your mastermind placement.
Other questions?
Just email Jessica at tropicalmba.com and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you might have.
Thanks for reading!
Ready to join a mastermind?
Here’s the link again where you can register for a mastermind.
It's pretty simple. Just register, fill out the survey, and we'll take care of the rest.
Registrations will be open through Tuesday March 7th, but we're offering a significant discount for those that register within the first 72 hours of this offer.
Mastermind calls will begin as early as March 17th.
Cheers,
Dan
PS, I closed comments since this isn't a typical blog post. If you have questions about anything above you're welcome to email me directly Dan at Tropicalmba dot com.