Your Mastermind Group – A Key Component For Your Future Success

One key thing I have learned over the past few years of attending workshops and garnering techniques from some of the world’s most successful people is: Those people did not get there alone. Success takes support and this issue of Sound Advice will show you how to create a support group that can help you stay on track and achieve your music career success. It’s called a Mastermind Group.

I hear it all of the time – musicians call me up and say: “If only I had a manager,” or a booking agent or a record label etc. And I in turn say: It’s hard to get a manager when you are just starting out. However, it’s not hard to get some help!

For those of you in bands: Does this scenario sound familiar? One person is in charge of doing all of the business affairs and the other members of the band just show up (sometimes they don’t even show up on time!). If you’ve got a band of hired guns, this sadly is your cross to bear. However, if your band is considered an equal team, I highly suggest that you include your band members in your mastermind group. If you are the only active member of your band on the business side that’s OK – you can build yourself some great support with non- band members.

What a Mastermind Group is

A mastermind group is a small team of people that meets one to two times per month, sits down, and brainstorms together, creates goals, makes lists, talks about objectives, and keeps each other accountable so that that you will move forward with your goals and achieve them faster.

What a Mastermind Group is Not

A Mastermind is NOT band bitch session where you air your dirty laundry and get angry at each other (We call that a band meeting ;). A mastermind meeting is a place for goals and a place for action and a place where you can really focus on yourself and your career.

Setting Up Your Mastermind Group

I suggest you create a group of four to six people – if you are married or part of couple and you want to set and achieve goals with your spouse or significant other I suggest a group of 3 couples (it’s OK to have different goals). If you are not part of a couple, I suggest a group of three to four others in addition to you. These people do not have to be in the music business, and it may actually be better if they are not. These people also do not have to be reaching for the same type of goals – they will however need your good input to achieve them, and you will need theirs.

Steps to Take

1. Choose fellow masterminders to invite that you admire and that you look up to.
2. Choose people who are strong self-starters and who know how to get the job done, who perhaps own their own businesses. Having someone in your mastermind group who runs a business will really help motivate you.
3. Preset a scheduled date and time every month or twice a month. The third Wednesday of each month, perhaps. Or a dinnertime every first and third Tuesday of the month – Don’t break your commitment – you need to keep this set time to achieve results. How you handle this mastermind is critical to your success.

Setting Achievable Goals Is Key

Be careful when setting your goals. Start with ones that you can achieve within the first month (redesigning your newsletter, re-writing your pitch, booking one gig, etc.) so you feel like you are accomplishing small victories along the way.

Please read my previous article on how to set goals and achieve them here:

http://arielpublicity.com/2011/02/03/a-musicians-guide-to-setting-and-achieving-goals-for-2011/

At Your Scheduled Date and Time

1. Come to each meeting with an agenda.
2. Don’t make this a social hour – you are getting together to work. pe in quick and socialize when you are all done with your meeting.
3. Choose a scribe. One person should be in charge of writing down what happened with measurable goals, actions, and results with dates set for each one and the scribe will e-mail the notes after each and every meeting so that everybody can keep up-to-date with each other.
4. Hold each other accountable – Set check in times to stay on track.

Between sessions, you should be in touch a few times to make sure measures are being met.

Set up a Wiki

A Wiki is a great way that everybody can stay in touch without losing track of e-mails. I recommend

Ning – http://www.ning.com

PB Wiki – http://www.pbwiki.com/

Keep a Reading List

Have a reading list of books and links to articles that may be helpful to the group and reasons why you are recommending these books on your group Wiki. Books on time management or on small business or on how to tour – whatever you are trying to accomplish there is probably already a book or an article out there.

-Ariel Publicty