My favorite book is “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and in the book Hill describes the power of a mastermind. Truthfully, masterminds were never the biggest takeaway I had from “Think & Grow Rich”. What I loved most about this iconic business book is the blueprint to a success mentality.
However, in the past few years I’ve become obsessed with masterminds.
What is a Mastermind Anyway?
Simply put a mastermind is a “think tank” of like-minded people working towards similar goals. It’s a container in which people brainstorm and lean on one another for support, growth, insights, and collaboration. Nowadays, masterminds are in all kinds of forms from online zoom calls to in-person meet ups. The main component to a successful mastermind is “hot seats”. Hot seats give each member of the group to discuss what they are working on, so that the other members in the group can offer support and insights.
The First Mastermind I Led
In January of 2017, I started my first podcast and by Summer I had re-structured the single podcast to be a media organization now known as “WhatUp! Silicon Valley”. The concept was simple, I could either continue to grow the brand of my single podcast with my co-host…
OR I could enlist the help of other like-minded business friends to grow something larger than what I could do on my own with my co-host.
With this concept in mind, we launched our media organization.
Win-Win: Growing Together
WhatUp! Silicon Valley went from just one podcast to 5 podcasts and each of the hosts had a show that served as a lead funnel to their business.
Truthfully, each of the podcast hosts were gaining extreme value from being apart of the “WhatUp! Team” - everything from helping to expand the brand my co-host and I already established to them growing their own personal brand (and business).
The magic that unfolded as we grew was that we became a mastermind. As we met more frequently, our conversations shifted from simply just podcasting to business practices in general.
Everyone wants to know the ROI, so let’s talk about the ROI…
ROI from the WhatUp! Mastermind
Personally, all the growth from WhatUp! Silicon Valley was instrumental to me being named to Silicon Valley’s 40 Under 40 List.
Sergio (my initial co-host) was recognized in his day job at a tech company for all the content he was creating and was promoted within his company and started running their content strategy, in addition to emceeing at his company’s events throughout the year.
Aubrie, the host of “Sweet Home Silicon Valley”, had such success with the branding of her podcast that she actually rebranded her real estate business to “Sweet Home Silicon Valley” as well and is continuing to crush it in her real estate career.
These are just a few examples of the outcome from our mastermind, if you want to talk numbers… hit me up! I’m happy to tell you just how much profit I’ve earned since I entered content marketing in 2017. I don’t know the exact numbers for everyone else in our group, as you might imagine, but I’m hoping you’ll see some of the benefits from being in a mastermind.
Enter “Fit for Service”
From a series of synchronistic events, Aubrey Marcus’ mastermind (fellowship) “Fit for Service” found me this past January. The price tag of this mastermind made me a bit uncomfortable; however that’s where change starts… with challenging yourself and not just coasting.
Our first summit was in Tulum (Mexico) about a month ago and I couldn’t be more ecstatic for what’s in store for my future with my new soul brothers and soul sisters.
Some of you know about my spiritual awakening and ego death experience in 2019 that led to a project (podcast) called Soul Seekr. Fit for Service is giving me the tools, resources and most of all the community to go further in my spiritual journey.
Your Takeaway
I’d be shocked if you weren’t already in an informal mastermind because the truth is most people (professionals) do have a small inner circle network in which they work with others outside of their business to help.
Have you been in a formal mastermind though?
If you want to be in a mastermind that is specific to the promotional products industry that teaches you how to get back at least 15 hours per week (that’s 60 hours a month!) while increasing sales, then you need to hit me up!
I launched my first swag only mastermind earlier this year and we’re off to the races. Enrollment for the next one is coming up, so be sure to email me (Sam@SoulSeekrz.com) for more info.
Whether you choose to join an official mastermind or not, I 100% recommend that you be intentional with your time. Life is about so much more than just “work” and it’s for that reason I’m so passionate to teach other Entrepreneurs how to work less (while still increasing sales of course).
Stay the Course, Maintain that Burning Desire, and remember that you are the average of the five people you hang out with most.
Sam AKA SwagSam
Sam Kabert is the creative director of SwagWorx and the creator and co-host of the podcast “WhatUp Silicon Valley!” A risk taker who embraces permanent beta, Sam is leading the transformation of his family-run office supplies business into a promotional products powerhouse. Sam can be reached at Sam@SwagWorx.com.