Give one tip for finding your core group of advisors and leaders, your MASTERMIND,
when creating a business?
To help you find your core group of advisors and leaders for your new business, we
asked successful entrepreneurs and small business owners this question for their best
insights. From utilizing current relationships and networks to sending cold pitches to
business coaches, there are several tips that may help you create your business
mastermind.
Here are 10 tips for finding your core group of advisors for your new business:
● Utilize Current Relationships and Networks
● Evaluate Value and Experience
● Ensure Their Interests Align With Your Objectives
● Look in a Variety of Places
● Find Advisors On Angellist
● Focus On Accountability
● Get On Google Or Meetup.com
● Seek Out a Combination of Discomfort and Safety
● Ensure They are Effective Leaders
● Send Cold Pitches to Business Coaches
Utilize Current Relationships and Networks
You don’t need to go very far to find good candidates for your mastermind leadership team. The people you have around you, such as friends, family, or those in your professional network, already know what you stand for and what your goals are. Those with whom you have established relationships are people you can trust to have as valuable contributing members of your mastermind. Before going further afield, look to those already closest to you.
Carey Wilbur, Charter Capital
Evaluate Value and Experience
A mastermind should be filled with a wide variety of members, each of whom has unique qualifications and insights. As a business owner, ask yourself what you want your mastermind members to bring to the table. What value can they contribute? Are they in the right industry? Have they held leadership positions before? Do they have the credentials or experience that can help you as you move forward with running your business? Your answers will guide you to the right people.
Randall Smalley, Cruise America
Ensure Their Interests Align With Your Objectives
As every industry is different, your core investors’ experience and expertise must align with what you aim to achieve for your business. We had a vision of where we wanted to take our business, so in late December 2020, we felt that taking in some capital would help us scale much faster if we could ally with a partner experienced in scaling businesses so that we could learn from them.
The long-term objectives you have for your company can get lost amid numerous discussions. For this reason, it’s crucial to ensure you and your investors want and expect the same things. So during the due diligence process, I make it a point to discuss the growth milestones we’re looking to achieve and how much funding is needed to get there. While these mile markers aren’t set in stone, having this transparency early on gets everyone on the same page from the get-go.
Shaunak Amin, SnackMagic
Look in a Variety of Places
Look for highly capable professionals in a variety of places. Use job ads, referrals from other leaders, and LinkedIn to find a diverse pool of talent to choose from. Also try offline recruiting methods, such as business conferences, events, or host your own meetups. Be diligent to find your core group of advisors and leaders for your business—these are the people who will serve as the foundation for the culture that will be established, so make sure you use multiple methods to find trustworthy and highly qualified individuals.
Datha Santomieri, Steadily
Find Advisors On Angellist
Anyone you might need to launch your startup, from employees to advisors, is on AngelList. For example, you can network with industry leaders seeking an advisor role by filtering results to your needs. Everyone on the platform is passionate about startups – so it’s a great place to start your search for a company leadership board.
Amrita Saigal, Kudos
Focus On Accountability
My top tip for finding the best possible business core group is to focus on accountability. A team must work together and keep honest, open lines of communication. If a team member cannot admit an error, they may be too inwardly focused for a position of authority. Accountability is not just about right and wrong but bringing the best out of each other from those experiences.
Sasha Ramani, MPOWER Financing
Get On Google Or Meetup.com
One tip is to join a couple of associations in your industry before creating a business or at least attend as a guest if they won’t allow membership. That way you can ask around for key people to be on your leadership and advisor list.
Mingling with those already in the business is incredibly helpful but they probably know everyone in the state and can point you to a mastermind individual who can help you get started.
Bruce Tasios, Tasios Orthodontics
Seek Out a Combination of Discomfort and Safety
Choose someone who makes you feel both uncomfortable and safe simultaneously. Their experience brings them a credibility you can trust, they will guide you in the right direction, and they won’t be afraid to tell you the truth when you need to hear it.
They are your leader, not your parent or guardian, so it doesn’t benefit you to be treated with kid gloves. Giving these important figures a little skin in the game ensures you retain their involvement and receive advice that benefits not you, but your company as a whole.
Oliver Zak, Mad Rabbit
Ensure They are Effective Leaders
When gathering together a mastermind, ask yourself if those you’re recruiting have the right leadership qualities. You should want your advisors to have strong communication skills and the sort of emotional intelligence that can help build and retain a strong leadership team. Do your best to ensure your mastermind is filled with members who are leaders you want to emulate as you run your business.
Eric Blumenthal, Zoe Print
Send Cold Pitches to Business Coaches
Business coaches make the best advisors, leaders, and mentors for any new startup that you may envision. Such coaches are used to success, thus needing a ‘surprise factor’ that gets them interested in your startup enough to offer advisory services. Cold pitching business coaches in your industry is an ambitious move that puts you on the radar of the best mentors in your industry. This cold pitching process is the ideal way to appeal to coaches, tell them about your idea, and interest them enough to mentor you in it.
Ivy Bosibori, USBadCreditLoans
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