Jeremy Shapiro, serial entrepreneur and facilitator of the Bay Area Mastermind, touts the power of community for business owners and explains why giving advice is as valuable as getting it.

What inspired you to help other business owners?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. My last “job” was in high school; I left it to start my first of many businesses. Everything I’ve done since has been focused on helping entrepreneurs grow and scale. In that process, I’ve been part of many mastermind groups, which have been invaluable to me personally and to my businesses.

What are mastermind groups?
They are based on Napoleon Hill’s groundbreaking 1937 book Think and Grow Rich. It has a chapter called “Power of the Master Mind,” where he explains that when you put two or more people together, the output isn’t merely doubled—it’s multiplied. That’s what mastermind groups do around the country for business owners.

In general, there are two categories: guru led and peer led. With the former, people soak in as much of an expert’s thoughts as possible, reading their book, taking their course, going to their live event, and signing up for their coaching program. The biggest score is to be in a closed-door group with them, hoping their magic rubs off on you. I’ve been part of such groups, and they have immense value.

At the Bay Area Mastermind, the focus is on peer-led groups based on the principle that you’re the average of the five folks you spend the most time with. We carefully curate diverse business owners, placing them into groups to foster a cross-pollination of ideas and enable them to help one another.

Do business owners tend to feel alone on their journeys?
Most business owners are technicians at heart: they come out of an industry or other specialty to create a business and continue doing the thing they’re good at. For example, take an electrician working for an electric company who starts their own electric business. They leave the comfort of a job, where they just do the electrical work, to go hang their own shingle.

But they soon learn that means doing everything a successful business requires beyond just providing the services it offers—responding to prospects, writing quotes, hiring and managing people, doing payroll, and dealing with legalities. In other words, they don’t actually have a business; they have a glorified job. They’re solopreneurs.

To help someone determine where they stand, I always ask them one question: If you totally stepped away from your business for three months, with no contact at all, would it be the same or even better when you came back? The answer is usually, “No, the place would burn down within a few days.” That’s an indication they are self-employed and not yet a business owner. A second aha moment often follows: the people around them—friends, family, vendors, and so on—might be wonderful, but they’re not the greatest sounding boards and likely won’t help their business grow.

As an entrepreneur, you quickly realize how alone you are at the top. When you find a like-minded community, though, you’re surrounded by people who get it. They’ve been there, done that as a leader, and they’ll support you through bad times and be there to celebrate your successes.

In Think and Grow Rich, Hill calls this the “spirit of harmony,” right?
Exactly. First of all, everyone in peer-led business groups is a lifelong learner. We’re voracious readers who enjoy talking about books we’ve read and sharing takeaways from them because we’re all looking to grow in that spirit of harmony.

I also think of it like a laboratory. Business owners go out and run experiments in their businesses and then report the results back to the group, whether it’s a successful marketing campaign or a failed hiring process. You learn from each other’s mistakes, wins, losses, and lessons.

How do you encourage engagement from business owners who may be hesitant to share their ideas or fears with other business owners?
It’s vital to bring that vulnerability, so confidentiality is stressed in mastermind groups. Without it, you might not divulge real numbers, discuss a troublesome employee, or share actual financial challenges you’re facing.

Is it equally important to share critiques?
Absolutely. I always compare it to doing peer reviews in a first-year college writing class. In mine, I gave really good feedback and insights on the paper I reviewed, but my paper came back with just two words: “Good job.” It was the most unhelpful response ever; I felt so robbed of the opportunity to improve.

So yes, each group member knows that they should share their perspectives and welcome differing ones. Business owners are used to making decisions and telling everyone what needs to get done; most aren’t truly tested by their people. In these group settings, though, someone will respectfully challenge your assumptions and ask tough questions. And that’s where such great growth happens—the feedback reveals blind spots and helps you fill knowledge gaps.

In fact, the best opportunities are often found in the things we don’t know, which is when the biggest light-bulb moments occur: people rapidly take notes, and excitement fills the room with reactions like “Wow! I had no idea you could approach things this way!” or “I can’t wait to do this in my business.”

Should business owners smell the roses more often?
Entrepreneurs have endless to-do lists and are often focused on company goals, which are ever moving. We rarely take the time to stop and look back at our accomplishments and acknowledge ourselves. So at the beginning of every mastermind meeting, we go around and ask everyone about their wins over the past month, either personal or professional, and give them the kudos they deserve. Having that acknowledgment is huge.

We’ve all been helped up during our journeys, after all, and we want to pay that forward. This community provides a two-way street to not only receive peer advice but also give it to others and help them grow.

For more info, visit bayareamastermind.com

TAKE ACTION:
Consider how a mastermind group could help both you and your business, and research whether there are any in your area.