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2:10What if the most transformative mastermind of your life didn't cost you a dime and it didn't require matching notebooks, a private chef, or a keynote speaker? Well, let me tell you what happened in Chicago with some of my favorite women in business. I'm Jenna Kutcher and I help you trade hustle for purpose and build a business that gives you the life you actually want to live. From a$300 Craigslist camera to a seven figure business I run from home, I've learned that success isn't just about what you do. It's about how you live. Here, you'll get strategies that work, systems that give you your time back and steps that turn your effort into results and impact.

2:51If you're ready for clarity, confidence, and a business that feels as good as it looks, you're in the right place. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. A few weeks ago, I did a mastermind in Chicago. And today I want to talk to you about what made it one of the most powerful things I have done all year. And I want to set the stage here because there are all different types of masterminds, but this one was not a luxury retreat. There were no guest speakers, no swag bags. There wasn't a high ticket facilitator leading the way. It was literally just six women, totally unpaid, coming together for 36 hours to go deep and not wide on our businesses and lives.

3:30So today I'm going to walk you through how we laid it out, how we formatted it, how we made sure we got the most out of our time, how we kept the conversation alive and rich, and why I think you should do this too. Let's dive on in. The topic of masterminds is not a new one for this podcast, but if this idea of a mastermind is new or you're like, what is she talking about? What is the mastermind? Let's just quick start this episode and take a really quick second so that I can share with you what a mastermind actually is, because I think the word can sound super fancy and it can also be totally vague.

4:10So a mastermind at its core, it's literally just a group of people that are committed to growth, people that come together. They don't just want to chat or talk small talk. They want to help move each other forward. It's not a course. It's not a coaching program. It's not a networking event where you feel like you have to pitch yourself. A good mastermind, in my opinion, is a group of like-minded individuals, sometimes peers, each having their own skills and their own struggles coming together to say like, I see you. I've been there. Let's work through this together. Now, in a good mastermind, everyone brings something to the table.

4:47You know, a lot of masterminds are facilitated and that facilitation can sometimes appear to be like a guru with all the answers. But I think the real power in a mastermind is the collective energy of getting different perspectives, of getting coached and coaching. And the hopeful goal of a mastermind is that when you leave, you leave having more clarity, having more confidence, more connection than you had when you walked in. Now I have done all different types of masterminds over the years. The first mastermind I ever did was a$25 ,000 year long commitment. And it was one of the best things I've ever done.

5:29Honestly, I remember it was facilitated by Lewis Howes. I had listened to his podcast and I had heard rumblings of masterminds, but I never actually seen someone like put it out there. It felt like masterminds were like this underground network where you would hear about them, but you never really understood like, well, how do I get into it? Or what is the opportunity? And I was on Lewis's email list and he had finally sent out an email about a mastermind. And at this point, I was a wedding photographer. I was just starting to dip my toe into the digital space. And it was a massive investment.

6:05I mean,$25 ,000 is a big investment, no matter who you are, no matter what stage of life you're in. This was like pinching pennies, stretching my investment. At the time, I was a wedding photographer. So I wasn't necessarily rolling in millions of dollars, not even in the slightest. And so that was my first experience of a mastermind. And every mastermind is formatted differently. It's facilitated differently. And so that was really my first experience. And with that one, there were three in-person meetups throughout the year that were each a few days long. Lewis facilitated. He brought in a lot of amazing guest speakers.

6:41The group was about 25 people. I still have relationships with a lot of people that I met back in the day. And I even wrote a story in my book about that mastermind because there was one experience in there where I joined thinking, you know, this is going to be amazing for my business. I'm going to learn so much. And I did, but I wrote a story in my book about how I joined thinking I was going to learn about business. But one of the biggest gifts I walked away from from that mastermind was meeting my fertility doctor who walked with me through our season of loss and miscarriage and who I truly believe helped me heal my body to the point where I could carry a pregnancy.

7:21And so I entered into that mastermind thinking, oh my gosh, this is going to be so great for business. And it was, but I ended up leaving that mastermind in a totally different stage of life, one that I never saw coming. And having met a woman who really just helped me and showed up in my life when I didn't even expect it. And so that was my first experience in a mastermind. Now, over the years, I have done a lot of different types of masterminds. That was really the only big paid mastermind I did. And then since then, a lot of the masterminds I've been a part of are more free and facilitator free masterminds where it's truly just a group of collected individuals who want to help each other move forward, who want to come together and really who truly believe that community is greater than competition.

8:13And so if you are someone that's tuning in and you're like, I have been craving support. I wish that I knew how to join a mastermind or I wish I could find a mastermind that fit me where I'm at my business. or if you've been saying like, I wish I could bounce this idea off of somebody, or I just want to feel seen by somebody who understands what I'm going through. This episode might be exactly what you didn't know you needed. And so I want to walk through masterminds in totality, but also I want to talk about my recent experience because it was so powerful. And the reason why I want to share it with you is that I think that my most recent experience is something that will allow you to start imagining what a mastermind could actually look like in your life, regardless of what stage you're in.

9:00So the first thing that I want to talk about of why Chicago was awesome is something that I've always resonated with, which is you don't need fancy in order to go deep. You need focus. And I actually facilitated my own mastermind years ago. It was the year that I got pregnant with Coco. So coming up on, I think almost eight years ago, which is crazy. And we did some really cool stuff. So like our first meetup was in Waco, Texas. We got to go see where Chip and Joanna are. It was so much fun. We did a really cool weekend long adventure at Camp Wandawega in Wisconsin, which is like quintessential vintage camp vibes.

9:43We did a lot of really cool stuff and I loved it. But here's what I loved most about Chicago last month. So there was no big retreat. It was literally a regular Marriott hotel. We had a Marriott lobby and a bunch of women who chose to just really show up. And something that was awesome about this experience is, is that we weren't starting from ground zero. So a few months ago, it spontaneously happened that five of us were all going to be in Nashville at the same time for very different things. And we were all friends with each other. And it was kind of serendipitous of like, I was speaking at something and spending the night at Amy's.

10:24One of our friends was coming into town to get mentored. Another friend was coming to the event we were speaking at. It was just like this weird explosion of like, all of us are going to be in the same city at the same time. what if we all got together and it turned into this wonderful time spent at one of my best friend Amy Porterfield's houses we literally stayed in our sweatpants and ordered DoorDash in and we masterminded together and it was just beautiful there was no real big structure we didn't like come preparing presentations or anything like that but what was awesome is that we kept in touch so we kept the text thread alive we continue to show up for each other we continue to share wins.

11:00We continue to ask questions. We made connections for one another. And one of us in the text thread threw out like, well, when should we get together next? And I love that because a lot of times masterminds can kind of be a one and done, or it's just really hard when you have a lot of busy people trying to organize their schedules. And so we started throwing out dates and this idea to go to Chicago came up and I was so pumped because where we live, we live in Duluth, Minnesota. So there's a teeny tiny airport that's like, I don't know, 15 minutes from our house. And that airport only flies direct to Minneapolis, which is a two and a half hour drive or to Chicago.

11:39And I was like, heck yes, let's do Chicago. It was like an hour long flight. It's such an easy thing for me. It doesn't take me all day to get there and to get home. And in this stage of life, and especially in the precious summer months that we get here in the Midwest, I am very hesitant to leave home. And so it was perfect. So the text thread turned into a date, which turned in to our friend Stacy, who has an office in Chicago, literally just opened it up like the week before we went. She was like, we can use my office space. If we want a meeting space, there's a hotel nearby. Let's do this.

12:15And so we stayed at this Marriott. We all got our own room. So we had our own space. And the first night we met up for dinner. And the first thing I noticed was this, not a single one of us drank alcohol. Now I am a former margarita girl. I mean, it was literally on my website. I do not hate alcohol. I have not personally drank alcohol in the last three years. I was a very alcohol free, curious, sober, curious girl for a while. And I said, I'm going to try 30 days, which turned into 90, which turned into a year, which has turned into three years. But what was really interesting to me is that at this table of women, not a single one of us was drinking.

12:59And some people truly just don't drink. Some people were choosing to not drink just to be all in and focused. But I loved that because it just felt like, okay, we're here with intention. We're here with focus. And I also noticed that there was a real honoring of this idea of nourishing our bodies, right? Like I used to listen to top performers and I would just literally roll my eyes because they would talk about things like this, but it was real. It was this idea of like, how do we show up as our best selves for not only ourselves, but for each other. And so I loved how we entered into this space and we honored it.

13:39And so many people spend so much time and money and energy obsessing over how things look, especially when it comes to things like flashy masterminds, like they rent out like a mansion in the hills, which is awesome. I freaking love it. Or they have like a curated coffee bar. They, you know, bring in a cool food truck or they have matching swag bags and notebooks. And I love all of that. I think it's fantastic. I think it is lovely, but none of that matters if the people in the room aren't willing to be all in to go deep. Like I would way rather be in a beige hotel lobby with women who show up fully than in this like Pinterest perfect retreat with people who are committed to staying surface level.

14:22That's just like where my heart is at. For me, substance will always be aesthetics when it comes to transformation. And so that is the first thing that I recognize is like, yes, you can have it be this like whimsical experience, but if you really just want to get together with people and get to the heart of it and keep things super simple, you don't have to go fancy. Just focus on focus. That is literally it. And the other thing that I appreciate about this group is that no one is hosting. Like even when we were at Amy's house, she kind of put her hands up in the air because it was so literally last minute where she was like, we are ordering DoorDash.

14:59I am not hosting. I'm not going to be standing in the kitchen, cutting up a charcuterie board. This is going to be the most informal thing ever so that we could all be in and present. And I think that that also shifts the energy. So same thing when we were in Chicago, Stacey was like, hey, I Instacarted a bunch of healthy snacks, but after that, you guys are on your own. And I actually appreciate that because there's not pressure on one person to be leading and facilitating and hosting. Okay. The second thing that I really enjoyed and noticed and paid attention was that there was almost like this, I'm trying to think of the way to say it, almost a curation of energy, not just expertise.

15:42And here's what I mean when I say that. When I looked around the table, I had this moment where I recognize like not every single person was in the same industry or at the same stage of business or at the same like level of where they're going. And I will argue that it made it exceptionally better. We're not sitting there going tit for tat. We're not comparing resumes. We are literally connecting from our own experiences and our desires. And what's fascinating is, is that most of us around the table, we're moms and we were in different stages of motherhood. All of us have a willingness to learn and grow.

16:22And we were all just kind of coming open of like, okay, here's what I know to be true. Here's what I've experienced. And there was just like a real level of honesty, generosity, and willingness to like go deep. So when you think about like, who would you want in a mastermind, which I hope you're thinking about as you listen to this. And maybe you're struggling to like, imagine, okay, well, who would be in the room that I want? I wanted to give you a few tips on like, here's what I think you should do in order to find your mastermind people. So first, like start with your current connections. Think about who is already existing in your world, in your orbit.

17:03Maybe it's business friends that you DM with. You've never met them in real life, but you've DM them or started conversations. Maybe it's someone that you're watching and you're like, I was rooting for them and you're just inspired by them. What if you, this is crazy, right? What if you just reached out to them and said, Hey, I have been thinking about starting a mini mastermind. It is free. Do you want to hop on a call and just see if we'd be a vibe? Now, let me just preface this and say, I want for you to set the expectations and stage early. Cause that could sound like a sales call, which could totally turn people off.

17:36But if you come at it from a place of like, Hey, I am really lonely in business. I heard this thing on Jenna Kutcher's podcast. I think that we could do this. Would you want to do it with me? That would be super cool. Right? So start with who you already know. It can be people, you know, in real life, it can be people, you know, on the internet. Most of those people that I was in that room with, I met on the internet, right? And we had internet friendships before we had real life friendships. And I kind of love that. The next thing I want for you to consider when you're thinking about, okay, who would be in your mastermind is you don't have to worry about perfect industry alignment.

18:13So when I joined Lewis Howe's mastermind years ago, I was the only, what I would consider like creative entrepreneur. Like I was the artist, the photographer. I was amongst a room of a lot of fitness people. I remember there were authors, health. I was like in a whole different world. And I honestly think that that it made my experience so much more rich and I got so much more out of it. And so similar values, in my opinion, matter more than similar businesses. If you can get people who are generous and honest and in it for the long game, not just for like growth hacks, you're going to be just fine.

18:53So you don't have to look at people that are doing exactly what you're doing in exactly the same way. I actually think I get more when I'm around people that are doing different things. The next thing you want to keep in mind is that you can't just wait for somebody to invite you to something, right? Like, like I said, I felt like masterminds were this like underground network and I was excluded from it until I saw Lewis's invitation. And so if you're not getting an invitation in your email, which by the way, it wasn't like a specific invitation for me. It was part of his email list, right? Like it wasn't like, Ooh, Jenna, you're special.

19:30You should come. Okay. Just so you know, setting the stage, consider what would it look like for you to initiate it? Like, don't wait to be invited to someone else's table, like build the dang table yourself, like set a date, invite two to three people. It doesn't have to be big to be good. And I was literally just thinking about this last night of like, I should do this locally. Like there are so many incredible entrepreneurs in my local city? Like what if I just rent out a space and say, Hey, come and I'll cater it. And let's just hang out and talk. Like you do not have to wait to be invited to do literally anything in your life.

20:07You can create the experience that you want. And then lastly, if you need a group, join our gold digger insiders, Facebook group. If you need a safe space to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, this group is full of people who get it. Like I have seen so many collaborations and partnerships and real life friendships spark from that Facebook group. So if you are looking to find your people, that is a beautiful place to start. The link for our Facebook community is in the show notes. Maybe after this episode, you guys can go in there and say, Hey, I want to do the thing Jenna was talking about.

20:40Who wants to be in it with me? And you can start to vet what types of groups could come out of our collective community. Like I am all here for that. So just keep in mind that you want to curate energy, not just expertise and be willing to look a little bit outside of the box. Now, before we continue, I want to pause here for a quick second. And as we head into this quick break, I want for you to ask yourself, if you were to host your own mastermind next month, who is somebody that you want in the room? I'm not talking about like the flashiest, most successful person, but who is someone that would show up with truth and generosity and a willingness to like go deep with you.

21:21And I want for you to keep that person's name in your mind. And while you're thinking it over, let me take a quick second to thank our sponsors who help bring the show to life. This podcast is brought to you by Mercury, banking that helps entrepreneurs do more with their money. Okay. I remember in the early days of my entrepreneurship journey, clients would literally mail me checks and then I would have to drive all the way to the bank to deposit them. It took me literal years to make things go digital and I am ashamed to admit I still have a filing cabinet with paper contracts because I'm way too afraid to throw them away.

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23:40You know, I only share stuff I'm genuinely obsessed with. And so when I kept seeing Bowling Branch sheets all over Instagram, I was like, okay, are these actually worth the hype? Drew and I have been using their sheets and duvets for over a year now and honestly our bedroom feels like a completely different space. The moment you touch these sheets you'll get it. They're incredibly soft to start but they literally get softer every time you wash them. They're made from 100 % organic cotton so they're super durable and they're breathable which is perfect for piling on cozy layers without turning into a furnace at 2am.

24:14This is hands down the best bedding I've slept on and I'm so genuinely excited for you to try it. Start building your sanctuary of comfort this fall with Bowl & Branch. For a limited time, get 20 % off your first set of sheets plus free shipping at bowlandbranch.com slash golddigger. That's bowlandbranch, B-O-L-L-A-N-D branch.com slash golddigger to save 20 % and unlock free shipping. Exclusions apply. okay the third thing that i really recognize especially after chicago is that structure sets you free now we had about 36 hours total together and i was laughing because we were literally in our text thread talking about how we could maximize our roi the return on our investment of our precious time and we were talking about literally like how do we get the best squeeze out of the juice.

25:10Wait, the juice is worth a squeeze. However that saying goes, but like, how do we get the most out of this time? And so we went in to this mastermind. We were not going to wing it. We had a plan. So here's kind of how it looks. So we all flew in on Wednesday and we landed at different times. And I was really lucky because I got to fly in a little bit early and I got lunch with one of my best friends from college. And so I just got to soak up a little time with her because I couldn't be in the same city as her and not see her. So we all flew in on Wednesday. We met for dinner the first night at about six o 'clock.

25:46We had dinner at the hotel. Again, nothing fancy. We didn't even leave the hotel. We used that time to kind of catch up on life, catch up on where everyone was at with things. And we ended up going to bed by 10 o 'clock. So sleep again, important. A lot of this is showing like, here's how we protect our energy. Here's how we show up as our best selves. So dinner, nobody drank. We all ate delicious food. We ended up taking the conversation out into the hotel lobby at 10 o 'clock. We went to bed. Then we were going to start at 9am the next day. A few of us woke up early and worked out. So I did a Pilates workout in my bedroom.