1851 – Power of Collaboration with Jeremy Shapiro

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2:14With us right now, it's Jeremy Shapiro. Jeremy, you're a serial entrepreneur, and you are a facilitator and the founder of Bay Area Mastermind. And Jeremy, it's great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me on. Love the show and great to be here. Absolutely. Well, listen, I'd love to learn a bit more about what Bay Area Mastermind, by the way, the website to our friend that's listening, bayareamastermind.com. But Jeremy, I'd love to hear you explain what exactly you do. Yeah, we help entrepreneurs, founders, and business owners to grow, connect, and scale. A lot of the folks that come to us find as an entrepreneur, it can be lonely at the top, right?

2:58Who do you share your successes and failures with? It's usually not your family, your friends, your vendors, your employees. And so it's nice to have that community of like-minded individuals who are also growth focused that can be there to support you through your challenges and celebrate your successes with you. And so there's the camaraderie as well as that peer advisory component that folks are really looking for. Yeah. Talk about maybe just, you know, again, I think most of us know what a mastermind is, but would you mind maybe just kind of while we're table setting here, explain what a mastermind is, kind of what the structure, and certainly the way that you facilitate it with Bay Area Mastermind.

3:32Yeah, the term mastermind typically goes back to, in this context, to Napoleon Hill. When he wrote Think and Grow Rich, one of his chapters was titled The Power of the Mastermind. And the concept was when you get two or more minds together, there's this concept of like the third mind or additional mind or space that's created. And that's really powerful because this is where we get innovation, ideas, and perspective. A lot of us know, or at least have a good idea of what we think we know. We have a good idea of what we don't know, but the real opportunities are the things that we don't know we don't know.

4:04And so when we get to hang out and spend focused, intentional time with like-minded individuals, not only do we get answers to the questions we have, but we also get exposure and perspective to the areas that we didn't know we should be looking at in our lives and our businesses and are surrounded by experts who want nothing but the best for us and can share advisory in form of peer advisory, resources in the form of contacts, vendors, and so on, as well as just best practices of how they've experienced what you've been going through in their own lives and their own businesses as well. And the way we run things at the Mastermind is we have one full day focused on growing and scaling your business and getting you unblocked, where we have accountability between the meetings amongst the other members and amongst myself as facilitator.

4:49Wow. I mean, that is, it's a powerful idea. I mean, there's so many reasons why this works out well. First off is, you know, it's like, for example, like me just working on and redoing a sales page and like how valuable it is that once I, and I spent like 20 hours with ChatGPT kind of working through it from a conversion optimization standpoint. And I got to the end of it. And as soon as I like, I am really enthusiastic excited about it, but I'm like the fish who doesn't really understand what water is. And I need someone else to explain what water is because I'm swimming in it at that point. Like I can't read another analogy is It's like, you know, it's like we're inside the bottle, so you can't read the label on the outside of the bottle.

5:35So you need those fresh perspectives. And listen, I mean, there's so much value that comes from a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints and experiences as well, because they bring a whole lifetime of experience and wisdom. And, you know, kind of like when you talk about this Napoleon Hill dynamic, right? It's almost like there's some aspect of this, too. It's like the experience of being with a really great coach or therapist. because they're generally like the answer or the wisdom or the knowledge is out there, divinely or otherwise, right? And oftentimes it's, I find anyway, it's discovered from someone else asking really good questions.

6:17And it's like, oh, I wasn't even looking in that corner of my brain. But since you asked that, hmm. I love what you share there, Josh, about those good questions. Yeah. The good questions, if you look to, for example, your employees or those around you, you might not get those challenging questions that you really need. But when you're around others who want nothing but the best for you, in our mastermind format, people are expected to ask those tough questions and to challenge your assumptions. And to your point about the sales page feedback for idea, what I love seeing is that everyone has different superpowers.

6:53And when they get to share their deep expertise and then also get help from others with deep expertise, it's powerful. And when we see what I call the cross-pollination of ideas, it's a beautiful thing. People typically come into the mastermind room and they've got a big burning question, something they want an answer to. And their idea of where they'll get value for the day is from answers to their question. But Josh, where I see the biggest light bulb moments, the biggest ahas, the moments where the eyes go wide and the pen starts scribbling and the smile creeps across the face, that is never during that person's hot seat.

7:27It's always during somebody else's when they hear an idea or they see something that someone else is doing in their business that they had no idea about. So as an example, you have, for example, an e-commerce company who's crushing with email marketing. Then you've got a brick and mortar store who's doing direct mail really successfully. and the e-commerce person looks over and says, wait a minute, tell me how you're doing this direct mail. How did you get a list and how do you get that designed and what works well? Should I go postcard? Do I go envelope? What are the best practices? Oh, expert of direct mail.

7:56And they're able to take those best practices from outside of their industry and apply it right in their own business. And seeing those ideas zigzag across the table between industries and between business models is so powerful. Yeah. How did Bay Area Mastermind, how did it come to be? I mean, obviously, you know, looking at your background, you were a business founder yourself. And so what's the inception story? Yeah, I've been part of various mastermind groups for almost two decades now in different forms. And what I found is there's sort of three different kinds of mastermind groups. And I've been part of all of them and sometimes many different ones beneath those categories.

8:34On one end of the spectrum, we have what I call like your destination mastermind groups. These you're typically writing a five or six figure check just to join each year. and you're getting together maybe two or three times a year, sometimes in an exotic location, but you're hopping on a plane, you're traveling somewhere, spending a few days, diving deep into your business with you and like 20 of your best friends. It's a great format. And I've gotten tremendous value and enormous ROI from those kinds of groups. But you're also stepping away from the business for a week at a time. You're traveling away from the family.

9:04You're doing all those different things just to talk about your business two times a year, maybe three, right? In a six month period, your business can completely change directions. And next time you come back, you've got a whole new business, right? On the other end of the spectrum are what I call like your accountability coffee groups. You'll get together maybe once a week, 30, maybe up to 90 minutes, typically on a zoom call, or maybe a coffee shop. These are like free to 97 bucks a month. And I've been part of those groups too. One of the challenges you have there is the high turnover, right?

9:36If it's a free group or it's a low cost and someone gets busy, they probably don't show up. The accountability is generally kind of low. The faces aren't always the same there. It's lots of new folks who pop in and the groups often kind of fizzle out. There's not a whole lot of skin in the game. And in that one week period, you can't really implement a whole lot that changes the direction of your business towards your mission, vision, and purpose. The sweet spot that I found and all the groups that I've been part of over that time is the format we use at the Bay Area Mastermind. We meet once a month for a full day.

10:09So now you're meeting up for just that one day a month to really focus on the business. That one month period gives you enough time to implement the accountability items that you've asked the group to hold you accountable to. Those are things that can move your business forward. It's not about, you know, close some more sales or get more leads, not that kind of work of the business. It's the work on the business, the strategic stuff, right? So it gives you enough time to implement that. It also gives you enough time in that format to really dive into your business in a focused hot seat around your business.

10:39Whereas like those accountability groups, you have like maybe five, 10 minutes on your business. Within our full day mastermind format, you get to dive much deeper in 30 to 45 minutes, depending, and really get answers to the questions you need and peel back the onion. And so after I went through all these different kinds of groups to help me in my businesses and saw the power and value of them, I realized there's something powerful about creating a starting your own mastermind group to connect with like-minded individuals. And so at the Bay Area Mastermind, we have like-minded individuals who are growth focused.

11:09We're all lifelong learners. We're voracious readers. We go to conferences, we attend events, we buy courses. We're always looking to grow personally and professionally, right? We're all growth focused in that way because we also want to be growing our businesses. And there's this, these are all established businesses post-revenue with existing team in place. It can be everything from like a part-time VA on the low end up to, you know, dozens of employees, right? And the strategies we implement allow you to do less in the business while growing your business through systems and people and process.

11:42And so our group is there to support all of us fellow entrepreneurs along that journey. Someone may be listening to us, Jeremy, and they go, well, hey, great conversation, but well, lucky for people who live in the Bay Area, I guess this doesn't pertain to me. You know, it's funny, you know, the, the name Bay Area Mastermind, as we, you know, expanded and we're getting members from further, further afield. I had that question of like, should we be changing this name? And I looked at all the brands that have a location as part of the name. And that really speaks to the origins of where they're from.

12:15For us, for our Bay Area, we're talking about the San Francisco Bay Area, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. But our members come from far afield. And during the pandemic, we had folks who were finding us who thought we were like in the Wisconsin Green Bay or the Maryland Bay, right? And we realized, oh, you know, Bay means different things to different people, but either way it's sort of the origins of where we're from. But now we have, you know, a travel page on our site for folks who want travel information when they fly in to a group. We also have many folks who join us virtually. That was one of those upsides and gifts that came with the pandemic is this hybrid approach where while we're meeting in person, we also have folks who join us for a virtual meeting format.

12:51I mean, we run the group the exact same way. The only difference is you're not getting that hallway conversation by the coffee and chatting with other members in that respect, but you still get that connection, that community, that camaraderie. And really beyond just the once a month meeting, a lot of what our members find so much value in is that time between the meetings. We have our Slack community, we have our private email lists, and this is where members stay in touch. So like Josh, that sales letter you were talking about, you wouldn't have had to wait a whole month to get feedback. you could have sent it out to the group and gotten feedback right away from folks who've built really successful sales pages and who could provide real world expertise on exactly what you're building without waiting a whole month for the next meeting.

13:31And that kind of community is really what's been powerful for our group. Yeah, right. So I would imagine that you've witnessed or you've seen some pretty interesting transformations in your longevity in the mastermind world. What are some outcomes that not only I think are special, but are actually not special. They're kind of commonplace. Like these are very typical outcomes that we see in mastermind groups. You know, I've always identified myself as a serial entrepreneur, meaning I've launched multiple businesses, you know, over my career. And almost every single one of those has been a pivot or a spinoff from one of my existing businesses.

14:08It was usually filling a gap in my own business that I just couldn't find a solution for in the marketplace. And so we created one. and that became a whole new business. Many of those ideas were actually incubated and formalized in a mastermind group. And what I started seeing in the groups that I run as well is the exact same thing. We have serial entrepreneurs who come into the group with one business and a side idea comes up and that then becomes the bigger business. One story I'd love to share, you know, beyond just my own in that regard, is we had a member who came in with a very hands-on, you know, trades-like business, doing demolition kind of work.

14:44And in the process realized there was a need to get the site plans done. So you could submit it to the city hall and get your permits and all that. And there wasn't a great way to do this online. So as a side business, he created this site plan service that was totally hands-off, that service, the need he had in his business that he was using. And that little side business started to take off. And that business, I believe last I checked, has something like 7 ,000 online reviews of satisfied customers it's been blown up and growing involves next to no time on the part of the business owner and runs and grows itself and that came as a spin-off idea from a serial entrepreneur who by the way sold that first business cleared the money traveled the country with the family in the rv for a year settled down somewhere else and started some new ventures all while that little side business was really the big one we had somebody else with a software business that was a more traditional old school model where you buy a software license and you have on-premises software.

15:44And that business was doing well. And that member joined us with that business model. Well, in the time that that member was with us, the idea of having a SaaS-based platform that was similar, but serving a totally different kind of customer came up. And so the new business was launched and that business doubled year over year over year and continued to grow and serve new markets and had all kinds of great functionality built in that came from the feedback we provided in the group about automated recurring revenue, about self-signup, about easy onboarding. And it was a clean slate new business that quickly eclipsed the old business that was part of the group.

16:21And so that might seem extraordinary, but to your point, Josh, these are sort of common outcomes we see. We have folks with brick and mortar business who come in and launch an online business. We have doctors and attorneys who come in with a very typical practice and end up becoming authors and creating membership sites and continuity programs and all these things that are so outside of the norm for their industry, but are inspired by other members and what they're doing in their industry. And that cross-pollination is where so much growth comes from. Yeah. All right. So your website, bayareamastermind.com, who can be a part of a mastermind?

16:59What's, I don't know, in terms of like, where should they be business stage wise or who is it open to and what are those next steps? Yeah. So what we're looking for, you know, we have a fairly simple, but thorough mastermind application process. We recognize that our mastermind is not for everyone and not everyone's a right fit for the mastermind as well. And so we look for this two-way fit. So we have, you know, a multi-step application you fill out, we hop on a call and go over it. And if there's not a fit, that's okay. If there is a fit, then we invite you to join us for what we call a test drive.

17:32And so you invest in the one day with us. And worst case, you walk away having, you know, a wonderful lunch or a virtual lunch, a chance to meet other like-minded individuals, get some new ideas and answers to your biggest questions. And best case, you realize you found the family you've been looking for all along, right? And so then we would extend an invitation for you to join us after you test driven with us. If the group feels you're a fit and you feel the group is a fit for you. And what we're looking for is a few things. You need an established business, right? This isn't pre-stage or early stage.

18:01You're an existing business. You have a team supporting you, which again, on the low end is a part-time VA. On the high end is maybe a few dozen employees at the most. You're generally clearing at least a half million dollars a year in gross revenue that on the high end is somewhere between five and eight million a year. We've had members higher, but that's usually getting out of the edge of where our group is. And you are a lifelong learner, right? You're looking to improve yourself. You're looking to grow your business. You're an avid reader. You're going to events, you're parts of groups, and you're looking to grow yourself.

18:36You're good taking feedback, right? From others. Some entrepreneurs I've seen over the years can have a kind of tough skin about that and not be too receptive to feedback. And that can be a challenge because that can inhibit your growth. You got to be open and receptive to feedback from others. And on the flip side, we're looking for folks who are willing to provide that expertise, who have that superpower and do want to help out and lovingly challenge others where needed and provide those resources, input, and feedback. And so the way that process works, like you mentioned, Josh is at bayareamastermind.com.

19:07You can find out more about our group, see what upcoming events are. You could submit an application, and then we just hop on a call and we go over it. And worst case, we find out there's not a fit. And best case, we find, This is the family you've been looking for all along. I love it. Jeremy Shapiro, again, Bay Area Mastermind, the website bayareamastermind.com. Jeremy, it's been a great conversation. To our friend that's listening, listen, stop siloing yourself as a leader. You deserve to be around peers. You're not alone. And guess what, Jeremy? There are so many others who experiences a lot of the same challenges, or maybe they've already been there, done that, and they have some great insight and wisdom to help lift the load a little bit and make business way more enjoyable.

19:52Jeremy Shapiro, thank you so much for the conversation. Thanks for having me, Josh. This was great.

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