Mastermind Group (Support Group) for Massage Professionals

What exactly is a mastermind group?

There is some confusion over what a mastermind group is or isn't.  Napoleon Hill the author of Think and Grow Rich was one of the first to use this term.  He uses it to describe a group of people with a common cause or purpose.

Karyn Greenstreet best describes it on her website www.passionforbusiness.com:

In a Mastermind Group, the agenda belongs to the group, and each person’s participation is key. Your peers give you feedback, help you brainstorm new possibilities, and set up accountability structures that keep you focused and on track. You will create a community of supportive colleagues who will brainstorm together to move the group to new heights. 

You'll gain tremendous insights, which can improve your business and personal life. Your Mastermind Group is like having a objective board of directors.

I will also be personally answering all questions with my 20 years of experience as a massage therapist.  I also specialize in websites for massage therapists as well as dealing with boundary issues and self care issues which are the biggest cause of burnout in the massage profession.

This Mastermind Group will also be a combination of business brainstorming and clinical supervision and peer supervision which is the process of guiding therapists through their challenges.  You can read more about supervision and peer supervision on my new site www.massage-career-guides.com

Mastermind Groups are different in nature to peer supervision groups which are groups of people in a similar profession who meet regularly to address whatever issues come up on a daily basis in the course of doing business.  Masterminds focus mainly on the topic of building a business or finding a job where supervision helps build the massage therapist's self confidence.

Supervision is a process that addresses the issues associated with being in the helping professions.  While learning about marketing and business are important, many fail to implement any programs or take the steps that are needed to do what is needed to be successful and reach for your dreams.  Participating in a group can help you become more aware of the places that you are stuck and bring more awareness to your practice, clients and success.

Members are required to participate and share your own stories and issues that you are faced with on a regular basis. The first step in the process of getting through your challenges is to feel understood.

 Listening skills are taught to learn to be more present for others who are doing the talking (in this case writing).  The golden rule (from Parker Palmer's book "A Hidden Wholeness" is

"No fixing, no saving, no advising,
no setting each other straight". 

So what is left to do or say you may be wondering?

We will learn to ask questions that will help others in the group find their own inner teacher, advisor and helper and learn to help themselves. In doing so, it will help build the self confidence and awareness that is needed to follow your dreams and have the success that you deserve.

If you are interested, please fill out the following questionnaire and submit it to me with your answers.  The "introductory" fee (for the first 25 people) for the group will be $25 a month and a 6 month commitment is needed to join the group.  (After 25 members are committed, the fees will go up to $50 a month for new members only.)

The size of the group will be limited to 50 people.  You can leave the group after the initial 6 months at any time, but the longer you stay the more you can get out of it.  The reason for the commitment is that it really takes time for people to be able to share deeply to see results.  I would prefer a one year commitment.

This group is for people who are just starting out in practice or finding a job or for experienced therapists.  While the discussions will be directed by the participants, some of the things that we will be addressing are things like:

• Figuring out what kind of job or office you want to work in and how to find that exact thing
• Raising your rates or learning to ask for payment for your services
• Dealing with difficult clients
• Marketing your practice and what gets in the way of your success
• Becoming aware of your needs to 'fix' and/or 'help'
• Learning to be present rather than fixing or helping
• Defining your Ideal Client
• Learn how to start and create a small local peer supervision support group
• Learning about transference and countertransference and how to recognize and deal with those issues
• Developing a clear framework for your practice to deal with issues of transference and countertransfence
• Learn how to take care of yourself so that you can be present with others
• Address helping issues that lead to burnout in the massage profession
• Learn to become a peer supervisor yourself.

This online group will help in in every step of starting and building your massage business or in finding or creating your ideal massage therapy job.  You will be personally mentored and supervised by me for every question and discussion.  I have been doing this for free basically in my Yahoo Group - massage practice builder and you can still join that for free but I am not answering questions there as much anymore. 

You will get help with things like:

• Learning to set your fees so that they support your business and yourself
   
• Learn how to raise your rates each year and increase the number of clients as you do.
   
• Learn how to set boundaries in the form of policies, procedures and a code of ethics that support you in creating your ideal massage practice
   
• Learn about the therapeutic relationship and how it influences your success
   
• Learn about why you want to help others and learn more on how to be of service to others
   
• Learn how to talk about what it is that you do
   
• Learn how your thoughts are what get in your way of your success and how to become more aware of them so you can begin to change
   
• Learn how to create a steady flow of clients by only using a website.  Learn how to write articles for your website that attracts search engines and clients.
   
• Create a business plan or plan of action for getting or creating your ideal massage job.

This will be in the from of a private Yahoo! Online Discussion Group. To get the most out of the group it will be necessary to be able to log on to the group at least 3 times a week to keep up with the discussions.  Discussions can also be sent directly to your email box.  The more you participate, the more you will get out of it.

Cost will be $50 a month (or $25 if you were one of the first 25 members) payable through paypal on a re-occurring basis.  You will be charged each month for 6 months.  At that time we will reassess the group and decide if the group will continue or change.

I ask for a 6 month commitment because it takes that long to get to know one another and really get into some of the issues.  The group may go on after 6 months which will allow your work there to deepen.

The group will be a combination of peer group and mastermind group.  A peer group usually uses the motto "No fixing, no saving, no setting each other straight."  It is a place for getting support for your feelings so that you can get clear about what you want and what you need to do.  It isn't about giving each other advice on how to handle clients or marketing your practice.  You can also ask for feedback on specific projects like negotiating a contract or setting your fees.

If you have any questions please contact me.

To Your Success!

Julie Onofrio, LMP
Seattle WA