Ask The Expert: Mastermind Mastery with Jay Fairbrother

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Hello, hello Amplify You Michelle Abraham here your host entity. I am bringing you another amazing ask the expert interview. And I've got Jay Fairbrother with me today, who is a serial entrepreneur, a business coach and mastermind guru with 30 years experience buying selling seven figure businesses. Let me tell you more about more. Jay about well, let me tell you more about Jay in a second. But let's just say hi, hey, Jay, how are you doing?

Hey, Michelle, happy to be here. I'm happy to be considered an expert.

Yes. Well, I'm so excited that you're here too, because we actually got to meet in person a few weeks ago in Phoenix. And that was Greg. So you're someone whose name I've seen online, everywhere for the last 10 years. And finally, we got to put a face to name and we meet in person. So it was super great. And we were happened to be there learning about masterminds, which is your game. So I love that we're gonna bring you here because I got inspired and I'm like, I've been running a mastermind for the last year and now I'm like, I'm obsessed. I love masterminds, I think the best way to go, and I just want to hear all your story so so amplify your family tell you a little bit more about JJ story includes losing everything after the 2010 financial crisis, and rising from the shame to shine as the mastermind guy which is why it's here to talk about masterminds today. As an executive VP, global leader organizations g is also responsible for recruiting and managing amazing entrepreneurs from across the globe, sort of regional chapter of globe, G L. O and Craig masterminds globally. She helps coaches and experts with the program pricing for profit, which is a masterclass and mastermind mastery, launching your high end mastermind in 60 days, which is awesome to see. I don't know I'm not familiar with G ello. What

does that sound for?

Global Leaders organization. So that's the entrepreneurial community modeled after EO The Entrepreneurs Organization YPO Young Presidents. So we similarly we set up chapters, and within those chapters, we run mastermind groups.

Oh, that's awesome. I'm Canadian. And maybe that's why I haven't heard of it yet. But I I know of the EO organization and the Amatrice. That's awesome. Very cool. So tell us a little bit about masterminds like why masterminds for you.

So Michelle, I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday. But I vividly remember 25 years ago, when I walked out on my very first mastermind meeting and said to myself, Oh, my God, I finally found my tribe. So at that point, I was a few a couple of years into being an entrepreneur with my first company, which of course started with nothing and financed it on credit cards and and I had built I'd had some pretty good success off the bat, I got to about a million in revenue. But I got stuck there, I couldn't seem to get beyond that million dollar revenue range. And, and that's when I went to my first mastermind, and suddenly, I was surrounding myself, instead of surrounding myself only with other struggling entrepreneurs. You know, I was surrounding myself with some more successful entrepreneurs, some were about in the same place as me. And it made a huge difference. And the reason it made such a big difference for me as well is because part of my story is that my father died when I was 10. Suddenly, and I reacted to that in as you can imagine, a 10 year old would I withdrew, I disconnected. I became the lone wolf it was me against the world and led to a lot of misspent bad behavior in my teens and 20s. So, so I kind of had this, you know, this idea that I'm an entrepreneur on an island and alone with everything that I'm going through. And when I started to surround myself with other people in a mastermind, I started to be like, Oh my God, these people all have the exact same issues that I have, and they have the same aspirations and the same goals and my god, we're actually start working together and I'm going to have people to bounce things off of. Most importantly, I'm going to have people to share tip that have my back. So you mentioned that me losing everything. So that large part because that mastermind I scaled my company to 10 million in annual revenue, a couple 100 employees and I sold it in 2004. Next few years were a lot of fun. I bought some companies I invested I traveled. And then after the 2008 2010 financial thing, like many people on the planet, I lost everything. And again, my reaction was very much like when my father died when I was 10 years old, I withdrew. Isolated, I just, I dealt with all that shame. So quite literally, over a two year period, I went from being a multimillionaire living in a mansion, to living in my friend's basement without a car. Well, guess whose friend's basement I lived in. Somebody that was in that mastermind that I started with, and I stayed in that mastermind for 17 years, getting together every month with pretty much the same people a little bit of, you know, attrition in the 17 years, but so masterminds to me when they're properly run and facilitated and structured and organized and have the right people in them are a place where you develop real connection. And so my mission in the world is to create more connection. Because of how isolated and disconnected our world has become, just go out in public and look at people buried on their cell phones. And so, what I found and I've learned through masterminding is that, like I've developed closer relationships with some of the people in my mastermind and even my own family members. What happens in it in a mastermind news, you can get to those deeper, more vulnerable levels and really talk about the real things are going on, and not the sort of surface sort of questions that you usually find in business networking, or coaching, those kinds of things where people, you know, really open up and get vulnerable. So sorry for the long answer. But that's, that's why masterminds for me. And that's why, you know, I am now trying to teach others how to organize and run them.

Yeah, no, I absolutely love those. I was smiling and nodding, like, yeah, totally agree. I've been involved in masterminds probably for the last like, six or seven years in my business. And it is because of the people I've met through there, that I feel like I've had like a community. And like in like you said, you know, like some of them. It's like relationship accelerant, if you like, kind of like podcasting. If you you know, I feel like I've gotten to a deeper level of understanding with some of those mastermind members, and I have some friends and family in my own community here in building real life. But that is also real life.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. You know, it's been one of those things that I think I feel like over the last few years, there's been a little bit of like confusion around the word mastermind. And even myself launching our own mastermind this year, I had some conversations with people like what exactly is a mastermind and what isn't a mastermind because but I'm seeing out there in the world of coaching spaces is that some coaches out there are giving their whole year long coaching program. They're calling it a mastermind, and that confuses me a little bit, because traditionally, that's not a massive. Yeah. What's your take on what the heck is going on out here? And what actually is a mess?

Yeah. So you're absolutely right, that a lot of first of all, most of the really successful coaches, experts, authors, speakers on the planet have a high end mastermind. Now, the trick is that some of those aren't actually masterminds. There, they just use the mastermind label because they'll sexier and they can charge more money. But they're really just glorified group coaching programs, meaning you show up a prayed to the altar of the guru, there's a little bit of q&a, and we call it a mastermind. A true mastermind in Napoleon Hill sense is the concept is you put one person with a brain in a room and another person with a brain and a room and you've created a third brain. And so the true mastermind kind of format is typically small, so like eight to 14 people. And it's not a revolving door, it's, you know, doesn't have to be exactly the same people, but there's a cohesion with a group and you grow together as a group and learn to learn, you know, develop those deep relationships and learn how to help each other beyond surface level q&a. So that's kind of what the true mastermind is. And there's a lot of difference. There's a lot of room between a true mastermind and you know, what some of these masterminds you've referenced that you've seen or maybe even been in Archer masterminds, what I try to do, I'm not out to preach or prescribe that you have to do a any certain way. What I tried to do is educate people on all their options for creating something between a group program and a true mastermind. I call them hybrids. Because in the coach, speaker, expert entrepreneurs space, people are typically coming to us and willing to pay us to be in these programs because of our leadership and our content and our expertise, right. So they still want some portion of that most of the time, versus a true pure mastermind, which is, you know, I'm in the middle of organizing one right now, where there is no, you know, you're not joining it, because I'm leading it, I'm putting it together all facilitated that kind of thing. But we're all equals in the group. Right. So that's, that's a pure kind of true mastermind. So there's, you know, whatever you call it, I don't care what you call it. But if you take some of the strategies and techniques and protocols that we use in your masterminding, and you trickle those down into your group coaching programs, meaning your programs that have 20 3050 people in it, you're going to get better retention, most importantly, you're going to get better implementation and results from your clients. And so that's part of what I try to teach in my programs.

I love that. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Because as a going from the coach role to like being a mastermind with some of your clients, that makes it really weird, like, he like do I don't coach them this is this mastermind part is like a collective or for I think for myself sometimes to getting out of the coaching rolling into like the collective role in facilitating role is an interesting is an interesting one.

Yeah, you're you're absolutely right. And, and part of what I provide in the stuff that I do is facilitation training, and it's not like some you know, how to lead a corporate meeting kind of type facilitation. It's specifically as a guru, leading a mastermind, and here's, here's how to facilitate. But you're absolutely right, sometimes you're almost switching hats in the same meeting. And what I'll do sometimes is I'll say, you know, if we're, if we're in a mastermind, I'll say, you know, if it's okay, I'm gonna put my coaching hat on for a second, and talk to you as the guru leader file person, you're following expertise you want, versus being just the facilitator, which is a more neutral kind of position where you're, you know, you're sharing experiences, and that kind of thing, but not actually doing the coaching and training.

That's a good idea. I also saw some really other interesting ideas for like, putting masterminds together that were, you know, it's like, not necessarily a space that you're in, but it's a space that perhaps you want to get into. And so putting some leaders of a group together that you know, you feel like are aligning, you are gonna get lots of benefit out of that, too. Can you just talk a little bit about, like, instead of it being like something that's in your zone of genius, like what like, are some other ways that you can create minds that you benefit from other than just like, when you're in your?

Absolutely, so So one of the things that I do try to teach is that anyone can start a mastermind, you don't have to be this huge authority figure this, you know, incredible content generator in order to start and run a mastermind and get people to pay you to be in it. The one that the model that you sort of alluded to, is what I call an access mastermind, where you could be, you know, a peon in your industry, but if you know, a few of the superstars in your industry, and you can go to them and say, You know what, I'm thinking to put together a mastermind for people like you, and you name drop a couple of others that you know, and you kind of build it from the standpoint of if I can, you know, so I'm already talking to you, you and you, if I can also get this person, this person and this person interested, is that a mastermind that you would want to be in? And yes, it's going to be the answer. Or like, if you're in other words, you're putting together these players that are quote, unquote, bigger than you or more authority or expertise, whatever further along in your industry. And you can put together a structure and a framework where they're going to get to meet and take advantage of the other people that they consider peers and admire in the industry. Absolutely. That's a way to go. And it's and it's a model that's been done many times.

Yeah, I think that's an interesting one to you. And then other other types. You mentioned that you call that a certain type of access mastermind other other types of types of masterminds that you consider to be a type. So one of

the things I teach in terms of distinguishing between like groups and that group programs and Masterminds is there are what I call task oriented masterminds. So that's closer to like a group coaching or training program where, okay, you're gonna go commit to be in it for six months or 12 months. And here are the specific outcomes that you can expect to achieve in those six to 12 months, right, you're gonna launch this learn that, you know, change this. And, and I just want to add here, it's a little bit of an off tangent, but a lot of people think when they hear masterminds they think is just for entrepreneurs. And actually, one of the easiest ways to create and attract people to mastermind is for people who, who help people with any kind of lifestyle changes, whether it's mindset changes, you know, healers, spiritual people, because those typically don't happen in a two month, you'll get results in two months, like this is a lifelong process of, you know, on a journey. Right. And those are perfect for masterminds. So back to there's task oriented masterminds that have more specific outcome, and then know what I call process oriented masterminds. And that's where there isn't as specific an outcome. So when I joined that first mastermind, 25 years ago, the only outcome that I expected when I joined is to grow my business and become a better entrepreneur. That was it, right? It wasn't like, I'm gonna, you know, go from a million to 2 million in revenue in 12 months, I'm going to do this. And it was an ongoing mastermind, you just signed up and you left when you aren't getting value any longer, which, for me, was 17 years. I didn't even I didn't even leave because I wasn't getting value I left because there was a competitive conflict that I because of something new I was doing with one of the other members and I volunteered to step out that mastermind still going on now, some 25 years.

That's so cool. And so I mean, the the masterminds I've been a part of, or have been so instrumental in making me feel like I have a community and support like when I was a solar solo, a business person. And so are there any other benefits that you won't really wanted to like highlight of like being a part of a mastermind? Like, I know, for me, it's been like the community, the support, and then like this, like a tank of people that I can go to her resources if I need.

Yeah, so there's lots of benefits. And the main thing to me is, it's about connection. So in a mastermind, you want to create intimacy, and vulnerability and create a safe place. Confidential confidentiality is critical in a mastermind, where people trust each other, that people are going to honor that confidentiality, and people are going to show up on time and not miss meetings, because there has to be mutual respect, and a mastermind amongst the members, if they dispersed, you know, showing up late is disrespectful to the other 10 people who showed up on time that are just as busy as the person coming in late, right? So it's, you've got to create that culture and those expectations up front. And so it's that connection. And obviously, as things you mentioned, that expanded network, the resources that you know, just it's like having a board of advisors for your life or your business that you trust and can go to confidentially. But the benefit that I also want to speak to is if many of the people in this listen to this are entrepreneurs, experts, healers, coaches, authors, the benefit for you is is number one, income, number two recurring revenue. And number three, a way for your most loyal raving fans to step up and be closer to you and, and be in your inner circle, right be in that group, that small group of people that you pick up the phone for when it rings, right. Like for me that that's a very small group. And so, what I try to teach and when I do like master classes and workshops, stuff like that is how anyone can create a mastermind that can add six figures in revenue to your business, no matter where you're at. One of the things one of the examples I use is that if you have a $1,500 course, or like a coaching package, one on one coaching package, just 1500 bucks, you need 67 clients to reach six figures in revenue. It's a lot of work. To get 67 clients, you need to have the big fancy marketing funnel, you need to have JV partners you need to know or you can find nine people who know love and trust you that pay $1,000 a month to be in your high end, intimate inner circle. And you've just created six figures in revenue for your business. So what's easier to find nine people who love you not just know like and trust but know love and trust you that would pay in some cases, much more than $10,000 to be in your inner circle. Right? There's certainly cases of people charging 20,000 30,050 100,000 to be a mastermind A year. And what that does then is it creates recurring revenue. Because at the minimum, you're signing up somebody for six months versus two or three, or a year where it's ongoing, right? It just like, leave when you're not getting value.

Yeah, I think that's really great. It's really good to hear the different options. Like it's not just one container, this is how it works. The key is to make it work for you, in your business, and for listening to see what our podcasters do listen to this, like, this is a great way for your podcast listeners who we kind of like loyal fans, but like maybe, maybe they don't need your coaching, but they want access to your more closer connection to you and, you know, link arms with you and grow their business or, you know, whatever it is that your podcast is about. I'm thinking about some of our clients that are in like nutrition or in you know, other kind of spaces that I think this mastermind model would be really good. Are there podcast listeners just to come out and get some more access and community builds around the topic that your podcast is on? Yeah,

I was just talking about that the other day, with the guy who runs a Podcast Network. And yeah, it's a great additional revenue stream for podcasters. Because you already have a tribe. Now, that tribe because they listen to your podcast, they know like and trust you. And it's not that difficult to move somebody from know like, and trust, I know love and trust, you've got to have a little bit of a journey in there and have something that they can spend more time with you. But you might even have fans just listening right now that do love you. So one of the examples I give is if you know, your fans, the people that love you, if you sit you know, if I said Hey, guys, I'm teaching yoga Friday mornings at 9:30am, who's in, right? Like, I don't know anything about yoga, but they would jump in because I'm teaching it and they know, I'll surround myself with a bunch of other amazing people that will participate. Right? That's where you want to be. And the other thing is that with masterminds, you can often flip the selling script, so that there really is no selling where you get to a point, because you've moved people on this journey from no lack of trust to know love and trust that it's like, well, now I have an application process or I have a waiting list to get into my mastermind. Tell me why why you would make a great person to join my mastermind, right? So it's, you know, for especially for people that don't like to sell it's, you know, when you create exclusivity in the present that sort of intimacy that the mastermind provides. You know, it's like, well, how do I get into that?

Right? Yeah, more of that, please. Yeah, no, this has been really great. Jay, I think this is really helpful for people just kind of have an idea of some other things that they can do and offer. And hey, guys I have a little secret about masterminds is that they're a heck of a lot easier to run than a group coaching program, or online courses that you have to create content for. Right? Yet, you still get to help people get results and amazing results. And if I can tell you my second secret about masterminds is that I've been joining them left Raymond center for probably five or six years. And that is where like 99% of my businesses come from. It doesn't necessarily mean they've come from my mastermind, but they become from the conference relationships, the people I've met in the mastermind, who have that refer people to me. So you get to be known in your mastermind space, you have a whole network of people think about 12 to 14 people that are out there constantly meeting people, and working in networking and building their businesses. Oh, if they hear that someone needs a podcast, guess what they're gonna automatically remember me because we've been together in this in this hive kind of type community, they're gonna automatically send them over to me. And so that is the accelerant in that your business needs is to have a community of people outside of yourself. They're constantly looking on your behalf for people to connect you.

Yeah. So I know, we're run out of time. But I just wanted to remind me that, that together sort of variation on the types of masterminds to that you can run is there's industry masterminds. So in this case, in your world, what that would be is a bunch of podcasters get together. And they're not necessarily talking about the same topics going after the same audience, but maybe they diversity of topics, but they're all podcasters and they want to join a mastermind learn how to be better podcasters how to monetize a podcast, how to get grow the audience. That's sort of an industry type right now, you can do that with plumbers and electricians and any type of business model. And then there's diversity where you intentionally want to bring in, like in my first mastermind, I was in the fundraising business, and I had a guy in my group that made precast concrete, those big planks that make up the flooring and multi storey buildings, right. As a manufacturer of concrete, and I do fundraising What could we possibly have in common? The diversity that you collect in a mastermind can actually be brilliant, because I don't think I've ever been in a mastermind in that kind of where there's that kind of diversity where somebody doesn't ask a question that I think to myself, like, Oh, my God, I wouldn't have even thought of that question. Because we're not all in the same industry thinking in the same box. Right. So that's the other. The other thing that mastermind provides is that diversity of thought, you know, people who think differently than you and that kind of thing. It's brilliant.

It's so good. I love it. So Gee, where can we find out more information about about running masterminds? I know you have a master class, can you share a little bit more about that with us?

My master class, I offer an offer a few times a year. The next one I have coming up is September 23. Although I have a three day event in mid July 23, if you're interested in that, the best way to just if you want to explore this, I have a mastermind readiness scorecard takes three or four minutes to complete. And it'll kind of give you an idea of how how much you already have in place and where some of the holes might be if you want to consider creating a high ticket, High Impact Program, like a mastermind or hybrid group program. And that's at mastermind ready scorecard.com. So mastermind ready scorecard.com. And then, if you have listened to this and you want to engage with me, it's pretty easy. My email is jay@fairbrother.com. Shoot me an email and be happy to talk. Awesome. Well, thank

you so much, Dave, for being here with us today. And for those of you guys listening and don't know, I've written and I actually run a mastermind for amplify you it's called raise your vibe. And it is for podcasters. And we do absolutely amazing things. So the first first of the month is stands for V, which is visibility. So we help you get other more likes on your podcast, more followers on your podcast, more reviews, LinkedIn reviews, recommendations, everyone has a chance to get something done every month. And then our second one is for the eye is for influence. And so we bring people in like Jay to come and talk to us about an influencer in their space and how they can use what they talked about to grab our cast and to make our podcasts explode, or their monetization or all sorts of other other ways of doing our podcast. And then the last two are BS for brilliance where you get to teach something this week, where you get to share something about your podcast that people can learn, or something about the coaching that you do. So people can learn a little bit more about you and know how to refer you better. And then the last week of is expansion. So we're gonna get on the hot seats, and we're gonna get some more problem solved from other members in the community. So that's our razor vibe. So that's what the four weeks are standing for vive V IV E. And that's something bring it with me if I use if you're interested in checking that out, please come on over and shoot us a message. Michelle, amplify you.ca or Braden, amplify USC, and we'd be happy to help you set you up with an application for Alright. Thanks, guys, for being here with us today. Jay, thank you so much for being here today. It's been a pleasure. Any last final words of advice for our listeners today?

No, I think you actually summarize as well as I could. But yeah, if you haven't participated in a mastermind, I highly suggest you find one that will add value and join it. And also, I'm happy to help anyone who wants to consider creating one of these programs. Because quite literally anyone can create one.

Awesome thank you so much, Dave. It's so good. Guys, you got to have a mastermind or be in one there'll be many of them are being like lots of them and have your own. That's the best way I see you have your own ambience is a good thing. Alright guys, go out there and have a fabulous week. We'll see you again next week. And take care. Thanks again, Jay.