7 Tips To Harness The Power Of Your Own Mastermind Group

Nothing worth doing can be done alone. Find a group to help you on the journey.

By Bill Cates

If there is one book responsible for creating more millionaires than any other, my guess it would have to be ink and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. One of the many concepts Hill covers is the power of the mastermind. Hill wrote, “When two people get together to brainstorm solutions to problems, it creates a third mind.” is third mind can create ideas that wouldn’t happen for an individual on their own.

Many people call this a “study group.” Regardless of what you call it, do you have one? And it is bringing you the results you set out to achieve?

Harness Its Power

I’ve been using the power of the mastermind for more than 20 years. I currently belong to three mastermind groups. Each one has a different dynamic based on the members and overall purpose of the group. If I weren’t getting value from these groups and the relationships, I would have stopped long ago.

2. How many should you have in your

group? I have found five or six to be ideal. (I know others like slightly smaller or slightly larger groups.) We almost never meet unless everyone can attend (because we value everyone’s unique perspective) since we want to have plenty of energy and creativity and still be able to “go deep” with each person’s situation.

3. Do you have to meet in person?

There is no question that in-person meetings are the best. As you might imagine, you can see visual clues that might cause you to go deeper with parts of your discussion. I suppose that Napoleon Hill would argue that an “energy” is also created that won’t be happening if you aren’t meeting in person. Prior to the pandemic, one of my groups conducted quarterly in-person meetings (traveling from different parts of the country) with monthly check-in phone meeting in between. Of course, the more members you have in your group, the harder it will be to coordinate meetings — especially with in-person meetings.

1. Who should be in your

group? Your group can be made up of people just like you, in your same line of work, or it can be made up of folks from other industries. One of my groups contains two people who have businesses similar to mine and two others in businesses that are indirectly related. By having people from other industries, we all get fresh ideas that don’t just reinforce the “industry speak.”

Napoleon Hill defined a mastermind group as “the coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

4. What do you talk about?

Most of our meetings consist of the following items: • Sharing recent wins and challenges and what we learned from them. • Sharing our revenue actual numbers and compare them to our goals. • Brainstorming solutions to problems. • Setting goals for the year (or quarter, etc.). • Setting specific actions to be accomplished between meetings.

5. What else do you discuss? From time to time, we have brought in “guest experts” or created a special theme for the meeting that dominates a good portion of the meeting.

No two minds ever come together without, thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force, which may be

likened to a third mind.

Bringing in a guest or creating a theme can bring out ideas and perspectives we might not normally tap into. Sometimes we have given one of the members time to expand on one aspect of their business that is truly working for them.

6. How long are your meetings? When my local group met in person, it met for about seven hours per day — not counting 30 minutes of “warm up” time over a continental breakfast. e meeting host covers this light breakfast and a more filling lunch. We spread the meetings around and figure that if we didn’t have to drive 60-90 minutes to the meeting, we can spring for the meals.

With five people, seven hours is usually plenty of time. Each person ends up getting about 50-60 minutes of time devoted to their issues at hand. Members are expected to bring issues or questions to have the mastermind address. If the member does not bring enough fodder for conversation, we ask them questions to make sure they are handling things that we know to be important to them.

For my two groups where we travel (on a long drive or by airplane), we devote about 24 hours to the meeting — meaning we travel in the morning of the first day and travel home the afternoon or evening of the second day. We have working lunches and a working dinner. No, we don’t read bedtime stories to each other.

7. Do you give referrals or do any busi-

ness together? Sometimes. We definitely have referred business to each other over the years. And we have even hired each other a few times for the other’s expertise. Usually, we just help each other out, but when the “project” becomes more involved, we’ll pay the other person a fair price for their help.

Just about nothing in our business or personal life that’s worth accomplishing can be done alone. Asking for help is a sign of strength. Find ways to bring people into your life to continue your education, brainstorm ideas and hold each other accountable.

Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE, is president, Referral Coach International, and the author of Get More Referrals Now, Beyond Referrals and Radical Relevance. He is the founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing. He may be contacted at bill.cates@innfeedback.com.

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Financial Wellness: The Next Level Of Planning And Benefits

Advisors and employers play a role in helping clients face a more confident financial future.

By Deb Dupont

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Americans face unprecedented financial, social and physical challenges. e notion of financial wellness — at its very core, freedom from immediate financial stress and the ability to prepare for future financial needs — is changing (and being challenged) in ways it never has before. e retirement industry is also evolving with new ways advisors support their clients in both retail and institutional markets.

LL Global instituted an industry task force to define and explore the many aspects of financial wellness for all our stakeholders — from individual consumers and clients to employers and their workers to the advisors and service providers who seek to fulfill the needs of all.

e core definition for financial wellness, developed by the task force, is “being confident in your financial situation, able to withstand unexpected expenses, and enjoying a financially secure future.” e group adopted this holistic view to include an emotional component, objective security/preparedness and support for future goals.

Financial wellness, so defined, is also fundamental to the role advisors play in helping their clients with financial planning as well as the role benefits advisors and financial wellness programs have in helping workers with their own current and future financial needs and goals.

According to the Secure Retirement Institute study “Advisor Views on Financial Wellness,” financial wellness differs from traditional financial planning efforts by:

» Also relating to health and medical comfort (and absence of problems).

» Having an educational component.

» Addressing emotion.

» Including investments, retirement and more.

» Taking a holistic approach to finances.

Based on 1,147 retirement benefits decision-makers in employers with 10 or more employees. Source: “More an a Paycheck: Retirement Plan Sponsors and Financial Wellness Offerings,” SRI, 2020.

In many ways, these are themes that can be most efficiently addressed (and in scale) via workplace-enabled programs; according to other SRI research, nine in 10 advisors to defined contribution plans include some degree of financial wellness support in their offerings.

On the retail side, recent LIMRA research suggests there is a small but growing number of financial professionals who are familiar with financial wellness programs and that awareness is highest among group benefits brokers who work with larger employers. is tracks with the inclusion of formal wellness programs in the workplace itself. In 2018, 21% of employers with 10–19 employees currently offered a wellness program, compared with 50% of those with 1,000 or more employees. Another 23% of small employers planned to add a program within a year or so, leaving more than half with no plans or thoughts of including financial wellness in their benefits offerings.

Not all wellness programs are alike, and I would venture to say that not all wellness programs are specifically defined as such. Taking a holistic approach that includes both education and products that help individuals address a host of financial needs — beyond retirement saving and health insurance — is perhaps the most basic common denominator. is creates great opportunity for advisors to assess needs and craft programs with both retail and institutional clients. e elements of financial wellness, leveraging both workplace benefits and individual financial needs, are well suited for advisors to deliver retirement planning, retirement education, estate planning, insurance planning, budgeting, rainy-day saving, debt management, etc. Getting on the financial wellness bandwagon offers advisors an opportunity to deepen relationships and add new dimensions to the value they bring to clients.

Deb Dupont is assistant vice president, institutional retirement research, Secure Retirement Institute. She may be contacted at deb.dupont@innfeedback.com.

Women-Only Study Groups Offer Support And Solidarity

Women-led networking groups and support systems provide a unique and powerful environment that fosters development and builds confidence.

By Kathleen Benjamin

Solidarity and networking with like-minded professionals can help any individual overcome challenges and achieve sought-after success. For women in a male-dominated field such as financial services, women-only small groups can provide camaraderie, encouragement and accountability — all integral pieces of long-term professional and personal growth.

Several years ago, four women and I created an all-woman study group designed to help members overcome hurdles. This group is responsible for immeasurable individual achievements and some of my most meaningful relationships. A career in financial services can be rewarding, but it requires dedication and fearlessness. A formal study group is a great way to surround yourself with impactful individuals and align every group member for greater success, which you can pass on to clients.

Curate Your Network And Support System

To start, find like-minded professional women from shared professional or local associations to make up your group. Expect to take some time to identify the special mix of members and personalities needed to create a nurturing environment for professional and personal growth. The women in my group met through our involvement in MDRT, but it took years of planning before we formalized our study group.

Consider members’ personalities and how they’ll blend to impact the group’s overall dynamic. It’s important for each person to get to know the other women on personal and professional levels to develop trust and confidence. An ideal dynamic will help members feel comfortable sharing their flaws, concerns and challenges, and feel confident providing guidance and comfort to others.

Expand Beyond Geographic Boundaries

Membership in industry-specific support groups likely will extend across geographic lines. This can be challenging to overcome, but technology and commitment can ease the burden and ultimately align the right people to achieve success. Each group should have an optimal meeting schedule and method to help keep its members engaged and motivated.

The women in my study group live across the U.S., but we’re all at similar points in our careers. We make up for this distance through monthly video conferences, phone calls and (pre-pandemic) semiannual in-person meetings. These meetings allow for holistic personal and professional updates to the support system. We report our progress and collectively discuss plans to further our successes and confront our challenges.

Before the pandemic, my group would regroup after the MDRT Annual Meeting, held in June. We debriefed on our personal goals, key conference takeaways and next steps for our practices. In early December, we met in person again to reflect on our progress and to finalize individual and group plans for the coming year. These meetings helped me apply new business strategies and grow my practice.

Develop A Group Objective

It’s important to have a group structure to follow, and group objectives should evolve with each member’s needs. For example, advisors may want to concentrate on certain insurance products, practice management issues or business development strategies in addition to general mentoring and group support. Collaborate to identify a calendar that breaks annual objectives down into measurable monthly goals.

The subjects your group studies will change over time, and it’s best to embrace that change. Together, we explore areas such as journaling or healthy eating to round out our nonprofessional skills and become better leaders and advisors for our clients through greater work-life balance.

Identify A Common Starting Point

It’s helpful to identify a common journey or cause for group members to embark on together. We each completed The One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan as a first step in our collective goal of professional development. From there, we employed a business coach for two years to join us for monthly coaching calls and guide us through individual goals and challenges. Our coach led us through the process together without being a formal leader, which gave us breathing room to grow.

We stayed on the same page because we started from the same place and leveraged the same plan. This approach provided much-needed stability to our group. We experienced firsthand that the best thing you can do to help a business grow is work on it, rather than in it. Monthly calls and the support of our sisterhood helped keep us all focused on our goals and objectives for our individual businesses.

In the years my study group has been together, we’ve reached countless personal and professional milestones. Women-led networking groups and support systems provide a unique and powerful environment that fosters development and builds confidence. If you’ve considered joining or starting a group in the past, reach out to a few like-minded women to start the process.

Kathleen Benjamin, CFP, CPA, joined Brotman Financial Group as a principal in 2015. Kathleen is a 17-year MDRT member with five Top of the Table qualifications. She may be contacted at kathleen.benjamin@innfeedback.com.

College Funding Advice Opens The Door To A New Market

How advisors can add value to clients by helping them solve the nation’s top financial challenge.

By Brock Jolly

The statistics don’t lie. Nearly 90% of the people who enter the financial services industry fail out within the first few years. Why? My observation is that it’s almost always because they aren’t seeing enough quality prospects. Industry icon Tom Hegna frequently says, “There’s riches in niches.” What if you had a niche that provided you a turnkey way to get in front of motivated prospects on a regular and consistent basis? Wouldn’t you love a way to add tremendous value for your clients by helping them solve the top financial challenge in our country today?

One of the greatest threats to American financial well-being has been intensifying for decades. is risk is so closely attached to the American dream that it deserves our attention. e threat? Student loan debt. ere are currently 43.2 million student borrowers who hold an average debt of $39,551 — a total of $1.73 trillion — and EducationData.org reports that debt is growing at 23.6% annually, six times the rate of the U.S. economy!

As financial advisors, one of the most valuable solutions we can provide for families is helping them save and pay for college. According to Gallup, 73% of parents of children younger than 18 say that paying for college is their top concern, making it the No. 1 financial fear of most American families.

Although it would be ideal to start saving for college from the time a child is born, that’s just not realistic. Good financial planning balances wealth management and risk management. Too often, we allow our clients to do a great job of saving for retirement and, in doing so, allow them to sacrifice their children’s college savings. is ultimately may jeopardize retirement savings if it means that the parents are taking on the student loan debt.

If the students take on the debt, the downward spiral of debt also can be exacerbated. Let’s say, for example, that a student decides to attend an out-of-state public school rather than the in-state option. According to e College Board, the price differential is $16,460 ($43,280 versus $26,820) per year. If the student graduates in four years (the average is closer to six), and if the cost of attendance doesn’t increase (it usually does, by about 5% per year), that’s $65,840 borrowed. Regardless of who pays the bill, if the loan has an interest rate of 4% and is repaid over 10 years, that’s $667 per month — a significant amount for a recent college graduate or a parent who hopes to retire soon. e demand for a college education is higher than ever. Students who attend college hope to earn a degree that will dramatically increase their lifetime earning power. And the colleges feast on this demand. Over the past 20 years, as the cost of borrowing — student loan interest rates — has decreased, the price of college has slowly increased. In fact, since 2000, college tuition and fees have increased by nearly 170% — almost three times the rate of the Consumer Price Index. Because families have not saved enough, they turn to student loans to make up the difference.

In 2002, I set out to solve this problem and developed my niche in the college funding space. Our team’s goal is to help eradicate student loan debt and its impact on so many American families. We do this by helping parents develop comprehensive financial planning strategies for saving and paying for college. Unfortunately, for so many financial advisors, when asked about the best way to pay for college, the solution is product-centric: a Section 529 plan. Although Section 529 plans are a tremendous financial instrument — and one we use frequently with our clients — they are surely not the only solution, and there are advantages and disadvantages to these complicated instruments.

For nearly 20 years, our team of advisors has worked with families to help solve this complex challenge. Knowing that saving for college funding is the top financial fear facing Americans and that advisors are challenged to find great clients who are motivated to work with them, we have found that college funding is a great door opener for a more comprehensive planning discussion.

Although many advisors focus on retirement planning or insurance strategies, college funding is a pillar of financial planning that often is overlooked. By understanding the multifaceted process of saving and paying for college how financial aid works; and methods for appealing for aid, qualifying for scholarships, navigating the student loan process and creating strategies to address these concerns, an advisor can add tremendous value and minimize the amount of student loans a family must assume. While working with business owners or near-retirees may be ideal, in my experience, families of college-bound children are motivated, have lots of questions and make excellent clients for life. And once you’ve solved this top challenge, it opens the door to add value in many other areas of financial concern.

Brock Jolly, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, CASL, CFBS, RICP, CEPA, is a financial advisor with Veritas Financial and the founder of The College Funding Coach. He currently serves as NAIFA’s national treasurer. He may be contacted at brock. jolly@innfeedback.com.

The Perils Of Parent PLUS Loans

Federal PLUS loans may be an attractive option for parents who want to finance their child’s education, but it might be too easy to borrow too much.

By Ross Riskin

When evaluating college borrowing options, federal PLUS loans are a favorite option for parents — yet there are systemic issues surrounding these loans that might not be well understood by many. Here are four main issues important for both advisors and prospective borrowers to be aware of when determining whether a federal PLUS loan is the best financing option for their situation.

Financial Aid Award Letter Confusion

Current or prospective students and parents who fill out the Federal Application for Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, become eligible for a parent PLUS loan. Subsequently, a financial aid award letter details what aid the student is eligible to receive. However, these letters lack uniformity in presenting the difference between gift aid, which does not need to be repaid (e.g., grants, scholarships), and self-help aid, which does need to be repaid (e.g. federal Stafford loans for undergraduate students). Some schools have omitted the word “loan” from PLUS award letters, which can mislead families into believing the assistance need not be repaid. To avoid confusion, families should carefully review award letters with their advisor to determine the appropriate aid.

Lack Of Cost Transparency

The interest rate for PLUS loans disbursed between July 1, 2021, and June 3, 2022, is 6.28% (calculated by adding 4.6% to the most recent 10-year Treasury note auction, which was May 2021). These loans carry fixed interest rates, yet they change each year a parent borrows — an important consideration relative to the borrowing timeline. By May 1, students typically have decided which school they will attend, and families have likely determined how much they need to borrow to meet the funding gap — all before federal loan interest rates are determined for the upcoming academic year!

Beyond this, origination fees imposed on the loans are the main transparency concern. For PLUS loans disbursed between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022, an origination fee of 4.228% is imposed — extremely high, considering most private education loans impose no such fees, and the average origination fee on a mortgage is around 1%. ese fees increase the cost of the PLUS loan while making it more difficult to compare against a private alternative.

Private lenders are required to display APR figures whereas the U.S. Department of Education is not. is means a private loan, sporting a higher stated interest rate, could be more cost effective than a PLUS loan carrying a lower stated interest rate. Families evaluating federal and private financing options should consider working with an advisor to run simulations with varying repayment terms to determine APRs for the PLUS loan, allowing for a true “apples to apples” comparison.

Too Easy To Borrow Too Much

A parent’s eligibility to borrow PLUS loans simply requires not having an adverse credit history. What’s not directly considered is a borrower’s credit score, assessment of income, or other traditional measures used to determine creditworthiness or ability to repay. Further, there are no annual or cumulative borrowing limits imposed on PLUS loans (instead, limits are tied to each school’s cost of attendance less the amount of a student’s financial assistance). Therefore, it’s possible for less-qualified borrowers to access other types of debt and borrow at levels greater than they can reasonably expect to repay. Advisors working with less-affluent families should perform an assessment of their ability to repay this debt instead of defaulting to borrowing the maximum amount to fill the gap. Advisors should encourage more affluent families to consider private loans, especially for borrowers with strong credit profiles who intend to repay the debt over a shorter period post-graduation.

Limited Repayment Options

For some parent borrowers, PLUS loans are the best option due to the current interest rate environment, ease of borrowing and flexibility with the amount. Still, parents should be aware of the repayment plans that are — and are not — available to them. Most student loan borrowers opt for the standard 10-year repayment plan, but growing in popularity are income-driven repayment plans such as IBR, PAYE, and REPAYE. Conversely, the only incomedriven repayment plan available for parent PLUS loan borrowers is an IncomeContingent Repayment (ICR). This is not as favorable as the IDR plans available to student borrowers because ICRs boast higher monthly payments and longer repayment terms.

Additionally, a parent borrower can only enroll in an ICR if their PLUS loan(s) has/have been consolidated with others into a direct consolidation loan. While it’s possible for parent borrowers to participate in other IDR plans through the double consolidation strategy, it becomes more complicated and is not a viable strategy for borrowers with a single PLUS loan, or those who have already consolidated loans into a direct consolidation loan.

At the end of the day, PLUS loans can be a great financing option for some borrowers and sub-optimal for others. Millions of parents favor these loans, and advisors should be cognizant of the associated planning opportunities — and pitfalls — so they can help borrowers achieve their higher education goals in the most financially efficient manner.

Ross Riskin is an associate professor of taxation and the director of the CFP and ChFC Education Programs at The American College of Financial Services. He may be contacted at ross.riskin@innfeedback.com.