What is a MasterMind?
Accountability groups help you get out of your bubble, set goals,
and get new ideas and guidance from your peers
I’ve been in an art MasterMind group for the past 3 years.
It changed everything.
Our group doesn’t look like much from the outside - its just a bunch of gals (and a few guys) sittin’ around talkin’.
But when you sit with us -
(first, I’ll pull you a good espresso from my studio mate Pam Hoke’s excellent little Nespresso machine with a thick crema and everything, in a little old cup from the Animal Protection Society Thrift Store just down the way) -
I’m sure you’ll immediately get that these artists are serious about their art.
We each have quite different styles - from whimsical, colorful animal paintings, to bright abstract color fields, to photorealistic water. I have so much respect for each of these artists. Here is some of their work (and mine):
Over the past 3 or so years, the group has varied from 6 to 10 people - but with one thing in common - a desire for community and accountability. (Check out our website and learn more about the artists here at the Friday Harbor Atelier.)
In writing this, and putting together my coaching program over the past year, I realized there are three main areas that this group has helped me with - and in fact, I’ve used these 3 headings to organize my coaching program, the Practical Magic Art & Business Atelier - but more about that later.):
Awareness, Alignment, Accountability.
Awareness
Knowing where you are, what your vision is for your art and business, what your strengths and challenges are, is so important. In my coaching I use a couple of different assessments to help this process - the Enneagram, the Kolbe A Index, and my (fun but insightful) quiz, “What is your Artistic Archetype?”
All these tools help give you a sense of where you are and how to approach your goals.
Alignment
Once you figure out where you are and where you want to go, “aligning” yourself with your goals is the next step. Like when you first started to ride a bike, my dad set me on the seat, held me steady, gave me some pointers, and headed me in the right direction. But I had to do the pedaling. Alignment is about getting skills, being open to guidance, and heading down the road.
Accountability
The last step to reaching any goal is accountability - it is SO helpful if you have someone to report back to that cares about you and your outcome. And that is precisely what a MasterMind group or a coach does.
When you are accountable, there is a MUCH higher chance of reaching your goal. Plus, it is way more fun to have other like-minded folks to celebrate with!
So, here are a few ways my MasterMind group has helped me -
(and why I’m starting one for creative business owners this winter)!
1. Awareness
When I first joined, all I knew was “I wanted to be a REAL artist!” But I didn’t really know what that meant. I painted and drew a lot. I had JUST BARELY started a foundational art program at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle.
My group immediately gave me a touchstone of community, to watch what other people were doing, and become more aware of the possibilities out there. Here are some of the things the different artists were doing that I learned more about from our group:
How to set goals for my art - not too many, not to few
How to listen to others more attentively (I had a big problem with this! But my group is really helping me to “suit up, show up, and shut up” so I can listen more deeply and learn from others.)
How to approach a gallery for a show or representation
How to apply for an art fair or call for artists
How to sell profitably at an art fair or market
How to THINK about a studio practice, set up a schedule for painting, create a body of work
How to put together a group show or solo show
How to sell art online - AND prints online (we started our own site)
How to ask for help from a group and be vulnerable - when emotions are high, when personal life is overwhelming, when finances are strained (I did all these, and my group came to my rescue).
and much more!
2. Alignment
When you are in an accountability group, you can set goals, share celebrations, and get input and ideas from the group, and then allow the group to help you stay within the guardrails you’ve set for yourself and head the right direction.
How it works:
Meet Regularly at a Quiet, Neutral Spot:
Every two weeks, we meet for about 1.5 to 2 hours at our studio space. We close the doors, and don’t let anything invade this sacred time for us. We don’t bring or prepare a lot of snacks or anything, drink alchohol, or create a party atmosphere. This is for business and goal setting, and I have been in groups that were more for socializing, where there wasn’t a lot of focus. The community feeling comes from really supporting each other in our goals and deep friendships flourish!
Use a Timer:
We go around the circle, and each person gets from 12-15 minutes (we use a timer, to keep us on track). If there are more people, we adjust the time - so everyone gets the same amount of time.
Respect Everyone’s Time:
When someone is talking, everyone else is quiet, until the part where input is asked for - sometimes someone speaks up with “How can the group help you with this?” But LISTENING is key. Then you know that when you are up, everyone will listen to you, too.
Start with Short Celebrations:
Each person starts their 12-15 minutes with “Highs and Lows” - it helps us celebrate, helps release pent up emotion about a frustrating situation, and start the person’s time off right. Sometimes you think you’ve had a bad couple of weeks, but when you talk about your “highs,” then you realize things aren’t so bad! It is important to celebrate together and know what each of us is going through.
Share your main goal:
Usually, we each come to the group with a couple of big goals, like “Set up my business foundations,” or “Create a body of work,” or “Prepare and execute a solo show.” After your celebrations/Highs & Lows, then you talk about your big goal, where you are in getting there, and any obstacles you are facing.
Ask for & Take Suggestions:
Then you can ask the group for input, ideas, suggestions. Usually someone has a great - and I mean stellar - suggestion that you never thought of before. Some of these suggestions have changed my whole art practice - such as: Keep a BIG canvas in your studio, and when you have extra paint on your brush, use it on this canvas. Eventually, this canvas may reveal a new direction with its abstract marks. This suggestion got me thinking very differently about my work, and I use this idea all the time.
3. Accountability
Each meeting, we write down our goals, take notes, and then refer to them the next time. The group keeps us accountable by asking if we reached our goals, and if not, what kept us from reaching it.
This part can be more challenging to remember to do - and we haven’t always done it. But the times when we are really focused on helping each other be accountable, a lot of REAL progress has been made.
Here are some of the things some of our members have done - partly because of the accountability of the group:
Been accepted by an A-List Gallery
Raised prices of paintings from $5,000 to $10,000 for a large piece
Created a system for a waiting list for commissions, with an incentive to put down a deposit
Created a body of work and put on a solo installation (that was me!)
Sold TWICE the amount of art - in dollar amount - than the goal was at the beginning of the year
and MUCH more.
Accountability groups WORK.
And an added benefit for me was that it accomplished my first, original goal - of feeling like a REAL artist!
Whoa. That was huge for me - and now I realize it was mostly mindset - just believing in myself, which this group helped me to do.
From this original group, (which, 3 years later, I am still an active member of), I started my coaching practice, built two websites, sold my first large paintings (to people other than my brother!), started selling prints online, started offering courses (in person and online).
And I know the other members also have stretched themselves in new ways they didn’t think was possible.
So, that is why, this winter, I’m starting a MasterMind group for creative business owners.
I want to include ANY creative business owner - makers, artists, crafters, builders, writers, etc. so you can see some of the benefits of this amazing, transformative process!
I want to keep it small - no more than 8 people, so everyone has a chance to talk and share their goals and challenged.
I invite you to join in my new
MasterMind
Winter Intensive
in person or by Zoom!
Questions?
Feel free to email at hello@shannonborg.com
if the page above (you can click into it) doesn’t answer all your questions, including:
How does it work?
We’ll meet once a month from November until April in person (or on Zoom!)
Why do I charge?
You may have heard that some MasterMind Groups are free - so why do I charge? I have two reasons:
