HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT MASTERMIND HOTSEAT + A FREE TEMPLATE!

You have a Mastermind Group. You’re prepared to take notes & run your meeting. It’s your turn in the hotseat. Are you ready?

Below, I’m going to break down the structure I use to prepare for my hotseat. The great thing about this system is it not only prepares me to present my business, but it forces me to stop and think about what I’m doing really well, and where I’m struggling. At the end of this post, I’m going to give you my exact Hotseat Prep Template, absolutely free.

WHAT’S A HOTSEAT?

For the uninitiated, a hotseat is a moment in your mastermind meetings that can fill you with excitement or dread. It’s 45 minutes of spotlight onto your business — the good, the bad, the ugly. It’s amazing how much can come from a time in the hotseat. There’s nothing like fresh eyes on your business, to question and validate your choices and goals and force you to think, prioritize and act.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR HOTSEAT

Maybe you’ve done the hotseat before, or maybe it’s your first time. Either way, the best way to shake the nerves is to get prepared. Spend some time a couple of days before your hotseat gathering your thoughts. How do you want this hotseat to go? What are you excited to share with your group, and what are you struggling with?

SINCE LAST HOTSEAT

If you’ve been in the hotseat before, chances are your group is familiar with your business and your objectives. You should make a list of 3–5 things that have happened since the last time you were in the hotseat. Look over your notes. Did you implement anything they suggested? Did it work? Not work?

When I look over notes from my previous hotseats, I’m amazed at how much has changed in just a few weeks. Comparing my business a month ago and today shows the positive effects a mastermind group can have. That’s what makes this section so important, because you may not have been able to share all the good and new things you’ve implemented in the few weeks. Now is a perfect time to go over them.

If this is your first hotseat, you’re just going to dive deep into your business and you as an entrepreneur. What are you doing? What are your main objectives? What is your traffic strategy? Who is your audience?

BY THE NUMBERS

Share your current numbers. How many people are on your email list? How many products do you have? Share your traffic if it’s significant, and your sales. If you’re using ads, share your conversion % and your CPC. If you’re a podcaster, share your downloads. Any numbers that significantly impact your business, be sure to share them with your group in the beginning, so they have context when you’re sharing your objectives.

WHAT’S WORKING

What are you doing in your business that’s making a difference? What are you doing differently or what have you changed that is making positive strides? You will never find better cheerleaders than your Mastermind Group. They want to celebrate your wins with you, so make it easy for them to do!

In my hotseat, I’m working on my second online business. My group is familiar with my past one, but this site is so new I wanted to share with them why this one is already working better for me this time around. Plus, this is my first hotseat in this particular niche, so there’s a lot to discuss. I use this section, rather than the “Since Last Hotseat” section to celebrate my big wins.

WHERE TO GO

This section is really important if you have a lot of different ideas or paths you could take, but you aren’t sure which one is the right one. Laying out all the possible paths you could take in your business ahead of time will help you and your group cover things you may have forgotten about. If there are 40 different ways to go, writing them out will help you prioritize. Plus, if I may speak from experience, writing out all the possible directions helps you realize how ridiculous it is to try to do so many things at once.

WHAT I’M STRUGGLING WITH

This is arguably the most important piece of preparation. Know what you want to ask about ahead of time. You know what isn’t working in your business, but you may not be able to see why it isn’t working because you are too close. Your mastermind group has fresh eyes, and they will probably come up with something that feels obvious as soon as they say it. They may also provide solutions that you would never dream of, but are excited to try. These unique perspectives are why I recommend Mastermind groups in the first place!

YOUR TURN

Do this bit of prep work beforehand will take you 20 minutes, it will be helpful to your Mastermind Group, and it will be helpful in planning for success in your business. This exercise forces you to revisit progress you’ve made in the last 1–2 months, the numbers that impact your business, your personal wins, potential growth strategies and obstacles in your way. You could even make time for this exercise every week so you’ll always know exactly how you measure up.

Now it’s time for you to prepare for your hotseat. I want to give you a free Hotseat Prep Template (formatted for Pages, Word & Print) + the exact prep I did for a few of my own hotseats. This template makes it super easy to follow the structure I outlined above.

Click below to get the Hotseat Prep Template emailed to you, free.