How to Tap Into the Power of Small Peer Groups
Alignable’s mantra from day one has been: “Business Owners are Stronger Together.” We’ve built many features into our platform to make it easier for you to meet, connect, and build relationships.
We’ve always wanted it to be simple to find small groups of peers (based around location, interests, or expertise) to collaborate with through Alignable. But with 5.6 million members with different needs and interests, it’s not an easy problem to solve.
Enter Sue Brooke.
Sue has been an Alignable member for years. Based out of CA, she reached out to us all fired up about using Alignable for her Mastermind Groups and started pressing us to do more to help our members form and run groups of their own. She was so persistent, we simply had to hire her.
Since this is her first week on the team, we thought it fitting for her to share her tips on the power of small peer groups.
The Power of Small Peer Groups
Hi, I’m Sue Brooke—author, speaker, marketing strategist, relationship builder, networking expert, and now Head of Groups here at Alignable. First off, let me tell you how excited I am to be a resource dedicated to helping you start and explore the wonderful world of small peer groups!
We’re going to have a lot of fun getting to know each other while tapping into the awesome power being a member of a small group can bring to you and your business.
To start it off, here’s why groups are so beneficial, how they work, and a few tips for finding or starting one of your own.
Why Groups Help
Being a part of a community of like-minded people should be an essential part of your business at any time, but especially right now.
It can get lonely working from home, while navigating new ways of doing business and endless distractions. That’s where groups come in—having a place to connect with your peers can make all the difference.
How They Work
There are many types of groups, but generally, they bring together a community of like-minded people who want to help you grow as much as they do.
Most meet regularly to share wins, find support, and hold each other accountable. It's important to have private space for your group online to communicate and stay in touch.
Like most things, you get out of groups what you put in. Here are a few ways to get the most from them.
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Find support and give it too: Find a group where you can ask questions and get advice, but also add value by sharing your expertise and unique perspectives. When you give back and help others, you build relationships that can lead to new friendships, referral partners, and even new business opportunities!
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Check in consistently: To get the most out of a group experience, schedule time to check in on a regular basis to start conversations, answer questions, engage with others, and share ideas.
- Build one-on-one connections: Make an effort to reach out to other members individually. Building relationships should always be your intention, not to “sell” them your product or service! Try to connect with people who are in your industry or work with your potential customers—these could lead to affiliate and referral partnerships that may provide new opportunities to grow your business.
What You Can Do to Find or Start a Group of Your Own
If you’re ready to get started, the first step is to determine what type of group you want to join. You can find one by geographic area, business size, business type (B2B, B2C), your industry, networking as a whole, referral-based, or my favorite, Mastermind groups.
Of course, most are virtual right now, so you can find one easily by searching or asking a trusted mentor.
If you’re looking for a group that just doesn’t exist yet or you want to showcase your expertise on a topic or in a field, you can start your own group.
If you’re ready to dive in to hosting, try these tips:
- Share your expertise, tools, and resources
- Avoid selling
- Aim to educate and inspire others
When you offer valuable content, and share your best “secrets,” this will create trust and confidence in you, and attract new clients and referrals! Win-win.
Stay Tuned for Groups You Can Join on Alignable
I hope this gets you excited about the power of small groups. In the coming months, I’ll help you form groups right here on Alignable. If you have ideas for how to make them the best they can be, share them with me in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer!
For more ways to expand and connect with your network, try:
Comments (1-10)
I’ve been getting contacts from people in the dry cleaning business, coffee stores, and other businesses that I did not list on my profile. I don’t feel comfortable recommending people that I’ve never done business with please send me some information to grow my architectural and design business with like-minded Businesses
I've read Napoleon Hill's book and the idea of a Mastermind Group is very appealing. I've been in my field for almost three decades, have done freelance work on the side for most of it, but now I am truly branching off on my own. I can use all the help I can get, and am willing be return the favor. There is so much more we can do together than trying to do everything on our own. Thank you for sharing, and good luck on the new job! I look forward to learning more.
I loved this article. I might offer a highly effective addition: Most all seem to be aware that we are 'connected' as one living being. "I am the consciousness of you, always was, and always knew, yes, I AM You, I AM". With this as a possible base of thinking, we are already connected in a very etheric or spiritual context. Our intuition sometimes gives us glimpses of this with supposedly ahaaa moments and times of synchronicities with other people, places, and events. It seems time that we embrace our oneness and serve each other finding, sharing, and teaching our own particular genius with each other. I whole heartedly agree, it is easier to accomplish in a group!
Great article, I love this. Finding groups that can help me learn and be inspired to grow while building lasting relationships has always been my goal. Now that I am working from home I think it is even more important to be a part of groups like these.
Is there a group for women-owned businesses either locally or nationally?
I would love to belong to a Mastermind group? I want to help individuals with their goals, both for themselves and their families and their businesses.
We as humans thrive on connection. Even those of us who are introverts have learned to develop extrovert qualities in order to truly connect with others in groups. One of the benefits of people coming together as a group, especially one where we share a number of things in common is summed up in something Mary Kay Ash said. Without quoting exactly she said when you have an idea, I have an idea and we share those ideas, we now have three ideas. Brilliant, right? We expand.
Especially at this time when we're spending more time at home, I believe it's essential to have peer groups for discussing topics relevant to small business, including soft topics, like mindset, eliminating procrastination, etc. and benefit from the various types of knowledge and experience each member of the group possesses.
I am interested in like minded businesses. My firm does accounting and taxes. I am not looking for clients, just helping others. I have 25 years experience and would be very happy to share ideas, tax tips, etc. I am on some blogs too.
Firstly WHY do you assume we all “work from home”? I own a retail store and service business for fourth years which was established in 1929. Before I bought that business I had started a retail store for two years. Also in retail in Scarsdale no one has time or interest to bubble with you. It’s either you are friendly with other types of stores from yours (like food for example) or you are competing with scam artists in my locksmith business. No amount of networking will really help you, particularly in a pandemic where 20% of shops on your block have closed bring no one. The only “networking” I’ve seen in al most half a century in my biz type is kickbacks from evil Locksmiths to bad building management companies.
Great Article!