We all belong to so many Facebook groups
(and we rarely engage in most of them), that you may wonder why I'm suggesting you join or create a new group.
Facebook groups have many different purposes and benefits and I'm thankful to be a member of several helpful and supportive groups. But there is one small group in particular of which I’m especially blessed to be included.
It is a carefully crafted and managed private Facebook group with members at similar stages of business who all actively participate with complete trust and shared goals.
This small group was created a couple of years ago by a blogging friend of mine. It's made up of a couple dozen bloggers who share business
ideas, strategies and experiences to support and help each other grow.
I’ve learned so much from these ladies and it’s definitely become my most important support group.
How Does It Work?
One of the key success factors in such a group is that it is a private, “secret” Facebook group that only adds new members when everyone agrees.
Now I must admit, usually I’m the first person to shy away from “exclusive” groups… I tend to feel bad about “excluding” people. But the fact is for this type of business support and sharing group to work when run on a platform such as Facebook, it needs to be limited to a small group of trusted individuals who have similar businesses and goals.
If you want members of the group to share sensitive information such as the rates they may charge and other business strategies, everyone needs confidence that what they share will stay only within the group.
I’ve created a couple Facebook groups myself that have been open to larger numbers of people and because they are larger, more open groups, they don't have that same level of privacy where people can share openly.
While large private Facebook groups can be very useful for content sharing and other types of networking, if you’re going to share sensitive business or even personal information, it needs to be in a small group where membership is controlled by one or two admins.
Just to reiterate… I very much like larger private Facebook groups for sharing content, networking, asking and responding to generalized business questions etc. I depend on several such groups. But if you want to have a trusted “mastermind” type of Facebook group, it needs to be small.
(Note that while these groups are not true “Mastermind groups” by Napolean Hill’s definition, they do share some similar properties and benefits.)
Avoid Facebook Private Group Drama
Many people experience “drama” or negative sharing in private Facebook groups. I was once part of a Facebook group where some “drama” broke out and the group ended up dissolving because of hurt feelings.
I am absolutely against any “drama”. I cannot stand such negativity added in to my life, so I avoid any groups where gossiping or negative sharing exists.
You Get What You Give
Give. Give. Give. And you’ll receive.
Share your ideas. Share your goals. Share the other members’ content on your social channels.
Support each other and you’ll all grow together.
How Do You Find Such A Group?
Honestly, it might not be easy to find the perfect group. It may take time and you may have to actually create the group yourself and carefully handpick a few key members and then ask them to make some suggestions.
I think one of the keys to forming a good group is that you're all at reasonably similar stages of your business with similar goals. Keep the conversation related mostly to business with perhaps some personal sharing, but nothing that could be considered gossip or bashing another blogger.
And everyone needs to understand and agree that everything shared in the group is private.
I really encourage you to try to find or form this type of supportive group on Facebook.