Photo Credit: Getty Images
By Thanh Mai, OD
Dec. 17, 2025
Let’s be honest: at some point in your career, you’re not struggling because you don’t know what to do. You’re stuck because you’re the only one trying to do it.
Enter: the mastermind group.
I’m talking about a small circle of smart, ambitious people who are ready to talk with peers who get it. Not your flaky friend who thinks “networking” means commenting on a LinkedIn post. I mean real business owners. That’s real stakes and real wins. Real “holy moly what do I do with this email from a patient threatening to Yelp-nuke me” moments.
Here’s how to start a local mastermind group that doesn’t fizzle out like your New Year’s gym resolution.
Be Honest: What’s the Point of This?
Before you send that overly enthusiastic group text, answer this: Why does this group need to exist?
Is it to grow revenue? Share leadership strategies? Get help onboarding your fifth associate? Whine about the death of managed care reimbursements over wine?
Great! Pick one. And stick to it.
This clarity tells you:
- Who to invite (e.g., people actually doing big things, not just thinking about it)
- How often you meet (monthly or biweekly — not “sometime soon when schedules align,” aka never)
- What you talk about (see: not fantasy football)
If you want to scale your myopia program, grab others in vision therapy, dry eye or specialty. If your life goal is to not run every meeting at your practice forever, find folks using systems who can help you delegate instead of spiral.
Pick the Right People to Start a Local Mastermind Group
This isn’t group therapy. It’s not a Facebook group with 19,000 passive lurkers. You want 5-8 real people. People who:
- Are smart but not full of themselves
- Have some battle scars (and are willing to show them)
- Actually do stuff between meetings
So yes, maybe it’s time to stop asking your broke colleague down the street for business advice.
Set Ground Rules (AKA “No Flaking, Karen”)
From day one, you need to lay down the law. That means showing up, even if you’re tired. Even if your dog ate your KPI report.
No leaks. What’s said in the group, stays in the group.
Meetings are sacred. Not optional. This is not brunch.
Highly recommended: Everyone shares their biggest current challenge or juicy business goal in the first session. It breaks the ice and helps the group avoid the “So… how’s business?” snoozefest.
Run Meetings Like a Pro
Here’s the 90-minute format that works. Don’t mess with it:
1. Wins (15 minutes)
Start with a round of “What’s working?” Business wins, personal wins, weird wins (yes, surviving back-to-back parent-teacher conferences counts).
2. Hot Seats (60 minutes)
One or two people dive deep into a challenge. Everyone else asks questions and offers advice. Examples:
“How do I stop being the bottleneck in every decision?”
“My front desk is ghosting new patients. HELP.”
3. Commitments (10 minutes)
Everyone picks one thing they’ll do before the next meeting. And if they don’t? Oh, they’re getting called out.
4. Rate the Meeting (5 minutes)
Everyone gives it a 1–10. Anything under 8 gets flagged. “We started 20 minutes late because Jeff was finishing a burrito” is now an action item.
5. Rotate the Host (So You Don’t Secretly Hate Each Other)
Every meeting, a different person runs the show. They:
- Send reminders
- Host the Zoom or book the table
- Keep people on track
- Lightly roast whoever didn’t do their commitment (lovingly)
This avoids one person doing all the work and resenting everyone in silence until they rage-quit.
Use Tools That Don’t Suck
Start a shared Google Doc or some page to track hot seats, action items and “OMG, you have to try this” tools
Consider occasional guest speakers, such as a (local lawyer? HR consultant? Someone who successfully fired a toxic staff member and lived to tell the tale?)
Think about an annual retreat. Airbnb, whiteboards and overpriced charcuterie. Let’s go.
Don’t “Try It Out”—Commit
This is not a casual friend group that “might meet again.” You want a 12-month commitment.
Say it out loud: We’re committing to meet for one year. Not “if it works.” Not “if my schedule clears up.” You’re either in or you’re out. (Looking at you, Greg.)
Copy Shamelessly
Someone in your group is crushing it at something—marketing, hiring or raising prices without scaring patients. Steal everything that works.
You’re not here to admire. You’re here to model. That’s the whole point. Get off the 5-year solo learning curve and do what’s already working.
As they say: success leaves clues. So stop trying to invent your own flashlight. Just use the darn one your mastermind buddy is handing you.
Real Talk: It Works
One of my mastermind peers was doing 60 IPL sessions a month. I straight-up copied his pricing, scripting and how he presented the treatment. After we invested in our own IPL, we didn’t hit 60 out of the gate. But helping 2-4 patients a month right away felt like a win, and his blueprint shaved months off our learning curve.
Another friend running a $10M+ multi-location practice shared the org chart he built with his Entrepreneurial Operating System® implementer. It clicked instantly. We’re planning on a similar structure in our multilocation practices. It’s going to bring clarity to roles and accountability we’ll need to scale up.
Your Net Worth = Your Network
The most powerful growth tool in your career is not a new piece of equipment, another CE course or yet another vision plan fee schedule deep dive.
It’s the people you surround yourself with. You want people who challenge your thinking, cheer your wins and politely (or not-so-politely) tell you when you’re playing small.
Stop going it alone. Start your mastermind group. And yes, you can still talk about frame lines after you scale your business and take Fridays off.
Read another column from Dr. Mai.
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Thanh Mai, OD, is an owner of Insight Vision Center Optometry, a Vision Source practice in Costa Mesa, California; Optometry Corner, a Vision Source practice in Irvine, California; and Eyecon Optometry, a Vision Source practice in Reseda, California. In addition, Dr. Mai owns Project Eyecare, a Vision Source practice in Mission Viejo, California. To contact him: tmai@visionsource.com |
