The $0 Strategy That Accelerated My Growth Faster Than Any Program in 2025
How I created my own masterminds (and made them more powerful than paid ones)
Where This Really Started
Summer of 2024, I realised something.
The vision my husband and I had been building toward for over a decade… was real.
We had the lifestyle of our dreams.
We had relocated to Portugal.
Our children were thriving in our homeschooling setup we designed from scratch.
We were traveling more and in the best shape of our life.
I was doing work I love as a strategist to founders of multimillion dollar businesses impacting the world in a positive way.
And yet, as fulfilling as it all was, I could feel it:
That chapter was complete.
And the next one required something different from me.
So I did what most high-capacity people don’t give themselves enough room to do:
I stepped back.
Over the holidays, I paused.
Created space without work, or social media, or meetings.
Gave myself permission to go deeper and figure out what my purpose and next level vision vision was.
And I came out of that season with a refined vision for what came next across life, business, energy, and long-term impact.
But here was the most important realisation:
I wouldn’t get there the way I got here.
Around that same time, one of my long-time clients and dear friends, Selena Soo, was launching her Rich Relationships Club.
I had a front-row seat as her strategist, helping shape her messaging, while also witnessing the why behind the community she was building.
That work clicked something into place.
She placed me in a small pod inside her program in January, an intimate, high-caliber, zero fluff mini-mastermind. And I immediately felt it:
This. This is how I want to build forward.
As someone with a Clifton Strengths profile wired for Strategic thinking, Futurism, Relating, and Activation, and as an INFJ, I move best in tight, high-trust dynamics.
Not in high-volume programs. Not on endless calls.
In real rooms with real people who know how to move and win.
That single pod experience gave me the clarity to replicate and evolve the model for myself - building mini-masterminds not just around business, but around life.
Curated support in the exact places I needed it most.
I currently have:
3 mini-masterminds around business (different sets of people who bring completely different value),
1 focused on AI projects (3 of us, running an experimental project and helping each other with concepts, resources, ideas),
1 tiny-pod (just two of us) on everything life, personal developement, vision casting etc.
Bonus: My daughter and I just joined Kelly Roach’s Courage Club, where my daughter is surrounded by like minded girls, and is building courage and confidence so she can lead her own future. We had our first Moms Mastermind this week and it was epic! Although this is not a mini-mastermind I created myself, it’s a great idea for you if you want to build something similar for yourself for FREE!
The 1% Shift: Create the Room You Actually Need
We often wait for the perfect offer, the perfect invite, the perfect group to find us.
But high-caliber proximity doesn’t have to come wrapped in branding and a $25K price tag.
It also doesn’t have to mean 24/7 group chats or yet another call on your calendar.
Some of the most valuable momentum I’ve experienced this year came from rooms I built in a couple of voice notes.
Spaces that didn’t exist until I decided they should.
The shift is this:
Stop looking for the ideal room. Start curating the one you need.
Strategy Breakdown: How I Built Mine (and How You Can Too)
It doesn’t start with the group.
It starts with your vision.
Before I built any of these rooms, I took time to clarify what I was building next across life, business, family, energy, and leadership.
That clarity made the next step obvious:
Identify the one area of life you want to move forward with more support.
Sometimes business systems.
Sometimes visibility.
Sometimes parenting and lifestyle.
Once the focus area was clear, I asked myself:
“Who do I already trust or admire that brings something potent to this domain?”
From there, I reached out to one or two people directly.
No pitch. No formal proposal.
Just: “I’m working on X. Would you be open to doing a mini-mastermind around this for the next 30-90 days?”
Most people said yes.
Here’s the simple structure:
The rhythm: WhatsApp or Voxer for ongoing comm as needed + 1 call/month (or weekly when needed for a period of time)
The standard: No performance. Just timely support from people who’ve done the thing.
The format: Each call includes a celebration, a live update, and a clear ask, hot seat style. When a member can support a “hot seater” more deeply, it’s very usual that they offer to meet them 1:1 to work on it. Imagine receiving free 1:1 support from someone who typically charges thousands to work with them (some of my mini-mastermind partners don’t even offer 1:1 support to the public).
Every month, my asks evolve to align with my current 28-day sprint.
And that’s what keeps the room useful, agile, and forward-moving.
What These Rooms Have Created
Here’s what this has produced in real time:
My partnership with AI District was born inside a 2-person pod, not even on one of our weekly chats, but in an IG DM conversation. I was looking for specific AI education, my friend shared resources she had looked into and invested. I researched, connected with the founder for something I needed help with, and a few DMs later, he was asking if we could have a chat to explore opportunities to work together.
My son’s internship at a tech startup was a spontaneous intro: I was spending the weekend in Lisbon with one of my mini-mastermind members for her birthday (she moved here this year and we became close friends) and her two besties. One of her besties owns said tech startup and they came up with the internship idea at dinner, while I was on the phone with my son. You can imagine the rest.
Invitations to panels and speaking gigs without pitching myself. Simply because someone from a mini mastermind recommended me.
New potential clients showing up on my calendar: “I’m working on this project, and everyone says I should talk to you”
Months-long bottlenecks solved in one call, thanks to people who’d already navigated them.
Decision support, and strategic intros delivered in minutes.
Sometimes these insights happen in the Zoom call.
Sometimes they’re dropped into our group chat.
Sometimes we’ll hop on 1:1s if someone needs more.
These are deep, strategic friendships with momentum built into them.
With Heidi DeCoux, CEO of Cashflowy.ai, who’s become a dear friend in the process.
Your Move
If there’s one thing I’ve proven to myself this year, it’s this:
The right room changes everything.
But sometimes that room doesn’t exist yet.
Sometimes you have to build it.
Here’s how:
Zoom out.
What vision are you building next?
Pick one focus area.
Business? Parenting? Energy? AI? Spirituality?
Look inward.
Who’s already in your orbit that’s excellent and working on something similar?
Invite them directly.
“Want to try a 90-day mini-mastermind around this or do you know someone who would? Could be monthly calls, light touch.”
Set the tone.
Shared values. Simple format. Generosity is the standard.
Don’t wait for permission.
Build what you need with the right people.
🟢🔴 Red Flag / Green Flag: Who Not to Build With (And Who to Prioritize)
Once you know the why, here’s how to filter the who:
🟢 Green Flags: Invite These People
They have a vision (people with a vision are a different breed and move differently, with more urgency)
They’re excellent at something specific (they’ve won in business and life in many ways)
They’re generous (intros, insights, frameworks, no scorekeeping)
They receive and give feedback well
They’ve lived multiple lives 😆 (the more experience someone has had, the more valuable their insight)
They hold a high standard for how they show up
They’re committed and consistent
🔴 Red Flags: Don’t Bring These In
Gatekeepers who withhold more than they share
Performers who treat the group like a stage and an opportunity to sell
Energy leaks whether subtle drama or constant spirals
Yes people who default to agreement over challenging you
Theorists who haven’t built anything (no lived execution)
Curation is what makes or breaks the room.
Final Thought
These rooms aren’t just strategy rooms.
For me, they’ve become:
Friendships
Advisory boards
Creative labs
Vision accelerators
They’ve reminded me that clarity doesn’t always come from solitude, though I’m very good at that.
Sometimes it comes from building the room that opens the doors to possibilities you could NOT have imagined on your own.
That’s the magic.
👉🏾 Let me know in the comments (if reading on Substack) or by replying (if you’re reading via email) ANY questions you have about putting together your own mini-mastermind.
I’ll reply to EVERY question in detail so you can do the same. It’s a game changer.
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