Quick intro
What’s the problem?
You’ve probably already heard that phrase 15 times: ‘You are the sum of the 5 closest people you surround yourself with’. Unsurprisingly, it's the same in a business context. How you set goals or how motivated you are to achieve an outstanding result can be highly correlated to the goals and energy of the people you spend most time with in business. Having peers who aim for their first Rolex will make it difficult for you not to develop a similar drive. In contrast, being surrounded by people who are pessimistic about their future success will somehow impact your trajectory. And having co-workers or friends who do business and follow their purpose and passion based on similar values to yours will probably accelerate your entrepreneurial journey. But how to find those people? And how to join forces to thrive together and inspire each other to grow?
Own background
What’s my context/experience?
It's a clear pattern in my professional life: the people I met inspired me to try new things, take more risks, break my limiting beliefs, and ultimately helped me grow in ways I never imagined possible. In high school I hung out with the kids who focused on having fun and exploring boundaries. Therefore, school was fun, but my grades dropped significantly. During my bachelor's studies my peer group of friends loved techno festivals, went out a lot, while also focusing on putting in the hours to study in the library. Exactly what I wanted during university. Then, a little break before starting my master’s. Hung out a lot with friends who were exploring mindfulness and the power of self reflection. I dived into that world and learned a lot about my values and purpose in life. During my master’s I started to explore entrepreneurship together with my brother. I got to know people with similar projects and visions. It shaped my mindset and my perception of the possibility of developing an own, sustainable business.
It was always the people. The friends, colleagues and mentors that I met and exchanged with along my way. I’m now fully aware that, if I want to take the next steps with my business for example, I have to connect and spend time with people who are on the same path or who have already achieved it. This gives me the extra energy and inspiration that contributes to my growth as an entrepreneur.
My approach
How do I tackle it?
Probably the hardest part of growing together with other entrepreneurs is to find your peer group. You might have good friends, family or colleagues, but they are not necessarily on the same journey as you are. You want to find other founders who are going through the same pains and challenges and understand your mission and the next steps towards it. It’s the conversations with those people that push yourself forward. Based on insights from other entrepreneurs and my own experience in building my network I can recommend those tools to find and connect with your peer group of founders:
Cold Outreach
Platforms like X or LinkedIn offer a large repository of people who are building companies. For example, with the free search function on LinkedIn, you can look up entrepreneurs in your city. Sending a connection invite first and then reaching out via a crisp, authentic and informal message can then initiate the first conversation.
Indirect Network
Improve your chances to get a reply and to smoothly start a first chat by asking the people in your existing network for intros to other founders they know.
Direct Network
Check if you have old friends or colleagues who have become entrepreneurs since you last met and send a check-in email or message to get started.
Experiences
Hackathons, networking events or other experiences that target entrepreneurs can be a great and easy-going start of new connections.
After connecting with other founders, it’s about developing a genuine relationship built on common and authentic interest. To do this and move towards the direction of being able to grow together, I can recommend the following methods:
Value Exchange
From the first chat on - try to share value. Ask for their challenges and check if you can deliver contacts, frameworks, experience or feedback to support them. For example, if someone is launching a product, offer to be a beta tester and provide detailed feedback. The cool thing about this is: even if you don't expect value in return, you'll likely get 200% back.
Check-Ins
You introduced each other and already know about your projects. Don’t lose traction now. If you are still interested in the person and what he or she is doing, check-in regularly and check how they are making progress. For instance, a check-in question can be: ‘What's your biggest challenge this week?’
Co-Working
Ask for a co-work in a space or café. Even if it’s not about collaboration but individual focus time, you will find some time to chat and exchange during coffee or tea.
Meetup
Having a walk and talking for 30 minutes with another entrepreneur can be very inspiring. If you live in the same city, go for an in-person activity like sports. For example, if you both enjoy hiking, combine exercise and networking. However, a virtual coffee chat is also a nice way to develop a relationship.
Finally it’s about growing together as entrepreneurs. You can use these instruments that will benefit you and your peer group of founders in significant ways including getting inspired by each other, supporting each other in challenging times and gaining additional motivation in pushing the boundaries for your company:
Active Inspiration
The entrepreneurs I hang out or talk the most with are the ones that come to my mind, when I encounter new insights or knowledge. That’s cool, because I know that I can support them by sharing the inspiration with them. Especially, if it’s specific to their startup. For example: If you read an article about a new marketing tool, immediately send it to the entrepreneur who's struggling with customer acquisition.
I’m very grateful for the messages I get from other founders who came across resources that are highly relevant to me.
Recurring Meetings
If you are already exchanging regularly and inspiring each other, I made great experience with setting up a monthly meeting with another entrepreneur or friends who are founders. Certainly, having a monthly timeslot scheduled in your calendar is a commitment. However, if it's a connection or friendship both appreciate, a structured meeting to exchange challenges and ideas is a powerful instrument for growth. Tip: set up a meeting doc and take 30 min before each meeting to come prepared with the topics you want to grasp each other’s knowledge.
Mastermind Retreats
Biggest commitment, but biggest potential outcome. Organizing a mastermind retreat with your peer group of founders can be groundbreaking. Bringing all the brains together to spend a few days focusing and brainstorming on each other's challenges and ideas is a unique opportunity. Plus, fun activities like cooking together or outdoor sports will strengthen your bonds.
The whole process of building a network of inspiring people around you takes time and effort. However, in the end you’re not just building genuine relationships - you’re also investing in your skills, drive, motivation and finally in your business. As I see a lot of entrepreneurs confronted with the challenge to find time to develop such relationships, I built and am growing a membership community of highly-inspiring entrepreneurs who inspire and support each other to grow together. Check it out and apply here.
Inspiration I used for this article
Books, Podcasts, Articles, Quotes
- Solopreneurs, bootstrapped business owners, funded startup founders, and friends within my community.
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on how to build your mastermind group.
- ‘Opportunities in life come through people. Who do you need to connect with to gain access to the opportunities you want?’ - James Clear
Related topics
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Your comments, ideas, feedback
- What has been your most effective strategy for identifying and connecting with like-minded entrepreneurs?
- What are some creative ways you've found to maintain engagement and deepen connections with other entrepreneurs, especially in a virtual environment?
- Beyond online platforms, what unique or unconventional methods have you used to build your peer group?
- ...
Join the discussion below. Or write me an email to fabiano@40hourentrepreneur.com