What IS Mastery Group?! With Client Services Manager Mika Beccone

I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #256.

Welcome to The Law Firm Owner Podcast, powered by Velocity Work, for owners who want to grow a firm that gives them the life they want. Get crystal clear on where you're going, take planning seriously, and honor your plan like a pro. This is the work that creates Velocity.

Melissa Shanahan: Hi, everyone, welcome to this week's episode. I'm thrilled that you're here. And I'm so glad to have on the podcast today our client services manager, who's amazing, Mika Beccone. Hi.

Mika Beccone: Hello. I'm happy to be here, too.

Melissa: Yeah, this is your first appearance on the podcast.

Mika: It is. It is. Long awaited.

Melissa: Yes. Well, Mika is a Rockstar inside Velocity Work. If you are a member or a client you know Mika, and you love Mika. I haven't met a single soul that doesn't just think the world of you. It's pretty cool to see. Okay, I want to share a little bit about your role, because what we're going to talk about on this episode is, what is Mastery Group?

I think we have an information page set up; people can get some information. I didn't really feel like it would be super valuable to just rattle off a bunch of stuff about Mastery Group, about myself. And I thought, well, you're the perfect person to talk to. You're the one that's the logistics, the behind the scenes. You are the point person for all of our members. You are the one that really understands what's going on.

You hear things from clients and what's going on, and so your perspective I think is very valuable in the conversation. So, let's talk a little bit about what you do. I didn't tell you to prepare for this before this episode, so this is really just us riffing in conversation. What do you do for Mastery Group?

Mika: Yeah, so I am the back end coordinator. That is the best way I think I can put this. I am helping all the members make sure they feel settled in the program, and also getting them what they need so they feel like they can succeed in this program. Whether it's, “Hey, I'm lost, I don't know where to find a link. Can you send me this worksheet I need. Help, I lost my password.”

I'm here for any of those, anytime somebody's lost, and it just feels like you have a helping hand to get you where you need to be.

Melissa: Yes, I would say that it's very true. I know from talking to members that you feel like a partner for them with the membership. It feels like, in some ways, a concierge for them, for the membership. It's like they know that they can reach out to you for anything, and you can point them in the right direction. Or maybe it's not something you can answer but you come to me, we talk about it, and you get some answers for them. You're such an asset.

Mika: Exactly, finding the information they need. I know everyone has busy schedules at the moment, so they shouldn't be the one digging through the Member area or things like that. So, just shooting me an email... And that's my job, to help you out and find what you need to get you moving.

Melissa: So good. Just for context, for everybody listening, Mika is our Client Services Manager. She is the Member Services Coordinator for Mastery Group. As well as Syndicate, which is a program that once people have been in Mastery Group and they're ready for some things that we offer in Syndicate then they can do that. And also, Private Client Coordinator.

She handles everything top to bottom, from private client work... And there's a lot that goes into that… to our membership programs. And she has two assistants that work behind her, as well. So, it's a team, but Mika is the face and Mika is the manager. Yeah, really cool.

Okay, so what is Mastery Group? Let's talk about it. Let's tell everybody. A lot of people think it's a mastermind because of the way that it's named. It's not really a mastermind, although naturally, there's some really good thought sharing and support from one another inside of the program. But if I had to say what Mastery Group was, it is a community.

It's a private paid community for law firm owners to get really organized about their growth. And the kind of people that come in are the kind of people who crave accountability, and they are willing to do the work. That's the way I think about it.

Everybody knows that there's certain things we should do in the business, and when you come inside of Mastery Group our job is really to work with you to do the things that you know you should be doing but you need some expert guidance and some coaching and some accountability and some tools that make it easier.

Our job is really to make it easier for you to be a better business owner. That's, in a nutshell, how I would describe it. There are some more things I can think of to say, but do you have anything to add off the top?

Mika: Yeah, definitely. It is definitely a community of law firm owners that want to build the firm that they want, whatever their success means to them. So, with Melissa’s aim, plan, honor. We aim. So, what does the firm look like? What do you want it to look like in a year? In five years? Do you want to work 20 hours a week? Do you want it to hit this revenue? What are these goals you have?

And then, we plan. Using data, we can get you to where you want to be. So, let's put a plan into place, which is our Strategic Planning. Post Strategic Planning we have check-in calls, accountability calls, to make sure that you are really sticking to your plan; and that is Honor. So, we're going to honor the plan at the end, and make sure we're getting you to the finish line. That's through Melissa.

Also, the other law firm owners that we have in this group, everybody does hold each other accountable and shares information, and things that worked for them and didn't work. A lot of good ideas are flung around in this group. So, that's what I would call Mastery Group.

Melissa:  Okay. Yeah, I think that's fantastic. One thing I will add to that, I'll see if you agree with this, I love that our members are pretty careful... and if they inadvertently do this, then I'll help course correct... but our members are pretty good about not just offering advice.

Everybody's situation is so unique, and a lot of times, in communities, advice is thrown around. And there's not enough context. Even if it's well intended or well-intentioned advice, it's advice, but you don't have enough insight to actually offer true advice.

I think our members, because of the work they do and the nature of the work that we guide them through, they are so dropped in and tailoring a plan specifically for them that they understand that they cannot offer advice to their neighbor. Because their neighbor has a different set of aims and set of circumstances. Who knows? Like, fee structures, and the nuts and bolts inside of the business.

So, I love that about this community, that everybody is there to do their own work. And it's wildly important, I think, to hear other people's experience. No one is talking like, “Oh, you should do this.” No one says that in our community. Everybody is really working to find their own answers.

Mika: Definitely, it's not a ‘this plan fits for everybody.’ Everybody has their own path. Everyone is on their own journey to get to where they want to see their law firm. So, everything is tailored to them specifically.

Melissa: Yeah. I guess I will say, there's a lot of inspiration. People do decide to incorporate things into their firms, or into their plans, because they get really great ideas from others. But again, no one inside of the group says, “Oh, you should do X,” that just doesn't happen. I see that happening in other communities, and I just have a deep appreciation that that's just not the vibe or the culture inside.

The other thing I'll say, which listeners are probably sick of me saying this but it is worth saying because it is true, every single engagement that we have with a client or a member is centered around Quarterly Strategic Planning, which we will dig into more in just a minute. And if you listened to last week's episode, I dug in on what in the heck is Strategic Planning for real. But every client we work with is centered around that.

So, Mika, again, I'm just thinking of you and your experience, she is in every single Strategic Planning Retreat that happens inside of this company. With private clients, she is at every single one of those because there's a lot of stuff that we prepare for it and she manages all that. And, there's a lot of stuff that comes out of it that we give to the client, so she's very heavily involved with those.

She also is on the Virtual Strategic Planning Retreats that we offer for Mastery Group and for Syndicate. So, you see everything. And to me, that adds a lot of value for you being the point person. You're right there with them through the whole experience, and I think that matters a lot. So, it felt worth saying. Do you love being at those? Do you love participating?

Mika: Yes, I do. I am along the way for this journey with them with any questions they have. A lot of times, when you're at your first strategic planning you're just a little bit overwhelmed. It is a big day, and you're focusing on your law firm for probably one of the first times. A lot of people get stuck in the busy work, so when they finally do have a second to sit down and think about owner things they get a little frazzled. So, I'm here to help you during that day.

And, those days are awesome. A lot of people have a-ha moments where it's like, “This is what I needed. I needed to be here. I needed to take this day to sit down and decide what I need to make my goals for the next quarter.” Otherwise this wouldn't be happening. They wouldn't be doing this on their own. The law work seems to always come first, when in reality, it should be the owner work coming first and that oftentimes gets shoved to the side.

So, having these days set up where they have to do this, this is your only goal for the day is to set up these goals for your next quarter, your Rocks, is awesome. And, it really pulls you out of the day-to-day work.

Melissa: Yeah, and how often do we see people at the end, when it's like, “Wow?” The pride that they have for the work that they just did. I facilitate it, and I walk them through it. Like you said, I'm there to help support and answer questions. You're there to handle any logistics; you're right there. We walk them through the day.

We make sure that for every section they've got what they need before they move to the next section. At the end of the day, they have put more thought into the future of their firm and what it's going to take to achieve that future than they've ever done before. It is a pretty cool feeling, and they're really pleased with themselves. They’re usually tired at the end of the day but very pleased.

Mika: Yes. Also, in the beginning, we have a section where you're looking back at the quarter you just did and reflecting on it, and a lot of times you don't do that. You're just at high speed and 110/mph and never looking back. So, looking back, what did I accomplish this quarter? And just giving yourself a pat on the back is needed. If you're the only owner in your firm, you're never giving yourself a pat on the back. You're never acknowledging your wins. So, this is a space where it’s like, “Let's acknowledge what you've done last quarter. And then, let's set some new goals to go forward.”

Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. Gosh, yeah, I didn't even think to say that. But you're right, that's a big part of it. And, everybody shares in the chat some of their biggest accomplishments, their biggest lessons learned, or realizations, because of their experience of the quarter. The energy in the room, in the virtual room and in the chat, is really special. Really special.

Okay, so basically, what is Mastery Group? Hopefully, some of the things we've said kind of helps you get a gist or an idea of what it is. I think the only other thing I would say, just to make sure we're rounding it out, is the coaching that you get, and the support that you get in between the retreats, is most of the program. But it really is all centered around those Strategic Planning Retreats.

In between, there is a lot of support for you in coaching. There's a call every week… at minimum, there's one a week that they can participate in... and accountability. If they're making progress on the things that they committed to for the 90 days that we're in.

Okay, next, I think it might be helpful if we just rattle off what's included for members when they join, just to give people a lay of the land. So, I'll walk through these. The first, as I mentioned, there's an Annual and there are Quarterly Strategic Planning Retreats. Those are one day, they are virtual. And in just a minute, I would love to ask you, Mika, to talk about some of the materials that are prepared for them, because I think that's important.

So, it's one full day, it's virtual, it's recorded, and if you can't be there live it's not a problem. Actually, in many cases, what people are surprised by, if they can't make it live, let's say they're scheduled for something in court or whatever, then when they watch it on their own time they can pause and do the work, take their time, and then continue to listen and then pause.

And so, it's still facilitated for you. You still you have access to the chat. We put the chat with the recording so you can see everyone's responses, and that's really helpful too. So yeah, for those days, that’s what's included.

And then, every time we have a retreat, in the following weeks, we have Office Hours where you can sign up for a slot to come and talk to me or Giselle. I'm going to have Giselle on the podcast soon, so you’ll meet her. But she has a lot of experience in operations and running a law firm.

So, you can come to Office Hours with either of us to help make sure that your plans feel really solid. If you want to run anything by us, we'll ask you to share with us, “Okay, what goals did you set? What are your quarterly priorities?” which we call Rocks. Just to help you feel really good about your plans, so that at the top of the next quarter you can hit the ground running.

There are also weekly coaching calls. Those are on Tuesdays. They are 3:30 Eastern, 1:30 Mountain. And again, sometimes people are worried, “What if I can't make the coaching calls?” They kind of use that as a reason not to join. There are a lot of people that rely on the recordings, and we have a private podcast that you can listen to the recordings on the go. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. Do you have anything to say about this? I feel like this is a barrier for people, but it doesn't need to be.

Mika: Yeah, it doesn't need to be at all. One of the things I say in the beginning to new members is, “Do you listen to podcasts when you're on the go?” A lot of times they're like, “Yes.” I’m like, “Well, this is the coaching call, it'll be an hour. You can do it on your drive to court on whatever day of the week you have that.”

So, you're still getting the information you need, and you don't feel like at the end of the day it's a chore to go watch a video. No, it can be your while you're walking your dog, whatever you're doing.

Melissa: Yes, yes, exactly. So, it's weekly calls. As many of you know, who are listening, we have a process that we teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. That process is expected, by members, to be practiced. By “practiced”, I really mean practice. There's no sense of perfection with it, it's just a practice you should utilize because it'll help you be more efficient and effective. So, that is something that we teach.

We have a call every week that is facilitated by a fellow member called “Monday Map Power Hour,” and it's a place where you can come and you can actually sit down and do that practice with your peers. So, that's a really cool perk.

And then there's something new that we added this year, which is two in-person events that you can come to now. We have four dates over the course of the year, and you can pick two. And so, two of them have already been available, members have come. And, there are two more this year. And then, of course, we'll have two more at the top of next year.

But basically, in one calendar year you can come to two events, free of charge. Of course you have to pay for travel to get there, but there's no registration fee, it's just open to you. Those events are in Golden, Colorado, which is just outside of Denver; 15 minutes outside of Denver. And, they’re topic focused. We usually have a topic that we’ll help people dig in on. Anything you want to say about those?

Mika: They're very intimate. We kept them at 10 members. So, you're coming and you get this really small cohort, and access to you for a day and a half, which is an awesome resource. Everyone who has come out here has just been so happy at the end of it. They wouldn't have dug into these topics, they wouldn't have thought about this, they wouldn't have taken two days away from their firm to focus on the owner things. So, they've been amazing, amazing events.

Melissa: Yeah, I'm glad you said that about the 10, I didn't think to say that. But we do keep it small. Another thing we offered this year, and this is really by requests that we were getting last year, we have an ability for people… It's a paid engagement, but if you choose to, if you want to, you could pay for a day workshop with me, or it could be with Giselle, depends on really what you want to work on. So, that's available now.

We didn't use to have a way to work one on one with people other than Office Hours. People really dig in on things, or an issue that they're having, or whatever. So now there is a way to do that, should one choose to do it. There are on-demand classes, workshops. The whole history of the program is there and we don't expect you to go back and listen to everything, but there may be something specific that you want to go back and listen to that might be helpful for your firm. That's in the Member Area.

So, that's another thing Mika really runs. Do you want to talk about the Member Area?

Mika: Yeah, our Member Area stores all of our videos, everything you need for the program. The calendar is on there, Strategic Planning information and prep so you can get yourself sorted. We also have the directory, so you can see all the members that are in there. It has emails, so you can reach out to anybody if you'd want to.

But the best resource, I find, in there is the recent recordings. So, anytime you're missing a call, you can go back there and listen to whatever call. Like Melissa said, you can go all the way back to the beginning of Mastery Group and listen to calls from then. It's all available at your fingertips to utilize.

Melissa: Yeah. And the Toolkit, that's something else that's included… We were talking about that for Mastery Group. But that is located in the Member area, as well. The Toolkit has spreadsheets that could tee you up. There's a basic tracking template that we have all the members fill out. I’ll  say more about that in a minute. But there's Flat Fee Goal calculators. There’s just a bunch of resources that over the years as we've developed them, we keep adding them. We continue to keep adding.

I mean, actually, just last week Mika and I have a new spreadsheet that we made for someone. We can tweak and sort of create a generic version, so that we can load it there as a template for people. We keep getting new ideas the more we work with people. And so, that's just more benefit that goes into the Toolkit.

And then, I guess, engaged community. So, I want to give you a chance to talk Mika. Everything I just mentioned, that's a part of Mastery Group. Is there anything you feel like I'm missing, or anything that you think I should especially highlight?

Mika: The ‘engage community’; we have a Facebook group, and there's always conversation on there about, “Has anybody hired through this site? Is anyone using this?” Lots of feedback is given on it, which is an amazing resource in itself. People post their wins; they get closer to their goals or they hit a revenue goal. It's just a really positive group of law firm owners on there. So, that's an awesome resource that we have.

Melissa: Yeah, everyone is so supportive. I’ve got to say, everybody in our group has a great sense of humor. It's fun. It's a fun group. I guess that's what I mean by sense of humor. You're going to be chuckling or smiling a lot when you're around the members.

Mika: And we're doing some hard work here. You're holding them accountable, and other people are holding each other accountable on things. But the end of the day, we're still having fun. This is life, and we're we're getting to where we need to be but we're not going to do it negatively.

Melissa: Yes, absolutely. Oh, my gosh, well said. Okay, let's say somebody joins Mastery Group… and for everybody listening, you probably have heard this before. But we only open enrollment, as of now, open enrollment once a quarter; there are reasons for that. I want to let you speak to onboarding, if somebody joins when enrollment is open. Which I think it'll be the next day after this airs, enrollment opens. So, will you speak to what that looks like? When someone joins what should they expect?

Mika: Yeah, so you should, off the bat, expect an email coming from me with the link to book a call so we can sit down and go through the Member Area. We're going to get you your login. We're going to get you into the calendar, so you can have the Mastery Group calendar show up on your calendar.

We're going to talk about things you need to prepare before Strategic Planning. It's just some videos that we want you to pencil in some time into your schedule to watch and do some work around those videos, so you feel like you’ve got your feet on the ground before you show up to Strategic Planning.

I also just show you all the resources that are in there. And, again, the Toolkit, the directory, anything like that. We touch base on all of that in the call, and any other questions that you have about the program, how you can get more situated and feel more at home in it.

And then after that, we have a New Member Welcome Call. So, all the new members who come in the group will have a call with Melissa and Giselle and I, and can just go over any other questions, meet the team and meet the new members that are here. It just make you feel a little bit more at home inside the group.

Melissa: Yeah, definitely. I would say too, because you always give really specific advice to new members about what to focus on, say more about that.

Mika: Yeah, I always, at the end of the call, give three specifics, that if you're only going to do these three things to get you onboarded, the first one is to start your basic tracking template. I will show you where to do that. And Melissa has a video attached along with it explaining it a little bit more. But getting all your data into one place so we can start analyzing it before Strategic Planning, so we can make smart goals from there. So, that is one thing.

The second thing is start doing your Monday Map. I feel like most of the people that come in are a little bit nervous about doing their Monday Map, because they don't want to look at their calendar, they don't want to make these decisions about their calendar. When in reality, this is the only way you're going to be able to get time on your calendar to move your firm forward. So, let's get your calendar in order.

You have to watch a couple of videos, or start attending our Power Hour call. We will walk you through every step on how to do it. Every Friday we have that call, and it's a great resource to show up for.

Lastly, Strategic Planning prep videos. There are about five videos Melissa has recorded in there. Just give yourself an hour a week so you don't feel overwhelmed. Going through those videos, taking notes, and starting to dig in to your numbers or your case values, things like that. So you, again, are prepared when Strategic Planning rolls around. So, you're not scrambling for numbers or feel like maybe your plan’s not set for you. These are your numbers, so you can make your plan and set your goals.

Melissa: Absolutely. And that prep is why we open enrollment every quarter, just so everybody knows. That's not a tactic to create scarcity. It's because we need people to feel comfortable before their first retreat. So, we need time to get them there. Usually, we open enrollment four to five weeks prior to your very first Strategic Planning day. And that's what Mika is talking about.

There are videos to help you prepare, because you do need to get your data together. I give you a really organized way to do that with the tracker. Part of the workbook, that you're going to be using for Strategic Planning, there are some sections that you can go ahead and fill out before the day. It just gives you a leg up.

But it's not stuff that you can just sit down and answer the questions. You probably haven't looked at the things I'm asking you to look at. So, you're going to have to, in some cases, contact your bookkeeper or your accountant or dig into your software, your practice management software, to find some answers here. And so, that's why we like to give some space.

When people come in too close to the retreat, they have to cram to get this stuff ready and that's not fun. I mean, we all cram sometimes, right? But if we can help it, we'd rather sort of drip it to you and walk you through a process that doesn't feel rushed. That's what Mika is talking about with the Strategic Planning prep videos. There are videos to watch and guidance for preparing yourself for that day.

And then, of course, you're not on your own with the videos. If there are questions, reach out to Mika, and to me on coaching calls. And so, we're here. Really, we work hard. Even though it's a membership program, we work hard to partner with you in the best ways possible that we can in the membership.

So yeah, awesome. Okay, that's what they should expect if they were to come in. I also want you to talk about the materials that they get for the retreat, or that they should expect to see, that they will be filling out. You prepare all of those, you and the team, the client services team. So, maybe just speak to what materials they get. And yeah, just talk about it.

Mika: Yeah. Upon your entry into Mastery Group we will already have this ready for you, so you can download it the day you join in the Member Area. I will talk you through how you're going to find it. We do have a workbook. So, during the Strategic Planning Day, Melissa will facilitate you through every single page in there.

Again, there is some work you can do in it before, but you can download it and fill it out right on your screen; it's a fillable workbook. Or you can print it out and fill it out on paper, if you'd rather do that. And then, there are some Vision Decks that go along with it, so we can set up your goals for the year and track the goals.

Melissa: Tell them what a Vision Deck is like. I don't think people… they won't know what you mean.

Mika: Yeah, so we have one that's broken down annually. It just gives you a spot for your revenue goal. And then, if you have practice areas, you can break it down. What do you want to see in your firm for the next quarter? And we'll break it down from there. And then, what do you want each month? So, we'll set these goals during Strategic Planning, and then every month you're going to see where you land with these goals.

At the end, when we're reviewing at the next Strategic Planning, we can see how you did. How did your quarter go? There are lots of goals people set; they're not all around revenue. Maybe it's case open goal, things like that, and that can all go on the Vision Deck.

Then there's a quarterly one, that's just broken down for the quarter that you're in. So, you can see it, only the quarter’s months broken down. And then, there are places for notes. You can put your Rocks on there as well, if you want to keep it organized. A lot of people print it out and put it on their wall. It's the best thing to do, so you can see it every day and be like, “I'm going to hit that revenue goal. I'm going to hit my case open goal,” or whatever your goals may be.

Melissa: Yeah, yeah. And the reason we call a Vision Deck is it really is like this sprawling sheet that covers… One of them is annual, just like Mika said, so it’s broken up by quarters. And then, only for the quarter in front of you, the months. We don't have to get that granular, far out, beyond that.

But you can sort of see your map for the year, and what your plans are broken down by quarter for all of that. And then, of course, your Rocks, the priorities for the next 90 days. The side of the Vision Deck, or the Vision Deck that only shows the quarter… It's not the big view, it's just the quarter in front of you… that's what she's referring to, hanging that up.

You fill it out; this is what freaking matters this quarter, period. And you're hanging it up somewhere close to you, by your desk or whatever. You can't hide from it, if you do that. So, we try to make a sheet for you to do that.

So, Mika is really in charge of… She's the one, if we need to make changes to it, she works with the designer on that. She is the one that gets the files ready for the members. And, it's no joke. I mean, the workbooks that we prepare every quarter and the Vision Deck, those are no joke. They are awesome materials, so it felt worth having you talk about it.

Mika: And members keep them. You can look back three years and see your Vision Deck, and be like, “Look at these goals I had, and look how far I've come from there.” So, that's awesome to view as well.

Melissa: Yes. Okay, last thing I think we should dig into is the FAQs that we get a lot of. There are some on the information page; that it's listed. I think we should address those. But there are a couple that we were talking about beforehand that we might add, and that we will address here.

So, one that isn't on the information page is a question that I get a lot. I don't know if you get it, Mika. How much time do I need to put in to this program if I decide to join? Do you ever get that question?

Mika: I do. I do get that often. Yes.

Melissa: I really thought about this, because I don't want to scare anybody off but I also want to be honest. And the more I thought about this, and I actually talked through this a bit with you, Mika, is that I think at the beginning, if I'm being honest, I would say two to three hours a week. Now, for those of you that are like, “Oh, hell no. I do not have that. I am not going to do that,” listen, hear me out for a second.

One of the hours I would spend watching the videos that you're supposed to be consuming, so that you can get up to speed with things and prepare for Strategic Planning and get onboarded, all that stuff. It's about an hour a week, I would say, for that.

The other hour, I would say, should be spent on what I'm telling you in those videos you need to do. Now, that hour, you should be doing anyway as an owner. I'm just trying to help guide you with this step and this step and this step. So, it's not just two to three hours listening to Melissa, in that you “have to”…

For those of you who are listening and not watching, it's not two to three hours of listening to Melissa and giving it to Mastery Group. It is an hour or so of me helping you understand some things, and then you getting to work; that's the other part.

And if you think that you are going to be able to grow your firm and get away from spending time working on your firm, that's crazy talk. So, I don't want to scare people by saying ‘two to three hours upfront,’ When you first join, two to three hours a week. That's probably what it's going to take, if I'm being honest. But you should be spending that time on your business anyway.

And nothing is going to change or shift, in terms of your trajectory and your focus, unless you do that. So, you might as well do it alongside, while you're being guided with us, and you have a partner in us. So, that's my answer. Do you agree with two to three hours?

Mika: Yes, I can completely agree with that. Once you see the videos, following up and doing the work needed. You don't have to do the whole lift on your own. You're going to have people on your team, people in your firm to grab the numbers that are needed.

And once they know where to get it… This might be the first time you've ever asked them to look at these numbers… then they can give it to you weekly, and you don't have to do this big deep dive as often. You can have them already built-in in the spreadsheet and have them input by your team members weekly. Then, you are aware of these numbers going forward.

Melissa: That's so true. It's like anything else, it's kind of a heavy lift to get up and running, or it can feel that way. But then once you've got it, it's easy to maintain. You just add to it from there. It's just getting the historical data. Because I think that's the thing, I guess that's what we should say, it's the data. It takes them a bit, because we are asking for numbers that in some cases you can't just run a report in Clio or whatever. It's not going to be that simple, and yet we still guide you.

Because it's not that simple, that's why you get such good guidance from us on this. You have to figure out those numbers. Depending on your software… If you have a bookkeeper, that can be helpful with this. That's amazing. But a lot of people joining don't really have that kind of relationship with a bookkeeper. And so, they do assume responsibility for pulling all that.

I want people to delegate as much as they can so they're not spending a ton of time retrieving data. But if it's you, it's you. I mean, again, you should have this. As an owner, these are numbers that you should have. I am helping you get it into line. So, yeah, it is two to three hours up front, but it's with us. You're not doing on your own, and going to flake out because you get busy again. No, no, you're in, we're working with you on this stuff.

And after that, I think the retreat is a full day. I saw recently, someone gave some feedback that, “I was so afraid that… I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, a full day away from work?’” But I cannot believe… I think her feedback was, “I cannot believe what this has done for me and for my firm. It took that day; it took that full day.”

So again, I don't want to scare anybody off. Yep, two to three hours a week, and that's for the first four or five weeks. And then you have a Strategic Planning retreat, that's a full day. You could do that on your own time, if you'd rather watch the recording and do it on a weekend or whatever. And after that, I think a couple of hours a week.

But again, it's not with me for two hours. There's a coaching call every week you can utilize. And the other time needs to be spent on your Rocks, and doing the things that you said you were going to do, so that you can stay on track with the plans that you just made.

So, when people say, “How much time am I going to have to give to Mastery Group?” It's not time that you are just giving to Mastery Group, it is time doing the things you're supposed to be doing anyway. With support from us and a culture of accountability inside of Mastery Group, that helps everybody keep making progress and taking the time that's needed in order to make that progress.

Mika: It's time that they're giving to their firm, not us. We’re giving you this time. You're doing this for your firm, you're not doing this for Mastery Group or Velocity Work. You're doing it for you. We're just giving you the space to do it.

Melissa: Okay, on that note, we didn't say this earlier about the coaching calls, but to your point… Something we talk a lot about behind the scenes in Velocity Work is how to be useful. It is super important for us to be useful. So, on those calls, most of the time, those calls are working calls for you. It's facilitating you getting something done.

It's not you coming and sitting and listening to me, or to whoever might be doing the call. I lead a lot of the calls, but sometimes Giselle will lead one, or someone will step in if I'm gone or whatever. Those calls are meant for you to make headway, not for you to just passively listen. That is a waste of time. There's a time for passive listening, but we are really about creating the space and a container for you to make progress.

So even though, again going with what Mika said, it's you giving time to your firm. True. Okay. The other FAQs… I feel like we're going a little long, so I'll let people read about them. But you'll see they’ve asked, “If I miss a call or workshop is there a replay? When are the calls?” We already covered that. “When are Monday Map Power Hour calls?” We didn't say that, but they’re Fridays at 1:00 Eastern, 11:00 Mountain time.

“When is Strategic Planning?” We have a date in there. But again, if you can't attend live, it doesn't matter. This next round happens to be June 14th. Again, every quarter we pick a date. You have dates throughout the year that already are on the calendar, or you can slate in your calendar.

“What's the minimum commitment?” Oh, this, we didn't cover; three months. If you come in and you think that you're going to see results, and we're going to shift you and shift your firm in a month, you’ve got another thing coming? It takes work. And so, you will experience a shift and you will start getting momentum, because this is the work that creates Velocity. That's why our company's name is Velocity Work.

But you’ve got to be in there for a quarter. I mean, come on. This is the whole point. It’s quarterly planning, with accountability. And so, you need to give that a chance. So, if you're going to come in, minimum commitment is three months.

“Can you pause your membership?” No. The answer, in short, is no. If it's not the right time, you can leave and then you can come back when you're ready again. “How many members are in Mastery Groups?” Right now, I think we're 37. That sounds right. It's something around there. We're getting ready to open up the cohort, which is great, so we'd love to have you in.

The last thing I should say, is that you come in with the wave of people that decide to join this quarter. You are not separate from the rest of the members; you just have extra guidance from us. That's why we call it “your cohort”. We are giving extra guidance to the new members, and you will be a part of that new member program coming in. But you are in Mastery Group with the other members and able to take advantage of that.

So yeah, I think we covered a lot.

Mika: Yeah, I think we did too.

Melissa: Anything else you think we should add to top this puppy off?

Mika: I think we got it. Maybe that they're not alone in this. We're here to help them through this journey. So, they come on board with Mastery Group, we're here to help them to get their firm where they want it to be.

Melissa: Definitely. That's a great thing to land on. We care a lot here, about our members and our clients. They are not just a number, everyone in our programs matters to us.

Mika: We celebrate their wins along with them.

Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. Along with them, that is exactly right. Exactly right. Alright, thank you, Mika.

Mika: Of course. This is awesome.

Melissa: I'm so glad the world gets to meet you.

Mika: Yes. And I hope some people join in Mastery Group, come in to this enrollment, because of this video.

Melissa: Yeah. We hope to see you inside. Alright, thank you.

Mika: Awesome. Bye.

Melissa: Bye.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you go to VelocityWork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to VelocityWork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to VelocityWork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.