So You Want a Mentor?
by Steve Cook
Over the years I have seen many people come and go in real estate investing. I’ve been fortunate enough to see many beginners blossom into full-time, successful investors and many of the best ones had a good mentor. I believe that everyone should have a mentor. This goes for all things in life, but for our discussions here we are going to talk about real estate investing and: (1) how to prepare yourself to be a good and desirable student; (2) how to find a good mentor; (3) cautions in selecting a mentor; and (4) passing it on to others.
Mentors are teachers who take you under their wings and show you the ropes. They guide you in the right direction and steer you away from making mistakes. They share with you the knowledge that they have and, in most cases, continue learning while teaching. Mentors should provide encouragement and take a real interest in your growth. Good mentors are willing to set you free when the time comes.
If you are interested in having a mentor work with you, you need to prepare yourself. Mentors don’t want to pour their time and heart into someone who is not ready for it. There is much truth in the old saying, ,When the student is ready, the teacher will come., Here are some steps to prepare yourself to be mentored:
1) Educate yourself. Take this business seriously and get as much education as possible without the mentor. The mentor’s role is not to teach you the basics, but to help polish you or knock off the rough edges. You should know enough that you might be able to teach the mentor a thing or two!
2) Make yourself available. If you are not willing to make sacrifices to free up time to learn this business, no one is going to make sacrifices to help you.
3) Develop the student mindset. Your focus as a student should be to gain knowledge, not make money. The money you earn will be spent and gone, but the knowledge you learn can never be taken away from you. If you choose to do so, you can continue to use that knowledge to make a living for many years to come.
4) Put yourself in the mentor’s shoes and understand the way they think. Mentors don’t need to help you, so there usually has to be something in it for them. It could simply be the satisfaction of helping someone that makes them tick, but each mentor is different. No mentor wants to invest their time in a student who is not worthy of their time, so take inventory of what you have to offer and focus on your strengths. See what you can bring to the table of the mentor-student relationship. As I look back at all of the people who I have mentored, most of them paid for their mentoring, but in non-financial ways. Many would identify a need of mine and position themselves to fill that need. For example, some students would do the leg work of driving around looking at and taking pictures of homes and writing notes of what they see. They learn a lot from this process and I benefit from their efforts as well.
Now that you know how to prepare yourself to be mentored, it’s very important to understand the qualities of a good mentor so that you know what to look for. A good mentor will make their living doing what they teach. If you want to be a full-time real estate investor, you’ll want to learn from a full-time real estate investor. If you want to make quick cash, a mentor who specializes in wholesaling may be right person instead of someone who buys and holds properties. A good mentor will also commit to spending time with you, challenge your preconceived ideas and strategies, be a good listener, allow you to process questions and dilemmas without always stepping in to provide a solution (hence, the real teaching) and be very knowledgeable about his or her field of investing.
Now that you know what to look for, your next logical question is: ,How and where do I find a mentor?, You need to do a lot of investigating. Spend time at local investment clubs, go to auctions, and scan tax records and the classifieds to find active investors. Study the investors and get to know what they do. It’s much easier to strike up a conversation with investors when you know a little bit about them and how they operate. Approaching an investor with ,I really like what you did with that deal on Hamilton Avenue. Did it work out the way you hoped it would?, is going to get a better response than asking, ,I want to learn your business, will you teach me?, Also, the ideal situation is to get a mentor who invests in your own backyard. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way, but long distance mentoring is not as easy for the mentor or student. Another great place to find a mentor is the newsgroup of our website! Those who are smart will use the newsgroup in such a fashion because it’s free and always ava
ilable. There are many experienced and successful investors who are there to answer your questions day in and day out. It’s amazing at how much you can learn when you ask the right questions.
In your search for a mentor, you also need to be cautious of a few things. First, thoroughly investigate mentors who charge fees. Not all are bad, but some paid mentors teach because they can’t do. If they are not successful as an investor, how are they going to teach you to be successful? I often take money from people who I mentor, but give it back to them after they do their first deal. I’m frequently approached by people who want me to mentor them in exchange for half the profits on their first deal. If they never use what they’ve been taught to do a deal, then my time is wasted. If students have something on the line (like payment for mentoring), they almost always use the knowledge and reap the benefits of jumping into their first deal and getting their money back for the mentoring. It’s a win-win for both of us. Second, talk with past students for references especially if you’re paying for the mentoring. Do not talk with new students because they are still in the star struck stages. Talk with students
who signed up one year ago and the ,warm and fuzzies, have disappeared. Third, be careful of mentors who aggressively market for students. Many of these mentors spend all their time searching for students rather than investing so they can invest risk-free through their students. Students put everything on the line and, if things work out, they both make money. If things don’t work out, the student loses, the mentor walks away and most likely will take the student off their reference list.
Once you have been mentored be willing to give back. In time, you can mentor others. Teaching has greatly helped me grown in my investing and learn what I know today. I’ve experienced an lot as an investor, but quite a bit more through my students’ experiences. Through helping them solve problems, I’m prepared to tackle that situation when I encounter it as well. When you pass what you know along, it comes back to you many times over. Be willing to share what has been graciously shared with you.
Copyright (c) 2005 by Steve Cook