How to find a good mentor?

There is one important principle in interpersonal relationships: it is worth identifying three types of people
around you – friends, enemies, and mentors. Today will be about the latter because mentoring in business is
becoming fashionable, but its meaning is often blurred. And this is the relationship that can determine the
success of the entrepreneur. We advise how to approach the subject, make it make sense at all.

Mentor – a man who opens the door.
It is obviously to learn from his own mistakes, but sometimes it is more sensible to learn from someone. It is
said that mentoring is a shortcut: what we would elaborate through trial and error, we can get as ready from
someone who has already traveled a path similar to ours.

A mentor is not only a person who will share an experience with us, eg in laying out business processes in a
company or resolving conflicts within an organization. He can also open many doors to us, not just those we
have been trying to get to, but also those we do not know about. A good mentor, in addition to knowledge,
gives the young entrepreneur extended access to potential clients, employees (especially if we are looking
for specialists in the industry) and business partners. Before we use the benefits of mentoring, it is worth
getting ready for it.

How to find a mentor? We have 6 start tips for you.

1. Choose yourself in a dozen or so years.

A mentor is not a coach. It’s someone who has done what is your goal. The principle is simple: if you want
to grow in business, look for a mentor who has achievements in business. It is worth starting the search for a
mentor from what we want to achieve and what skills we need for it.

2. Meet the mentor

“Do research” may sound like a council in the category “tie laces”. Everyone knows that if you ask someone
to devote your time to you, it is worth knowing about it. Unfortunately, surprisingly many people are losing
their chances of coming to meetings on the ground – experienced recruiters know about it.

Find information about the professional experience of the selected person, successes and failures of her
companies, but also about her network of contacts. Maybe you know someone you know? Talk to that
person, especially if it’s someone your potential mentor values. You will earn 10 points at the start.

3. Forget about mentoring.

Being a mentor is a serious task. People who are actively involved in business may be afraid of making a
long-term commitment to a young entrepreneur. Therefore, instead of starting with a thick pipe, ask the
mentor for one meeting and outline his goal: it’s the specific challenge you are facing. Get ready. You need
to know what you want to ask so that the mentor does not have a sense of lost time.

After the first meeting, you should feel inspired to act, if it is not, maybe you should look for someone else.
If you know that you’ve hit the bulls-eye, do a follow-up as soon as possible: write an email or text message
thank you and make an appointment for the next meeting. It’s a good idea to make an appointment once you
have tried to implement one of the councils. It is important to outline the purpose of the next meeting.

4. Suggest value added

Give it before you get it. Remember: the mentor does not need you. There is also no obligation to teach you.
Do not even go to him if you do not have a plan. Usually, people come to people of success for money or
work. Be careful not to think that you are one of them – repeated the serial entrepreneur Dan Lok. He worked
with his first mentor for one year for free, where he mainly watched his work.

5. Listen

Remember that a mentor will play a role in your life other than a friend: he will not strike you on the head
and repeat that you are wonderful. He will tell you the truth straight into your eyes. You must have enough
confidence in him to believe that he is saying this not to rape you, but to grow. This relationship with the
mentor differs from the relationship with the enemy: you trust that it works for your own good.

– He wrote to me two weeks after the meeting – says Peter Sage, entrepreneur, and speaker about his favorite
student. – I read the books you told me about – he wrote. Here’s what I’ve learned … This is how I implement
it, and it has changed since then. It impressed me – he recalls.

6. Do not expect miracles

A frequent mistake of people who start an adventure with being mentored relies on unrealistic expectations
and shifting responsibility for their actions to a mentor. Mentoring is hard work, mainly on your side.
Mentor has already done it.

How to build and maintain a good relationship with a mentor?

Mentoring is not only a business but also a personal relationship. It should be based on respect and mutual
help – in no case can it be one-sided and built on the use of another human being. Keep in mind the limits –
not to misuse the kindness of the mentor and respect his time. Ask for help, but also offer support according
to your abilities, find out what he is doing at the moment and how you can help him. On the other hand, it is
important that you do not trust the mentor immeasurably, but he can look critically at the whole situation.

The relationship with the mentor relaxes after some time, especially when you gain your own experience. Do
not forget, however, about the person who helped you. Cherish this relationship, even by e-mail or
telephone. You never know when you need mentor support. Let him feel that you still remember about the
help he has received and that you are grateful for it.

What qualities should a perfect mentor have?

There is no one like the perfect mentor, but you can distinguish a few features that are worth looking for at
your master. The mentor should look at the world more broadly, instead of focusing only on his industry,
and be one step farther away from others and keep an eye on technology and the Internet.

The protege should be supported and warmed up for continuous operation. A good mentor soothes emotions, calms down, but when
necessary, challenges and pushes beyond the comfort zone. It is extremely important, especially for
beginning entrepreneurs, to have a mentor with a specific strategy and business philosophy that fits our
needs.