Whether you’re designing your own real estate mentoring program or joining an existing program, you’ll want to select the right mentor for you. The right mentor can provide you with a lot of information, helpful advice, and encouragement. He or she can literally mean the difference between your success and mediocrity as a business person. Finding the right program means you need to find someone who:
- Honor your start. Your mentor should be able to see you regularly for a specified period of time, usually nine months to a year. Ask if your mentor can guarantee at least weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meetings during this time period. In-person meetings are best, although phone or email communication can also be very helpful.
- Be positive. A good mentor should be responsible, supportive, trustworthy, and honest. He or she must have realistic expectations about her achievements, but must be flexible and consistent. He or she should encourage you to do your best and may even push you a little beyond your comfort levels. He or she must be willing to listen and flexible enough to accept changes to your business plans. Beware of the mentor who is negative or too rigid in his plans.
- Focus on you. If you’re paying money for a program, especially, make sure you don’t spend a lot of time listening to someone else’s complaints, problems, and issues. While it’s true that you can learn how someone else has handled business problems in the past, much of your real estate tutoring time should be spent focusing on your business, your plans, and the solutions that would be right for you.
- Be specific. Find a mentor who can provide specific advice, options, and ideas. Many mentors are generalists and will ask you what you think you should do or prompt you to come up with your own solutions. While this is helpful in its own way, it’s just not as helpful as someone who can brainstorm with you to find specific solutions to your real estate problems.
- Be informed. You want someone who knows a specific field of real estate inside and out. Don’t settle for a mentor who knows a related area or is generally a life mentor. You want someone who knows your field of interest intimately. Look for someone who has proven experience and proven success in the area of investing that interests you. This is the only way to ensure that you are getting the experience and informed advice you need. A mentor who is not knowledgeable simply cannot give you the same type of targeted advice as someone who is more experienced.
A real estate mentoring program requires a commitment from both the mentor and you, the participant. You will be spending many months or even a year or more with your mentor, in most cases, so it makes sense to find the right program for you.