It’s hard getting started. There is so much to learn and so many ways to invest that it is easy to get overwhelmed and end up not doing anything. On the other hand, people sometimes just do the first thing that looks interesting, lose a lot of money, then give up investing forever. That makes me sad to hear.
What is a Mentor?
There’s a misconception about what is a mentor. Most people are really asking for a coach when they ask for a mentor. In fact, there are many types of people who help give advice to those starting out. Maybe one of them is the right one for you:
Mentor
A mentor is someone who is willing to answer questions and generally give advice to someone who is starting out. They usually do it out of the goodness of their heart to help out people who are struggling getting started like they did. They shouldn’t be expected to invest any money or take a person on as an employee or partner. They aren’t there to find deals or do any work in the mentee’s business.
Experience Partner
On the other hand, someone who takes a more critical role in the deal would be a partner. The experience partner would be different from an equity partner, someone who is brought on for the money they can bring.This person would be brought on to walk the investor through the deal for probably many years from start to finish. In return, they get a significant chunk of the profits. This is not a mentor, but more like an experience partner, someone brought on to the deal for what they know.
Coach
Sometimes a knowledgeable person will be paid to give advice but not be part of the deal. This is what is actually a coach and is what most people are asking for when they want a mentor. That’s not bad – they will take a much closer look at the deal to give detailed advice. But they do need to get paid for their time. And they often have a high price tag. Nothing is free and they do provide value, but the investor who is just starting often can’t afford it.
Guru
This is like a coach that teaches to a big group of people. Their initial fee is less, but they often upsell the person and it can cost tens of thousands to ever get a one-on-one meeting. Gurus have a bad reputation of swindling, but there are those who do provide value. Because they start in large groups, beginning investors can get a lot of general information for relatively cheap. They need to be careful about paying too much for additional sales pitches.
How to Find a Mentor
Now that you know what a mentor actually is, you can look for one. They are tough to find, because they are basically volunteering their time. I think for this reason, many of us didn’t have a mentor starting out. The best way to find one is to go to real estate investing meetups. Take interest in other investors and ask a lot of questions.
Find one that has experience in the niche of which you have interest. A great way to get a mentor is to never call them a mentor. Just ask if you can buy them coffee or lunch and talk real estate. Thank them for their time! At that meeting you can further ask if it would be OK to call or text a future question that might come up. You can call on their experience from time to time, but don’t expect regular meetings or quick answers. That’s a mentor. For anything more, you want to search for a coach and be willing to pay.
