No matter what kind of business you are starting, you should find a mentor at some point. Actually, not A mentor – rather THE RIGHT mentor. Here are five things to keep in mind when looking for one:
1. Your mentor doesn’t have to be 50+ years old with 20+ years of industry experience.
Sure, the more your mentor has gone through, the better advice he or she can provide. But in some of the industries – such as digital marketing – it is nearly impossible to find someone with 20+ years of experience. I was recently invited to mentor at the Startupbootcamp’s Pitch Day during the Pioneers Festival in Vienna. And as a mentor, I tried to stick 100% only to my field of expertise. I focused on marketing, branding, using the right channels, getting to know their market etc. I could have provided my opinion about their business model, product, team etc. But that would be a personal opinion rather than a mentor advice. Be careful – not too many mentors realize the difference.
2. Your mentor’s expertise has to be strong where your weaknesses are.
This one seems pretty obvious. You can create the most amazing website as a web designer or a programmer. But you have no idea how to make money out of it. Or you’ve got the coolest product ever. But you have no clue how to get it to your target group (or even no clue what a ‘target group’ is). And there is nothing wrong about it! Don’t try to be Chuck Norris; try being Steve Wozniak and know your shit as perfect as you can. Then surround yourself with the best team and mentors. Of course it is easier to reach mentors in your field as you might be confused who the right expert elsewhere would be. Ask who your friends or ex-colleagues admire and who the opinion leaders in their domain are. And then start googling and get on your LinkedIn. Or maybe new Google Helpout service might help in the future.
3. Your mentors don’t have to know they are your mentors (and they don’t even have to be alive).
Having mentors does not necessarily mean knowing them in person or being able to talk to them. They can be authors or gurus in any sphere. Find out everything you can about them. What do they read? What routines do they have? Who do they admire? What influences them? How do they make decisions? Read book(s) or articles about them, but also the books they read. And no, your mentors don’t have to be alive either. Of course, if the person has died a century ago you won’t be able to get regular follow-ups over Skype. But if their message is still alive after such time you can be sure it will most likely be valuable.
4. Aim for the best. Even they feel good about being helpful.
Just like with your team – always aim for the best. If you ask for help reasonably and have adequate expectations, it is very likely you will be advised. It’s not that hard to get someone’s e-mail address and usually it’s just matter of time until your potential mentor gets back to you. Again, please do have reasonable expectations. A local entrepreneur or a university professor can for sure dedicate more time to you than an international big shot.
5. Don’t rely on being mentored.
One of my mentors is Seth Godin (see point 3). In his last book ‘The Icarus Deception’ he says:
“Those lucky enough to start with a supportive mentor and access to resources begin walking up the ladder and, with some pluck, can move quite high in the industrial pecking order.
But they come to that spot where following instructions is no longer sufficient – where they are required to give instructions instead. They’ll hit a gap where the only way to get across is to make rules instead of following them. And they’ll freeze, trapped between where they are and where they want to be.”
Word ‘mentor’ comes from a Greek mythology figure – Mentor. He was a friend of Odysseus and a wise adviser of his son Telemachus. He was a wise adviser; not the decision maker. Do listen to your mentor and use every advice to make the best decision. But always make the key decisions yourself.
And there is one additional tip. Badly chosen mentor is much worse than no mentor at all.
Do you like what you are reading? Never miss a blog. Sing up: http://eepurl.com/H7L8T
Originally published as a guest blog post at Startupbootcamp Blog.
Victor
November 17, 2014 at 06:59.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
Lynn
November 17, 2014 at 17:04.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
billy
November 17, 2014 at 22:16.
good info!!
alfred
November 17, 2014 at 23:50.
ñïñ!
anthony
November 18, 2014 at 00:48.
thanks for information!!
Reginald
November 18, 2014 at 09:32.
ñïñ!
Leo
November 19, 2014 at 01:54.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
Joe
November 19, 2014 at 14:27.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
Bernard
November 20, 2014 at 01:04.
áëàãîäàðåí.
Cameron
November 20, 2014 at 18:12.
tnx for info.
Angelo
November 21, 2014 at 07:54.
thanks for information!!
mario
November 21, 2014 at 17:05.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó.
chris
November 22, 2014 at 04:32.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
Marc
November 23, 2014 at 04:36.
thanks!
curtis
November 23, 2014 at 10:28.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!
chris
November 23, 2014 at 18:50.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
bill
November 24, 2014 at 01:36.
ñïñ.
Terrence
November 24, 2014 at 02:09.
thank you!
Tracy
November 24, 2014 at 04:14.
thank you!!
Francisco
November 24, 2014 at 14:23.
áëàãîäàðþ!
Stanley
November 25, 2014 at 08:49.
áëàãîäàðþ!!
Rafael
November 25, 2014 at 18:27.
ñïñ.
Danny
November 25, 2014 at 18:57.
thanks!!
alfred
November 26, 2014 at 11:55.
thanks for information!
Craig
November 28, 2014 at 03:26.
ñïñ.
darryl
November 28, 2014 at 10:36.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!!
Allan
November 28, 2014 at 17:33.
thank you!
Dustin
November 30, 2014 at 03:46.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
james
November 30, 2014 at 04:07.
tnx for info!
Clifford
November 30, 2014 at 17:32.
áëàãîäàðåí!
harold
December 1, 2014 at 04:55.
good info!
Francisco
December 1, 2014 at 06:03.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
Carlton
December 1, 2014 at 08:44.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!
kyle
December 4, 2014 at 22:22.
thank you!!
Larry
December 4, 2014 at 23:32.
ñïàñèáî!
claude
December 5, 2014 at 01:54.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
Raymond
December 5, 2014 at 09:04.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
arthur
December 6, 2014 at 10:53.
ñïàñèáî!!
tyler
December 6, 2014 at 20:28.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó.
Robert
December 8, 2014 at 12:32.
good info!!
francis
December 8, 2014 at 18:05.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
Alan
December 9, 2014 at 20:31.
thanks.
anthony
December 10, 2014 at 22:39.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
Ricky
December 12, 2014 at 11:50.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
Salvador
December 12, 2014 at 12:24.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
julius
December 13, 2014 at 20:55.
áëàãîäàðåí.
darryl
December 14, 2014 at 12:12.
thank you!
Albert
December 15, 2014 at 08:39.
tnx for info.
edgar
December 16, 2014 at 11:26.
ñïñ!
julius
December 16, 2014 at 15:40.
good info.
Martin
December 16, 2014 at 18:33.
ñïàñèáî!
Virgil
December 17, 2014 at 01:03.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
ernest
December 17, 2014 at 05:25.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
alejandro
December 17, 2014 at 16:23.
thank you!!
arturo
December 17, 2014 at 22:15.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
martin
December 18, 2014 at 03:42.
ñïñ!
Terry
December 18, 2014 at 22:29.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
Tyrone
December 19, 2014 at 13:41.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
Justin
December 20, 2014 at 02:47.
good info!!
joshua
December 20, 2014 at 03:22.
tnx.
Maurice
December 20, 2014 at 03:55.
ñïñ!
Ray
December 20, 2014 at 19:31.
good!
Henry
December 20, 2014 at 20:05.
tnx!
hubert
December 20, 2014 at 20:40.
tnx for info!!
Ian
December 20, 2014 at 21:17.
tnx for info!!
marvin
December 21, 2014 at 16:13.
tnx for info!!
sean
December 22, 2014 at 12:53.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
Kevin
December 22, 2014 at 13:26.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó.
trevor
December 25, 2014 at 17:50.
tnx for info!
adrian
January 14, 2015 at 11:59.
ñïñ.
leslie
January 14, 2015 at 16:41.
good.
bill
January 14, 2015 at 17:22.
thanks for information!
guy
January 14, 2015 at 18:05.
ñïñ.
Gregory
January 15, 2015 at 07:14.
good!!
jackie
January 16, 2015 at 03:49.
ñïñ!
carlos
January 16, 2015 at 04:22.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
martin
January 16, 2015 at 12:22.
tnx for info.
jose
January 16, 2015 at 12:55.
ñïñ çà èíôó!!
Marion
January 16, 2015 at 13:25.
tnx for info!
Clifton
January 16, 2015 at 13:55.
ñïñ çà èíôó!
tyrone
January 16, 2015 at 14:33.
ñïñ çà èíôó!!
Duane
January 18, 2015 at 02:39.
thanks!!
Mathew
January 18, 2015 at 04:21.
tnx for info!
tyrone
January 18, 2015 at 19:55.
tnx for info!
morris
January 19, 2015 at 00:06.
áëàãîäàðþ!!
eddie
January 19, 2015 at 07:23.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
Cameron
January 19, 2015 at 08:36.
hello!
Lynn
January 19, 2015 at 08:59.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!!
Billy
January 19, 2015 at 17:43.
good.
Jesus
January 20, 2015 at 14:04.
tnx for info!!
Allan
January 20, 2015 at 19:04.
ñïàñèáî!
Leonard
January 20, 2015 at 19:37.
ñïñ!
ronnie
January 21, 2015 at 00:42.
thanks!!
Joey
January 21, 2015 at 01:04.
áëàãîäàðþ.
Bill
January 21, 2015 at 01:19.
thanks!
Leo
January 21, 2015 at 06:09.
ñïñ çà èíôó!
manuel
January 22, 2015 at 03:52.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
Curtis
January 22, 2015 at 04:35.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ.
johnnie
January 22, 2015 at 05:38.
hello!!
Orlando
January 22, 2015 at 06:11.
ñïñ çà èíôó!!
Brent
January 23, 2015 at 08:52.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
jaime
January 23, 2015 at 21:58.
hello.
Shane
January 23, 2015 at 22:32.
ñïñ!
ronnie
January 23, 2015 at 23:06.
hello!
Lonnie
January 24, 2015 at 04:18.
tnx for info!
Norman
January 24, 2015 at 17:21.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!!
Gilbert
January 25, 2015 at 14:12.
good info.
Max
January 25, 2015 at 22:56.
áëàãîäàðþ.
enrique
January 26, 2015 at 10:41.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
Nathaniel
January 26, 2015 at 16:05.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
christian
January 27, 2015 at 15:01.
tnx!
Bradley
January 27, 2015 at 17:43.
tnx.
Carl
January 27, 2015 at 22:46.
ñïñ!!
johnnie
January 29, 2015 at 06:08.
tnx for info!!
Allen
January 30, 2015 at 15:58.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó.
Nicholas
January 31, 2015 at 12:59.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
Matt
February 1, 2015 at 07:10.
good!
Chris
February 1, 2015 at 07:44.
ñïñ çà èíôó.
tony
February 1, 2015 at 08:16.
ñïñ!!
Cory
February 1, 2015 at 08:49.
good info.
jeremy
February 1, 2015 at 09:02.
ñïàñèáî!!
billy
February 1, 2015 at 10:22.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
mathew
February 1, 2015 at 10:55.
ñïñ!!
sergio
February 1, 2015 at 11:29.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!
doug
February 1, 2015 at 12:03.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!
Alex
February 1, 2015 at 21:57.
ñïàñèáî!
Francis
February 2, 2015 at 12:07.
ñïñ!!
Seth
February 2, 2015 at 18:55.
áëàãîäàðåí!
Stuart
February 3, 2015 at 01:31.
thank you.
dwayne
February 4, 2015 at 17:48.
hello.
cecil
February 6, 2015 at 00:19.
ñïñ!
Adrian
February 6, 2015 at 07:27.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó.
Austin
February 6, 2015 at 17:12.
tnx for info!
Tyrone
February 7, 2015 at 23:22.
ñýíêñ çà èíôó!!
maurice
February 7, 2015 at 23:54.
ñïñ çà èíôó!
Keith
February 8, 2015 at 13:01.
hello!
virgil
February 8, 2015 at 14:21.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ.
roger
February 8, 2015 at 14:52.
ñïñ.
victor
February 9, 2015 at 10:19.
ñïàñèáî çà èíôó!
Ramon
February 9, 2015 at 22:01.
good info!!
wendell
February 9, 2015 at 22:38.
áëàãîäàðñòâóþ!
brett
February 10, 2015 at 19:07.
thanks for information!!
Gerald
February 11, 2015 at 13:35.
thanks!
Hubert
February 11, 2015 at 14:11.
hello!
Richard
February 11, 2015 at 14:46.
thanks.
Luke
February 12, 2015 at 13:05.
ñïñ.
Ted
February 12, 2015 at 18:31.
ñïñ!!
Jessie
February 13, 2015 at 15:14.
thank you!!
herman
February 13, 2015 at 17:00.
áëàãîäàðåí!!
neil
February 13, 2015 at 20:11.
tnx for info!!