Starting out (Mentorship)

[Caleb Olaez]

I am young and hungry, striving to be great. But starting out I have no connections, little money saved, basically starting from zero. Question to the more experienced investors. Where and how did you meet your mentor that shaped you to who you are today? I have an idea of who I want to be in the future  and I hope to soon find a mentor who I could share my ideas, learn from and could guide me throughout my journey.

[Leo R.]

@Caleb Olaez we could write a book on this subject, but a lot of it boils down to: are you bringing enough value to the table to justify your mentorship? In other words, why should a mentor (who is presumably very successful, and whose time is presumably very valuable), spend their time talking with you?

That's the question you have to answer. 

Keep in mind that a truly successful real estate investor has probably quantified the value of their time--and (if they're truly successful), that number will be high. For example, they may value their time anywhere in the ballpark of $500 to $15,000 per hour (or more). So, if they're going to spend that time with you, there has to be a compelling reason. That reason will be different for each potential mentor--some mentors will want a monetary return on their time, others will want leads, some will want you to solve problems for them, some simply want the satisfaction of helping you (it's not always about money), some might even be willing to mentor you if they like your sense of humor or personality...but point being: you have to figure out what the mentor wants, and then decide whether you can bring that thing to the table. If you can't provide the value the mentor wants, then it's probably not a good fit (similar to any other type of relationship, there has to be a good fit between mentor and mentee).

Often, you can get a sense of what types of things a mentor values just by talking with them, asking good questions, and and listening. For instance, you can ask questions like "what are your favorite and least favorite parts of being a real estate investor?", "what are some of the biggest lessons you've learned as a real estate investor?", etc. Their answers to these types of questions can give you an idea of what they value, and how you can bring that value to the table. For instance, if a real estate investor repeatedly says things like "my property manager is so unreliable", "managing my properties is a real headache", etc.--that may be a clue that they need help with property management--if you can solve that problem for them, now you're bringing value to the table. 

Also, keep in mind: even a mentor who's willing to help you simply for the sake of helping you will, at some point, weigh the pros and cons of helping you. If they decide that the drawbacks of helping you outweigh the benefits, it's game over. Each mentor will have a different threshold for this--for some, a minor annoyance might be enough of a drawback for them to end their mentorship. Others will have a much higher threshold (and you might never reach that threshold). But everyone has their limit--so, it's worth consistently evaluating whether whatever value you're bringing to the table is worth your mentor's valuable time. 

Before you go out looking for a mentor, you'll want to study up on REI as much as possible, and gain some experience (e.g.; experience with property management, REI analyses, experience with a trade, etc.), so that when you do meet potential mentors, you have some common ground and some applicable skills. You'll also want to closely consider what your goals are, what your strengths and weaknesses are, what you want from a mentor, what types of things you're able to do for a mentor, etc.--so that you appear prepared for mentorship.

Good luck out there!