How do I go about working for an investor??

Question

Hi guys,

So I've known from day one of getting into investing that I needed to find a mentor in my local market to learn from and not try to learn from one not near me. I did get in contact with one and he helped me estimate a repair cost on a house that I ultimately (and then unsuccessfully) wholesaled. And he took me around one day to his properties for sale and I got to see him buy a house in 20 minutes for 45K and found out 2 months later he flipped it for 85k to one of his tenants!! He's a genius!! But one thing...I feel like I'm bothering him but...I want to see and know more!! I asked him if I could follow him around again and he said anytime but didn't get back to me about it. So my question is...should I offer to pay him to mentor me once a week or ask if he has any openings at his business to work for him to learn the business?? Or how do I find another local investor and ask them for the same thing?? This kind of goes along the lines of podcast 21 I believe where Jerry got paid to help a local investor answer phones. I need to do that!! I'm a hands-on person. Any suggestions would be great, thank you!! ~Nichole

Nichole Wall · Answer

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I haven't come out and asked him if he could mentor me, I just have asked him if I could follow him around again, to which this is where I felt I was bugging him even though he said yes. I even asked at my local REIA. I stood up in front of everyone and announced I was looking for a mentor and everyone just stared at me. So...scratch that idea. :)

Then recently, after I posted this, I posted some Craigslist ads offering to be an assistant and I got some interesting responses, none of which were credible nor do I think I'll ever be doing that again!! So my next idea is just what you said Andrew...to volunteer for him one day a week because I do have time (well when my children start school in the Fall) so I would be able to do just that. I do agree offering him money (even though I most def. would pay him) he would say no but not really want to do it. So I'm trying to think of a way to help him too. Thanks for the ideas everyone!

James Wise · Answer

@Nichole Wall welcome to the site.

Im sure he has some type of marketing or office related work he'd like done in exchange for some mentoring.

Larry Turowski · Answer

Yes! Well, sort of.  The point is, ask.  The first thing you need to do is define your specific goals--measurable goals, not just "I want to be a real estate tycoon," rather "I want to learn how to find good deals."  You'll know when you've learned that.

You will likely need help even defining your goals.  So your first goal may be So go to him and say, "Would you be willing to mentor me?  And starting out would you help me define what I could could achieve in the next six months?"  And offer discuss options like working for him, helping him out, paying him, shadowing him every Tuesday, or paying him for an hourly meeting each week.  The sources for deals you said he had may be people just like you who asked him these question a year or two ago.

Nilesh Makhija · Answer

@Nichole Wall - Also would recommend How Do I find Mentor.

Account Closed · Answer

Hi @Nichole Wall

Do you have the time or ability to volunteer one day a week for him, in exchange for some mentoring? If it's the right situation, you might learn quite a bit, and add value to his company. Just a thought.

Andrew

James Hamling · Answer

Paying is always an option; I like money, I imagine he does too as he is in a high earning occupation and doing well at it as you explain. Thing is, put into his terms, can you really bring the dollar value to offer as payment to make it a enticing value or just a symbolic gesture? If what you have to offer as payment is enough to excite a "Mentor" then one or both of you are a fool, its simple logic. That known, forget payment in direct payment terms, ok.

So, direct payment scratched off the list, next question and another great screening method is the question of IS payment required or can you get the mentoring for free, because there are so many "Gurus" who like to preach there sharing there secrets and taking time to teach noobs and not do any deals just because there such nice guys, right. Yeah, I call BS on those guys too, a great criteria for finding a person worth learning from is that they are busy doing, not teaching. You can only teach what you know, and if your out of the game, your out-of-the-game and its what DID work, HAD worked, what one WAS doing, which dont get me wrong can be great but it is not there here and now building for future which is the definition of a Mentor.

So, yes, to get a genuine worth while mentor one must pay for it, but wont have funds enough to match deals lost to teach. So the simple logic of it is sell yourself, become the payment, find a way to be of value and to make being mentored a return on value, I mean hey, there an investor right, so they will naturally have to be enticed and interested in a good investment be it a property OR a person.

I conclusion; sell yourself, become the appreciating asset, make yourself a good return, and show appreciation opportunities for continued knowledge investment and "yeah shall receive". And remember, good people are the rarest and most valuable commodity, those worth learning from know this very well and have mastered the leverage of such, that is wealth.

Nichole Wall · Answer

Let me just add that I do plan on finding wholesale deals (since that's where I think I'm starting) in his area but he's pretty successful in finding all the ones for himself with his network of people.