New please help with advice

[Floyd Mcguirk III]

Hey me and my dad are wanting do this whole real estate thing we are about to go to than merrills real estate workshop for 3 days and I seen some.posts that said it would be better to find a pro what's the best way to look for a mentor in my area I live in riverside california and we really don't have the money to pay for than expensive course any advice on finding someone in my area or maybe some free resources  any info is greatly appreciated really