What Do Mentors NEED the most from apprentices?!

[Mike Morris]

I am a new aspiring real estate investor, who wants to specialize in Buy and Hold and other Rental Property Investing strategies. I have just started my journey, and I've read a good handful of some of the best books recommended by peers, B.P. podcast...and then read other books recommending other books. Ha!

Now the BIG QUESTION! How does a newbie like myself, who has a full time job, best serve a "Mentor"? Or if you had a bad experience, if you were a mentor in the past, what is one thing you wish your apprentice would have done more of/less of?

One thing on my TO-DO list is to find some people to talk to at local meet ups. Another thing to do is talk with people in my area, and connect and dive in to the on B.P. site more. This is of course, as I do my do-diligence and educate myself in numerous ways on my own, so that I am not totally in the dark when making appropriate conversation.

But what comes up time and time again is the idea of "Finding a Mentor". Once I do (and I'm not asking for one here), do I help them with smaller logistical tasks? Do I tag along and just be a glorified annoying shadow lurking around them?

What are YOU looking for right now in an apprentice? What do you need an apprentice to do as far as jobs and tasks? What is the one biggest thing an apprentice can do for YOU that is going to help your business as well as help then gain some real time knowledge and experience? 

Thanks for reading and any advice would be much appreciated!

Mike

[Andrew Brewer]

In my opinion, mentorship is more about teaching someone else, paying it forward and not expecting a whole lot in return. Too often I see people saying "Whats in it for me if I mentor someone? What can you do for me?" I find this to be a selfish attitude. The reality is there is not much in it for you, you should be mentoring someone because real estate gave you a better life and now you are helping someone else the way someone helped you at one point. 

@Brett Goldsmith is correct that mentees should be willing to put in work, there is no point in mentoring someone who won't help themselves. The good mentees simply need to be placed on the path and maybe need some help overcoming obstacles, they should  do all the walking themselves.

As a mentor, if you are going to require someone to bring solid leads, investors, or knowledge then who is the real mentor in that relationship? It seems the person with the leads, investors, and knowledge to increase bottom line profits should be the one teaching. Why do they need you if they've already figured that out?

@Mike Morris sorry this post is more of what I feel a mentor should be and thats not what you asked. The advice I have for you is to beware of people asking for leads, money, or time to help their business up front. The relationship should be a student/teacher relationship, not an employee/employer. If a mentor asks you to do work for them, be sure it is work that you can learn from and work that will propel you forward, not just busywork that they are too lazy to do themselves or too cheap to hire out. If you are going to go work for someone then get paid for it as an employee would. Time and money are valuable and are best spent building your own business, don't give them away and build someone elses business for free. It may take you some time to find the right mentor and it may take you some time to find the right one. 

I recently severed ties with a "mentor" because I wasn't learning. He wanted me to increase his clientele, run the operation, and write up operating procedures for free in addition to bringing him my personal lead and investor lists. After two months I realized his business wasn't making any money and he didn't even realize it because he didn't keep track of expenses or income very well. Although he talked a big game, turns out he didn't really have anything to teach. 

If I was mentoring people, I would want a glorified annoying shadow that showed some passion and dedication. In the beginning I wouldn't mind a lot of questions but I would hope that over time the questions would become fewer, further between, and more complicated as they learned the game. I might ask them to do some small tasks for me if I felt the tasks would benefit them, but would not rely on them for cheap or free labor. If they had leads or investors, I would ask them to partner with me on those projects.

Hope this helps, and remember that your time is valuable, don't waste it on fools.