Tips on finding a good mentor, or how to avoid being ripped off

Tips on finding a good mentor.

Let’s start off with this confession. I have mentored hundreds of people, although it is not even part of my core business. At one time I was a mentor for a major national guru and it cost $10,000 to speak with me for 30 minutes per week for 6 months. I could have charged more.

Before you go off half-cocked and go looking for a mentor, there are a few things to consider. In real estate you get paid for taking the correct action. If you can’t get off your ass to take action then no mentor will ever be able to help you.

What a mentor can shorten your learning curve and keep you from making stupid mistakes. You can learn everything that any mentor can teach you all by yourself but your journey will be slower and full of screw ups. There is no technique or strategy that hasn’t been written down somewhere.

Here are a few of the things that you should look for in a mentor.

Personal success, I have seen people who don’t invest but they feel the need to put themselves out there as mentors, WTF is that?

Local knowledge - you really want a mentor who knows your neighborhoods and local laws. Each state has it’s own peculiar laws and ways of doing things. A local mentor will keep you from screwing up and getting on the wrong side of the law.

You want a mentor who will push you. Set goals for you, and hold your happy butt accountable.

Your mentor should hold you accountable and not take your crappy excuses. All of your excuses are crappy, to include the ever popular “that won’t work in my town”.

You want a mentor who has been through a few boom and bust cycles and who can teach you more than one technique. One trick ponies do well when their trick works well but fall apart when the market changes.

Do a google search on your potential mentor. If the words fraud or arrest come up, then you need to keep looking.

You need a mentor who has worked with students like you before. Almost anyone can coach a new investor into doing a single deal, but it takes a seasoned teacher to help you transition from hobby investor to full time investor.

In closing, you want to interview your potential mentor, ask questions about specific deals. I would highly suggest that you look to your local REIA clubs to find a mentor as the people in that room can verify the experience and knowledge of potential mentors. Reputations are built over a life time, go with someone who has a good reputation, not just flashy marketing and a nice website.

To your success

Josh