Mentoring

I feel like I am stating the obvious here but I see so many newbie guys starting up business with little or no advice or worst of all listening to friends with no business experience. I see alot of people failing and struggling,  sometimes its an ego thing and they know better and they don’t want to ask for help.

If a bodybuilder wants to put muscle on again, its easy but if you are not a bodybuilder its hard.  Once you build a big business or open a small one,  it becomes easier each time you do it. I know guys that find it easy to start 50 million usd companies and  another guy 25 million usd companies,  this is all down to previous errors, trials, seeking advice, it often costs money to make all the mistakes at the start. Well with social media now and being able to reach out to local business owners there is no need for all these problems.

I think its wrong when people say they are networking and handing out business cards, I think you need to hook up with people on facebook after you find some mutual ground and get a conversation going on facebook messenger. Its these long term relationships that are key to success. If you join business discussions, groups or write about business, like minded guys will come to you and they will show you there cards. Showing success in real life brings alot of negative people complaining and creates jealousy, but when you have like minded people it will inspire them and showing your cards makes it easier to help!

I am in 3 business groups now,  (one weekly, one fortnightly and one monthly) one of which I founded.  Basically most of us are experienced in different areas and we tell people about our current business, our backgrounds and any future ideas. Then we all constructively critise each others business plans/ideas and add our opinions.  Some guys are looking for advice and most often it gets a good answer. Its suprising the people we have out there, i am meeting some really successful guys and they are worth listening to. The advice i get is worth its weight in gold, likewise I can help people back also.

I think some people feel like they might be a burden trying to get advice,  well every business owner has needed help before so they are often happy to give it,  everyone is at those meetings to talk,  and we are all looking for opportunities to see how we can fit into each others plans or help each other.  I potentially helped 2 guys today with some deals they are doing, i got solid business advice and we were discussing the market and trends that we feel are happening. We gathered alot of information that we could use later,  this is real business school, but you have to give back and if you want specific time consuming mentoring off someone it doesnt hurt to ask, some guys have already “made it” and they can live a business again through someone elses experiences and be happy they can add value,  this is where potential partnerships can happen.

One of the tricks meeting other business owners is not to do the ask straight away, slowly build up relationships so you can trust each other and check each other out, then let them come to you. I get many guys messaging me for help and its just take take take, I don’t have time for it,  why not give, give, then ask? Some guys ask me how I am out of the blue, then try to sell me something,  this is rude I think, as i am not a random consumer, i am real and the people on my facebook know me personally somehow.

I am currently mentoring/consulting a friend of mine and I have saved him from many pitfalls and helping him set up his business right the first time, I will be financially rewarded as its ongoing and specific.

There are no charges for the meetings, they don’t make money but if you are ready to make a strong/solid business then come down and let everyone know your idea, but be prepared for healthy critism.  Its great to do straight talk with straight business guys, it makes everything transparent and easy to do deals.

I do warn against paying people for mentoring unless they are using up their time a fair bit and you have many questions. (and they proven themselves in your field) Also there are too many mentors/business coaches out there that have never had a business!  There only business is coaching people, thats why they need money up front and often offer false promises of profit gains without even knowing your business.

One last thing is that I subscribe to many youtube channels that are highly targetted for what i am involved in, I also search videos often, i spend a few hours a day learning, these guys are pretty much mentoring me for free. When people say you have no idea to do this business, they are often putting you off as they dont want you to succeed, but if you go to business group, all of a sudden you have alot of resources behind you and there argument is no longer valid!

I go to many seminars so I can meet successful guys to help me on my journey,  I am not that good at approaching random people but I will get better,  we are pretty much mentoring each other when we are exchanging experiences,  I often pay for VIP seating to ensure I have the successful guys around me, as thats the unwritte rule to access people on a higher level.  The people in cheap seating are often just starting out, and the elite table really want to meet people high of the chain.

Through meeting people I have seen so many opportunities and ideas.  I have managed to shelve a few ideas also,  I am looking for future ideas and i will spend the next year learning about it before I take action, while i am setting up other projects.

I have surrounded myself with success and people higher up the chain, because they know shit I want to know!