Working online can be hard … darned hard. None of us are prepared for the confusion, isolation and disappointment faced when working online.
Especially if you are new to working online.
This is why many people seek a mentor, or coach, to help them along the way.
The instinct to reach out for help is the right one. After all, why reinvent the wheel when you can work with someone who has “been there and done that” and can help guide you.
But finding the right person is not always easy.
I’d like to share five ways you can find the right mentor, no matter your current level of experience.
Prefer to read? Here is the enhanced transcript for your convenience.
I want to share with you five ways to find the right mentor.
Let’s be honest, working and succeeding online is hard.
It’s too hard for you to go it alone.
The isolation, frustration, and confusion, can be overwhelming.
People often ask me these questions …
- Am I doing the right things?
- Am I doing the things that I am doing the right way?
- What tools do I really need?
- Can this really work for me?
- What should I be doing anyway?
People sometimes just don’t know what to do.
The fact is, nothing in our offline life prepared us for the confusion, isolation and technical challenges of working online.
This is why so many people seek out mentors, which is smart.
A mentor is a coach who can help you save time, help you save money and make progress faster.
Those are all very good things, but how can you find the right mentor for you?
I believe there are five keys that will help you find the right person for you.
1 – Actual Personal Experience
Number one, their advice needs to be based on personal, actual experience.
This is a must, that’s why I made it number one.
You don’t want to be mentored by someone who has an idea of what might work, or took a course, or read a book, and now they’re just restating what they heard, and reselling it to you as their own advice.
Not long ago I spoke to a guy who wanted to promote a website that taught a particular system and I said to him “Have you made money with this system, have you actually done this?”
“Oh no, this is just an idea of what I think will work.”
He was gonna charge people money for an idea he had of what might work!
I respectfully declined to work with him.
A mentor with experience can point to their own success.
They can prove they’ve done what they teach and they have a reputation to back it up.
2 – Answers To YOUR Questions
You simply must have a way to get your questions answered.
Actually, you deserve to have your individual questions answered, even if they are “newbie” questions.
This is very, very important.
No matter how good your mentor is, no matter how good his or her system, or school, or course, or academy is, you will have questions that are specific to your situation.
That’s why every mentoring relationship needs to include a way for you to get your specific questions answered.
Not sending you to a knowledge base, not asking you to buy a product, but answering your question about your situation.
3 – A Comprehensive Solution
A mentoring relationship that succeeds offers a comprehensive solution.
Have you ever heard the saying that when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail?
Some mentors are like that.
All they know is pay per click or some kind of paid advertising or blogging. They know that and they know it deeply, and that’s a good thing.
But every answer they give you is to buy more pay per click or blog more often.
That doesn’t always work for every person.
While it’s hard to find someone with well-rounded experience, because the internet and working online and doing business online, is still relatively new, it can be done.
It is well worth it to find the right person.
Someone with deep experience across the board.
4 – Their Knowledge Is Current
You want to work with someone who stays current.
What you really want is someone who is ahead of the curve, but that can be hard to find.
The last thing you want is to a mentor and pay them money, and then find out they’re not as knowledgeable about what’s working today.
While no one can know everything, your mentor should be familiar with what’s working now.
And, you should be able to see by the way they conduct their own business that they are using best practices and up to date methods.
If they are not, and you want to work with them, they should be willing to test a new idea for you (AT THE MENTOR’S EXPENSE) and report back.
After all, they have tools, resources and experience you don’t have.
They should be willing to apply those on your behalf and report back.
You might not find a person that absolutely knows everything about everything, but it is reasonable to find somebody to work with who is very familiar with what’s working now and has current knowledge.
5 – A Proven Path Forward
This is important.
Your objective is to go from where you are now to where you want to be in the least amount of time.
That’s going to take working with a person who can see where you are now, understand that, and help you make that proven path forward.
If your mentor can’t provide a specific action plan based on where you are now then you may have the wrong person.
An effective mentor will factor in what you need.
He or she will consider factors such as …
- Your age.
- Your experience.
- Your goals.
- Your budget of time.
- Your budget of money.
- What do you want to do.
- What you like to do.
- What you are willing to learn and do.
A good mentor (or coach or consultant) will factor in all these thingsbefore he or she makes a suggestion
They will make specific suggestions about how his or her knowledge and resources can be made to fit your needs.
After all, THIS IS ABOUT YOU, not about them.
Conclusion
Do you really need a mentor to succeed online? Only you can know.
If you are not achieving your goals now, or you are confused about your options and what to do next, one session with the right mentor can put you on the right track.
If you are achieving real results now, and are happy with those results, a mentor can help you scale up your success more quickly.
If you are achieving on a higher level but then get stuck (many people get stuck at the $500K mark and the $3million mark) the right mentor can help you break through the barrier.
There is no doubt about it … finding the right mentor can change everything.
- You are no longer alone.
- Your questions get actual answers.
- You have more peace of mind.
- You spend less money because you avoid trial and error.
- You achieve real results.
- You build something real.
- You see progress each month.
Now those are beautiful things indeed.
