Business Truth No.4 - Find A Mentor.

Several of my guests from the podcast have referenced the importance of having a mentor or coach which has greatly contributed to their success...

This is the fourth of my "business truths" that I've discovered after having the amazing opportunity to interview 10 more inspirational business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs.

To listen to the full episode, and many jam-packed business interviews, search for "The Truth About Business" in all good podcasting apps.

Or you can see them all at my blog at www.benjaminbrain.co.uk.

So, let's dive in to truth No.4....

Business Truth No.4 – Find A Mentor.

The whole foundation upon which this podcast is built on is the fact that success leaves footprints.

Learning from your mistakes is an important part of becoming a successful entrepreneur, but if you can tie that in with learning from the mistakes of others – well that just adds fuel to the fire.

Having access to the experiences, lessons and guidance from those who have already trodden the path from which you intend to follow can save you from making the same mistakes that they made and implement what they discovered works without having to go through the same painful process of having to figure it all out for yourself.

It’s not to say that you won’t be successful just by going it alone.

Far from it, and there’s plenty of people who have done it.

But, with the right mentor or coach, there’s every chance that you’re going to get there much faster and with far less friction.

If you’re going to go out and find a mentor, which I’d highly recommend, there’s a couple of questions which are often asked to take into consideration.

First one being, so what’s the difference between a coach and a mentor?

So, for me, a mentor is someone who has been successful in the same industry as you.

Typically, when you think of a mentor, we tend to think of someone approaching retirement who is now looking to ease off the pedal a bit and wants to give back by helping others to succeed.

But that’s not always the case.

Clearly you want someone who is more experienced or has more of what you want in order for it to be a worthwhile endeavour, for both parties, but they don’t need to be lightyears ahead of you.

If you’re at step 2 out of 10 – you don’t have to find someone who’s at 10.

It could be someone who’s at 7,6 or even 5 because they’ll still be able to help you progress through those next levels.

You can learn specifically what not to do, and what worked for them in the past and then decide how you can adapt that for your own benefit.

They may also be able to open doors and introduce you to key people that are going to help fast-track your growth and progression.

A good coach on the other hand is someone who might not necessarily know the intricacies of your craft, but they’re experienced in building successful businesses.

As Steve Gandy mentioned in his interview, you tend to find that whilst the product or service you deliver may be vastly different, the building blocks of a successful business and the solutions to the major problems we’re all faced with are usually the same, regardless of which industry you’re in.

Alan Weiss, who is heralded by many as the top entrepreneur coach in the world, said that when he was a consultant working with some of the best performing businesses on the planet – no matter what was going on, he could always boil issues down to one of eleven problems, regardless of the size of the business, industry or country.

A good coach also knows the right questions to ask of you to help you come up with the highest quality answer.

On face value, this may not seem all that valuable but as Tony Robbins says, 

“The quality of your questions determines the quality of your life”

By asking quality questions, a good coach will help you to decipher what’s really important to you and where you should be focusing your time for the greatest ROI and then crucially, hold you to account to get out there and execute.

Another quality of a good coach is that they’re not involved in your business to the level that you are.

That fresh and totally unbiased perspective can often produce revelations as you’re given the ability to see your business from a birds-eye view, rather than being embroiled in the day to day action which can often see huge opportunities pass by without being noticed or huge roadblocks stop you in your tracks which could have been addressed earlier.

The next question is usually;

“OK, it sounds great but how do I find one?”

For a great mentor, you just have to ask.

LinkedIn is a phenomenal tool for this.

Find someone who you think you may be able to learn from and just get in touch.

As many of my guests have alluded to, in this business game if you don’t ask you don’t get.

Many successful people, and every single guest I’ve had on the podcast so far, would see it as a great compliment if someone not as progressed were to ask them for their help – providing they were not a direct competitor of course.

But remember, think about what’s in it for them?

How can you provide value to this person in exchange for them sharing their hard-earned business wisdom that they have fought so hard for and sacrificed so much to get?

My first suggestion would be that this person probably spends a lot of time taking other people out for drinks or lunches, so offer to do the same for them in exchange for just sitting down and having a conversation about business.

If you strike it off and get on with each other, see if they’d be interested in becoming a mentor to you.

Asking somebody right out of the gate without having ever met them if they’d be interested in being your mentor is verging on odd and is perhaps not going to warrant too many, if any, positive responses.

Here’s the thing though, and I love this phrase, don’t be an “Askhole“.

An askhole is someone who is always asking questions and receiving great answers but never doing anything with or executing on the advice given.

That will see the relationship deteriorate quickly as part of what’s in it for the mentor will be watching their hungry business disciple progress.

And if you’re not using their knowledge to advance, what’s the point?

You have to make a commitment to take action and the same goes for a coach because if you don’t make changes based on their advice or suggestions, their time and your money is being wasted.

Now not everyone is going to say yes, because that’s not life but have faith that if you kiss enough frogs, you’ll eventually find your prince or princess.

To find a business coach, you could just type “local business coach” into Google and you’ll be presented with pages of results.

However, that’s not what I’d recommend.

Firstly, you should check out some of the amazing consultants and coaches that have already featured on the show – Steve Gandy, Kul Mahay, Andrew Deighton and Estelle Read all definitely come with the Benjamin Brain seal of approval.

Failing that, you’ll find that many hold free seminars or even one-time events that you have to pay for.

Get to see how they operate and if you feel like you could work with them before just picking anyone.

Recommendations from other business owners who have worked successfully with coaches is a great starting point too.

Another word of warning – this person is not here to be your friend.

They’re here to force you outside of your comfort zone and to hold you to account on important actions and tasks.

Sometimes that requires an “awkward” conversation AKA a “kick up the backside” and getting too friendly can sometimes sabotage that vital element of a coach/client relationship.

So, you might be wondering at this point – have I taken my own advice here?

The answer is “sort of”.

Firstly, I would consider all of the guests that I’ve featured on the show a mentor of mine because in every single episode I’ve learned something new and I often refer back to the stories of these entrepreneurs when I’m faced with similar challenges.

But that’s not a cop out.

Right now, I don’t have what I would consider an “official” mentor.

However, having seen the impact it’s had on the lives of my guests, both past and future, I am definitely in the process of making connections to find one.

I DO have a coach.

He’s not a business coach, per se, more of a life/success coach.

I meet with this coach one on one once a month and I have to say that the acceleration in my progress since working with my coach has put this project into warp speed with all kinds of opportunities presenting themselves right now that I could not have even envisaged just a few weeks ago.

It’s most definitely a financial commitment, and not a cheap one at that, which is good because it means I’ve got skin in the game and I’m far more likely to execute on the plans we put in place and turn my dreams into reality.

And if that’s not worth investing in, I don’t know what is!

So, I’ll close out truth number four, find a mentor, with the following quote from Tom Landry:

“A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you can be”

I hope you enjoyed reading this article.

If you have any questions, suggestions or stories of your experiences with these concepts, I'd love to know.

Message me on LinkedIn or just get in touch!

Make it a great day and here's to your business success!

Benjamin :)

Host Of "The Truth About Business" Podcast

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