My First Business Mentor

(and the differences between Consultants, Advisors, and Coaches)?

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In the early years of my first job as a financial sales professional for ING, I met an entrepreneur who had built the number-one company in dental implants and accessories in Greece. ????

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The Initial Meeting ???

Before meeting him, I thought to myself, "Who am I to advise him?" (and close the sale).

Here was a man with a successful business, many employees and a proven track record of smart decisions.

We first met back in 2007 and had an intense discussion

I was convinced the Greek real estate market was going to collapse, while he believed nothing would happen because real estate never loses value. ??????

Unsurprisingly, we didn't close a deal, nor did we have a follow-up meeting.

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Continued Encounters ??

Despite our disagreements, we occasionally met at my uncle's house, as they were family friends.

Each time, he was asking me that we would take a walk, talking about real estate and the economy.

He liked me a lot, despite our radical disagreements. ??

Nevertheless, even after 3 years of our initial discussion, the Greek Real Estate Market was going according to his projections.

One time, he invited me to his office and handed me several books, including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and books by Robert Kiyosaki. ??

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2010: The Greek Crisis?

In 2010 the Greek financial crisis hit and real estate started to lose value.

My mentor, still eager for my economic projections, kept inviting me to share my thoughts.

He even sent his daughter's then-boyfriend to me as an intern (in order to evaluate him as personality). ????

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Realization of Mentorship?

By 2014, when I started my IT startup journey, I realised that this guy (let’s call him Konstantinos) was my first business mentor.

He had been helping me for years, without expecting anything in return.

His guidance: invaluable. ??????

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Conclusion: Why He Was My Mentor?

The last years I ask him we to go out for a coffee, just to exchange news for our families and the economy and I honestly every time I say a warm “thank you, my first mentor”.

I had advised, consulted and coached many people throughout the years and some of them express their gratitude for me.

But all these situations were paid relationships.?

They paid me, I delivered the service.

My first Business Mentor just assisted consciously and subconsciously without gaining something.

In contrast he was paying all the bills.

That’s the reason he is called Mentor and I owe to him so much. ??