The why and how of getting a mentor

Someone I met last week wanted help with his very niche business.

It’s a very new business, so I was able to help him with some of the basics. We talked about design, market research, packaging, positioning and pricing.

However, when it came to some of the detail around how to get his product to market, I couldn’t help. I didn’t know the specifics of the industry, didn’t know the competitors and didn’t know the jargon used in that world.

I did however know something important.

The best way to find out some of that stuff is to ask someone who has already done it!

I suggested he find a mentor. 

And I said if he didn’t already have role models in his world, Linked In could help. He could use it to search for experts in his field and to read up on their career paths.

I’ve been a mentor myself, so I also offered some tips on how to approach a mentor to maximise his chances of success.

Here are my 5 top tips for approaching a new mentor:

1. Tell them why you are approaching them - what drew you to them?
2. Be honest about what you want from them - what would you ideally like to learn from them to help your business?
3. Appreciate they are busy - so don’t waste their time.
4. Don’t be greedy! 
5. Be specific about what you need - identify where they can most help you and ask only for that help.