Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I would really like a mentor in my field (professional organizing).

I have a day job, working for a guy who teaches a wealth building course of sorts. During one of the weeks, he focused on mentoring. during my eavesdropping, he mentioned that the participants should seek out a mentor in their field - and not someone who is just one step above where they are, but shoot as far as they can.

The problems I have faced so far are:
- many professional organizers aren`t interested in being mentors. A lot of them offer "coaching" to other organizers and charge a hefty fee for such. More than my start up, still working a day job so I can eat  budget can afford. a lot of what we do as organizers is coach clients, so I guess they don`t want to give it away free.

- many in the area aren`t interested because, I`ve found, they see other organizers as competition. this is true in some regard - but you can`t work with every client in los angeles county!! I tried to network with organizers months back - because I had projects i wanted to REFER to other people...and I still got limited responses back.

So, what should I do? Any suggestion on how I should target the people I have my eyes set on?


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

What about wording it as more of an `intern`.... that way they get the benefit of someone working for free while you get to learn how they do things? I guess this would only work with people who are close to you.  Bringing it at them this way satisfies their WIIFM (What`s In It For Me) need while still allowing you to learn if they go for it.

Angela, that`s an option, I suppose. I feel like I have almost all of the organizing stuff down...I need more help with the business aspect. But perhaps that`s something I could learn more about if I used the intern tactic.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

Y`know, I`m finally seeing what`s going on with this "mentor" thing. It took me awhile because it`s an interesting new twist on an old philosophic problem---cause and effect.

Long ago, I remember being fascinated when I saw the first "Christmas in July Sale" advertisement at a local store. Over decades, people have observed that at Christmas, many people spend money and buy many things. Therefore, the word "Christmas" is CAUSING people to spend money and buy things.

Logically, if we assign the word Christmas to any week in the year, people will spend money and buy things during that week also. So the *word* Christmas *causes* people to spend money.

So too; people have observed that when a successful person helps someone who`s just starting out on the same business path, the exchange of knowledge helps the one who`s getting started. Nobody ever wonders what value the "mentor" gets out of all this, they just assume that all people have an altruistic desire to share experience, knowledge and to "give back to the community." All for no reason at all other than feeling good.

The fact that some people choose to help someone else does indeed take place. And in those relationships, the person being helped gains a tremendous amount of benefit. Logically, then, anyone starting out should get one of these helper-outer types of folks.

And so the business of pop-philosophy and self-help guidance books goes into gear. "If you want a successful business, you should get a mentor!" Very easy to write, and along the lines of "If you want to be a millionaire, get lots of money!"

Mentors aren`t naturally-occurring events like trees, elephants, oceans, and clouds. WHY would someone want to spend their time teaching someone else about a business? In some cases, the mentor has succeeded, made all the money they need, and they`re simply bored. In other cases, they do actually have an altruistic, charitable sense and just feel like helping for no other reason.

But there is one common trait in all mentors I`ve ever encountered. It`s that they know they`re offering a high-value service, and they absolutely want to know that what they`re offering is valued equally as highly by the person who will gain that knowledge. In other words, they only want to teach someone who they (the mentor) feel deserves the benefit of that knowledge.

If you want to find a mentor, you have to be able to demonstrate that you`re worth the time and effort. That means being an attractive prospect for a mentor. What are you currently doing that makes you such an attractive candidate?

Hello CraigL,
Pleased to meet you. I have read several of your feeds this weak and this one sounds like my type of situation.
I am looking for someone to guide me,( not do it for me) to the next level of my business.
I am determined, dedicated and persistent in my success in this business.
Would you privilege me by allowing me to add you to my buddy list?
Thank you,
Troy Taylor

Hey there Troy... :-) Feel free. I don`t know what you`d gain from a Buddy List, but if you have a value then fine. Just be aware that I`m pretty clueless about sports. I just never got all that much into it.

First off, I do not think it`s a requirement to have a mentor. That`s not where I`m coming from. I just think, given various things that make up who I am and where I am in my life right now, that one would be beneficial.

I`d be happy to pay someone, if it was within my reach. But hiring a "coach" - particularly one for organizing, has a higher price than I can pay. Most professional organizers charge higher rates than I charge to work with clients...and then their "coaching" services are usually more than THAT. Some take on "apprentices" or people for their teams but (1) they pay less for than than what I charge my clients and (2) since I do have a business that I am establishing, they don`t want to "compete."  I even had one person say I could be on her team, if I put my business aside. Mmmm....not really interested in doing that.

I actually lost my train of thought while reading your response, so that`s all I have for now :-)


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

The one think which mentoring can provide is faster results. Mentoring is about learning from someone who has already been successful in the field you wish to progress in. The problem is there is no `certification` with mentoring or coaching. Anyone can set up and offer mentoring/coaching services. The trick is to find the right one for you. Get references and find someone who offers a short term commitment - no matter how good a mentor, you may not get on together.

Andrew

Andrew, you raise good points.  As I pointed out in my original post, many organizers consider themselves at least part coach, because we really do have to coach clients in order for them to get things done and make changes. But, in my search for a mentor who is an organizer, I can`t even get far enough to figure out if someone is "right for me" because they either don`t mentor and/or they provide coaching at rates I can`t afford. In terms of a general business coach, I already have a few in my network that I could use, if that`s what I wanted.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

Hello greatmanagement,
Thank you for your reply, I will consider your advice.
I am working on finding funding for my business right now. It looks like I will get something. I will be viewing my SuN account often.
Thanks again,
Troy