[Video] Flip It! How Do I Find a Mentor?

First off, I’m a big believer in having a mentor.

No matter what you’re trying to do — start a business, grow a business, lose weight, write a book, start a new career — having a mentor who can answer questions and help guide you through can be hugely helpful.

The challenge is, how do you make sure you’re finding the right mentor for you?

Well, there are a few things to consider when choosing a mentor:

1. Get clear on precisely what type of mentor you’re looking for. Are you looking for someone who is more of a coach? Or someone who is more of a consultant?

Coaches by definition will ask you a lot of questions and help you sort out what’s right for you. When someone is coaching you, they’re not giving you answers — they’re asking YOU questions so you determine the answer for yourself.

Consultants are the folks who will tell you what to do. They’re the ones who will recommend strategies and ideas.

Most people, even people who call themselves coaches, are some sort of a mix between a coach and a consultant. If someone is telling you what to do and telling you to follow a system, that isn’t coaching. It’s consulting.

So, the question is — what are you looking for? Do you want someone to give you advice and a system and a structure to follow? Or do you want someone who can help you get clear on what you want to create?

Or are you looking for a little of both? Someone who can help coach through you your mindset blocks while providing you with a system and a strategy.

It doesn’t really matter who you’re looking for — what’s important is to get clear on who you are looking for so you can make sure you’re hiring the right person.

2. Make sure you’re actually hiring the type of person you want to work with. Ask them questions. Read their testimonials. Listen to your gut. This is an important decision and you want to make sure you’re hiring the right person.

But, making sure you’re a good match with your mentor is just the tip of the iceberg. You also need to make sure you’re a match with my next step.

3. If you’re looking for a system or a strategy to follow, make sure this is a system or strategy that you actually want.

One thing that I’ve seen over and over is entrepreneurs hiring a mentor to help them build a business. The mentor helps them build the same business the mentor has. Which is all well and good if that’s the business you want.

But, what if it isn’t?

That’s where the problem comes in — you’ve built this business, and maybe it’s even pretty successful and profitable, but you hate it.

Now what?

(Note — my Love-Based Money podcast is full of interviews with entrepreneurs who, much to their chagrin, realized they had built the wrong business.)

The answer to that is another Flip It!, but for now, I would suggest doing some research and really feeling into what sort of business you want and then making sure the mentor you’re hiring actually has that business.

If you’re unclear about what sort of business you desire or what your best suited for, it may be smarter to hire a coach to help you get clear on that first before you figure out what system you want to use.

Watch below for a few more tips on how to find a mentor: