A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor, counselor, or guide. Mentorship involves finding someone who is where you want to be and asking that person to take you under their wing and teach you everything they know.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur and build a $10 million software-development company, imagine how you would increase your odds of success and speed up your path if the founder of a $10 million software-development company was willing to become a trusted guide. They know about all the mistakes you’re about to make, and they can help you dodge them, shaving years off your learning curve.
Having a mentor is like having a speed pass. Back when I played video games with my kids, Mario Kart was very popular, and it featured a speed strip on the racetrack. If you were skillful enough to drive over it, your car would zoom past the others. Having a mentor is like having an entrepreneurial speed strip.
APPRENTICESHIP: AN OVERLOOKED, UNDERVALUED STEP ON THE PATH
For thousands of years, masters of their craft would take apprentices under their wing and teach them everything they knew. Protégés would learn at the feet of their masters and, when ready, go out on their own. Many apprentices became better and more successful than their masters.
Today you can find apprenticeship programs for plumbers, carpenters, masons, and steelworkers. Why not for entrepreneurs? While there isn’t a formal entrepreneurial apprenticeship program (yet), you can create your own—simply by finding a mentor.
As I mentioned earlier, I had two mentors in my twenties: my dad, Floyd Wickman, and Sam Cupp. My mentoring relationship with my dad, which changed my life, was very informal. My relationship with Sam Cupp was much more structured. I met with Sam for an hour and a half every other month for four years. I would share all my ideas and issues, and he would impart his wisdom and perspectives. I remember feeling so excited and nervous going to those meetings at his office. He continued to mentor me less formally for another ten years, until his sudden passing in his early sixties while playing ice hockey, one of his passions. I miss him greatly. He put a huge dent in the universe.
Although having a mentor has many advantages and benefits, you should realize that you can still become successful without a mentor. In my interviews with successful entrepreneurs, I discovered that more than half had mentors when they were starting out. Those that didn’t still found success. However, speaking from experience, I believe success will be more likely with a mentor.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find a mentor right now. Sometimes you have to do some looking around for the right person. Also, finding a mentor at this time might not feel right to you, and that’s okay too.
FINDING A MENTOR
So how do you find a mentor? My dad was a mentor not only to me but also to many others, including Terri Sjodin, a very successful entrepreneur and speaker. In 1996, my father and Terri wrote the proverbial “book on mentoring” entitled Mentoring: The Most Obvious Yet Overlooked Key to Achieving More in Life Than You Ever Dreamed Possible, which, unfortunately, is out of print. It was an incredibly helpful and fascinating book because it’s written from both a mentor and a protégé’s points of view, laying out a step-by-step process for finding and managing a mentor relationship.
Here’s a high-level overview of the process they recommend.
First, think about what you want to build as an entrepreneur. Then determine the type of person who is where you want to be. This potential mentor doesn’t always have to be an entrepreneur in exactly the same business. You have to consider that competition might be an issue in such cases, and a potential mentor who would be a direct competitor might resist the idea of teaching you trade secrets. You might find someone who’s in the same industry with a different size business.
You may already know who you want as a mentor. It might be someone you admire. Please make sure you have multiple candidates because you may hear some nos. These are very busy people. Their refusal is not a reflection of you. Once you’ve identified your candidates, the second step is to reach out and schedule the first meeting. In that meeting, share your story, ask them to share their story, and passionately ask for what you want from them—to mentor you.
Again, you may hear some nos. Once you get a yes, the next step is to agree on a format. Again, Sam and I met every other month for ninety minutes, and I would bring my questions, ideas, and issues.
CULTIVATING YOUR MENTOR RELATIONSHIP
My dad and Terri offered two additional insights. First, over the course of the relationship, it’s critical that you show your mentor you’re applying what you’re learning from them. A great mentor who passes along their knowledge wants to know it’s being put to work.
My dad is a hall-of-fame motivational speaker in the National Speakers Association. His mentor was Zig Ziglar, the greatest motivational speaker of all time. Zig was very much in demand, and my dad didn’t understand why Zig would always make time to take his calls. One day he asked Zig straight out why he took his calls. Zig responded, “Floyd, it’s because I hear of you and from you. You always follow up and let me know how things went.” This was Zig’s way of saying that my dad was applying the advice Zig was giving him.
The second important insight is to constantly express gratitude for your mentor’s time. Show you appreciate your mentor’s valuable commitment. Say thank you, often.
STAGES OF MENTORING
You should realize also that the mentor you find at this stage of your entrepreneurial career might be different from the one you need in the next stage. You might first find a mentor who just took their entrepreneurial leap and is able to mentor you in doing that. Then you might find a mentor who helps your business grow to ten employees, and then another who helps it get to a thousand.
Mentoring has many variables. Some relationships are short, lasting only a year. You may also have multiple mentors. One entrepreneur I interviewed had ten mentors over twenty years. By contrast, other relationships will last a lifetime.
One last note on mentoring. You should also consider going to work for an entrepreneur who’s where you want to be. Imagine being able to spend every day inside their business. If the opportunity to learn is advantageous enough, and they’re not willing or able to pay you, you might work for free or at least for less than market compensation. This is like going to school but not having to pay tuition.
At the least, shadow an entrepreneur for a day, week, or month, so you can see what the real world of entrepreneurship looks like. Watching your mentor deal with financial, customer, and employee issues, cash crunches, and back-to-back meetings is invaluable.
SUMMARY
Up until this point, we’ve been laying a foundation: clarifying the role of college in your journey, discovering your passion, and exploring the value of mentoring. We now shift to action, taking your leap and building your business. Before we do, please take a few minutes and jot down your insights on mentoring. Think about the type of mentor you want and who might make a great mentor. Maybe it’s someone you already know—a parent, aunt, uncle, or friend of the family. Maybe it’s someone you admire but have never met. Write down your thoughts, ideas, fears, and concerns.
WORKSHEET
What action can you take in the next seven days to find a mentor?
You can download all worksheets and tools at e-leap.com.