I Fired My Mentor...

Last week I had the great pleasure of interviewing Josh Dorkin the founder and CEO of BiggerPockets.com.  You can listen to that interview by going to... http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Peter-Giardini/2009/10/23/The-Real-Estate-Investors-Mastermind

During that interview I mentioned that when I got started in real estate I had signed up to attend a real estate investing "school" for the networking and mentoring that was offered.  I also mentioned that I "fired" that mentor.

And now it seems others would like to know the rest of the story.

First in the spirit of full disclosure... I am the co-founder of a real estate investing coaching business.  Yes... I charge real estate investors to teach them how to become successful investors. 

With that out of the way... lets get on with the story.

I probably started out where many of you are currently or where you were when you got started.  I spent a lot of time studying real estate investing.  The internet was just hitting its stride and I was able to learn a lot online and formulate a plan I considered doable.

Yet, as educated as I was from an academic sense, I was scared to death to jump in and purchase a property.  I just was not able to take that initial step.  So... I attended a local REIA meeting and was invited to sign up for a local real estate investing school.

After much thought and some persuading from my wife I joined.  That was in August of 2001.

What I was looking for was an environment that was safe (that meant a high degree of integrity and ethics... no stealing deals), guidance on any deal I thought was a good one and why or why not it should be pursued, exposure to resources (lenders, title companies, contractors, property managers, etc) that could quickly make up my team, and networking with other investors who were out there doing it... instead of just talking about it.

Based on the overall results I acheived, just the fact that I was in this group was a success.  But the reality was that what was offered did very little for me.

I got exactly 3 things from my attendance and I attended every meeting for 8 weeks.  I found my partners... and we spent the next 5 years building a powerhouse investing company.  I got exposed to various real estate contracts... some I still use today.  And, I found a 10 unit, 8 property deal that launched our company.

What I didn't get was any assistance.  I quickly found that any deal that saw the light of day was in jeopardy of being stolen... not only by other students but quite possibly by the mentors.  I found that unless the deal had a lot of profits none of the mentors wanted to look at it.  I found that when I was invited to "teach" three 2 hour lessons on purchasing commercial real estate, when I hadn't even purchased a residential deal, that I had outgrown any further value to myself... and I "fired" my mentors.

I attended exactly 8 weeks, stopped going and never looked back. 

Within my first full year as a real estate investor we had purchased 27 rental properties and continued purchasing and selling until the day we sold the entire portfolio in 2006.  At a very tidy profit I might add!

So... what did I learn by hiring and firing my mentor?

I learned many things... the biggest one being that there are a lot of hucksters out there... mostly operating as "gurus" and mentors who are only interested in you money now.... and not your continued success.

I learned that what I really needed was an environment where challenges, triumphs, resources, knowledge and support were all available as I needed them.

I learned that many new investors can learn the mechanics of real estate investing fairly easily.  But what many if not all of them need is someone to help them define why they chose real estate (beyond the obvious item "money").  Someone to hold them accountable.  Someone who will gently or more stridently push, pull or otherwise drag them towards the goals they desire.  Someone who will help them to overcome their fears... which are present at every turn.

The very first blog post I wrote on Bigger Pockets entitled "New Real Estate Investors... Getting Started" http://tinyurl.com/yguyr8h addressed some of the things I thought were important when selecting a mentor... I have added those items below.

1.   Does this coach really have experience?  Many real estate investors  do a couple of deals and think that they are now qualified to help others, and charge them for the privilege.

2.        Make sure that this coach is local to your investing market and its surrounding areas and knows these areas like the back of their hand.

3.         Make sure that this persons success is related to the type of investing that you have chosen.  For instance if you want to concentrate on rehabbing and your mentor only knows how to find deals you may experience a degree of frustration with the results.

4.   You need to make sure that this coach is willing to spend time with you.  One-on-one access is best.  I can’t tell you what a significant difference it will make in your success when you are being guided by someone who gets right in your face and brings out the best in you!

So... the key for me wasn't so much that I needed more education... what I really needed was all of the things most mentors are clueless about... how to help others achieve their goals.

I wasn't able to find it when I started out... but I hope that in some small way those lessons learned when I first got started have found their way into my coaching programs today and others have benefited as a result.

To Your Success...

Pete  

If you found this post to be of value, I would be honored if you passed it on to others who may benefit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter R, Giardini is the founder of The Club, Real Estate Mastermind a National Real Estate Investor Coaching program whose philosophy is that real estate investing coaching/ mentoring can only be provided by experenced "local" coaches in a one-on-one environment. To find out more about The Club visit or send an email to .

You can listen in and participate in Pete's Real Estate Investors' Mastermind radio show every Thursday night at 11:00PM on BlogTalkRadio... .  All rights reserved 2009.