Why Experienced Investors Should Consider Becoming a Mentor

When you get good enough at your job, you may come to a point in time when someone asks you for mentorship.

Mentorships aren’t very time-consuming, but participating can yield rewards. A successful mentorship can be as simple as a meeting once a month.

Why Become a Mentor?

While mentorships are supposed to benefit mentees more than mentors, it can work both ways. Even 30 minutes a month is enough to leave a lasting impact on someone else’s life, as well as your own.

A Fresh Perspective

Your mentee’s fresh perspectives can cause you to rethink your strategy with potentially lucrative results.

Working with investments for a long time can cause you to develop a routine. Maybe you flip homes or maybe you’re a landlord for low-income properties. When something works, it works, and there’s no pressing reason to change it. We’re experts in playing it safe, but when successful, the riskier options have the biggest payoffs.

Your mentee probably has nowhere near the experience level that you do. Youth brings hopefulness—and, granted, naivety. However, your mentee’s questions or insights might shed light on a factor you hadn’t considered before. When your mentee’s hope is partnered with your experience, it could lead you to greater success.

A Network

Networking may not seem so important in the investment field, but believe me, it is.

I’ve mentioned in other articles how important it is for you to have a team of people as resources to you. However, there are circumstances when no one on your team is available to help you in an emergency situation. It can pay off to have a fellow investor to call who has tested out a team that they can refer you to.

Your mentorship can help your mentee reach success, and they’ll be loyal to you in times when you’re the one who needs help.

There’s Plenty to Go Around

It might seem awkward to help a competitor learn the ropes. Basically, in the world of investment, anyone who is investing can potentially steal the perfect deal from you. So, why should you help a new player?

While there are times when there are few deals on the table, you can rely on your expertise to help you come out victorious.

If you train your mentee well enough, they may find more great deals than they can possibly invest in on their own. Your mentee will likely share those opportunities with you. They will have vetted these investments per your standards already. While, of course, you should double check your mentee’s work, you won’t have to sort through all the investments your mentee did to find this one.

Likewise, if you come across more great opportunities than you can invest in, you can inform your mentee of those opportunities as well.

5 Tips for Those Who Mentor Young Investors

Having someone look up to you professionally can be a bit daunting. Your words will have a strong impact on this person’s career. Here are some tips to set you up for a positive experience.

1. Don’t ignore your failures.

It makes sense that you would want your mentee to think you’re great. After all, why would they want to spend this much time with you if they weren’t impressed? However, your experience alone is enough to impress someone.

Your success is important, and you can likely give your mentee a lot of great tips for success; however, your failures are equally, if not more, important.

Failures are what we learn from the most. The mistakes you’ve made in the past are obvious now to you, but don’t sell yourself short. Your mentee will probably make those same mistakes—as would any less experienced investor. You have the power to inform your mentee of your mistakes, and they can avoid making them.

Detail why you think you made the mistakes you made and how you think you could have avoided them.

2. Be honest and thoughtful.

You should give honest feedback, even if it might be hard for your mentee to hear. Just keep in mind your wording and say it in a thoughtful manner. We all know it’s a lot better to listen to advice that we don’t want to hear than to lose a lot of money on a bad investment.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Finding Incredible Mentors

3. Don’t expect your mentee to be your twin.

It might be appealing to mold the second version of yourself. After all, your mentee would make huge strides if they reached your level; however, don’t be disappointed if your mentee decides to make his or her own choices that you disagree with. Your role is to give your mentee the best possibility of success, but you cannot force their hand. Some people have to actually make a mistake before they learn from it, and that’s OK.

4. Offer your ear.

Anyone can appreciate talking over a tough decision. Offer your mentee an open door to ask for advice whenever needed. Your professional experience can help serve as a sounding board for risky investment decisions. The more experience that your mentee has, the less they will need to borrow yours. One day, you might find yourself calling on your mentee to bounce ideas off. Who knows?

5. Give support and build their confidence.

In the world of investing, if you second guess yourself for too long, you miss the deal. While your mentee can afford to make some mistakes, they shouldn’t write off the good deals that they find.

The second part of offering your ear is to be there to talk up great decisions. Once they have your support, they’ll be far more confident about diving into an investment. Plus, after a few solid deals, they’ll have the knowledge to make these deals themselves. You’ll slowly receive fewer phone calls for advice. Before you know it, your mentee will become your peer. At that point, you can use your mentee as your sounding board, and possibly team up on deals!

Consclusion

Mentoring investors is an opportunity to impart valuable knowledge and guidance. By embracing your failures, offering honest and thoughtful feedback, respecting individual choices, providing a listening ear, and building confidence, you can help shape the success of your mentees. Remember, mentoring is a reciprocal relationship, and as you guide them on their investment journey, you may also learn and grow. If you’re seeking to become a mentee yourself, understanding how to find a real estate mentor can be the first step towards finding a mentor who can offer valuable insights and support along the way.

Have you mentored before—or do you plan to?

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.