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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 080 – SHOULD YOU PAY FOR A MENTOR?
Mentors are a critical element of real estate investing success. In this episode, Bill discusses mentors and examines the question of whether or not it’s worth it to pay for a mentor.
We have discussed quite a bit about mentors in the last few months because I believe it’s an important requirement for real estate investing success. In episode #006, on “Getting Started in Real Estate Investing,” I list “Finding a Mentor” as the second most important thing a new investor must do to get started in real estate investing.
It is a critical part of your real estate investing success.
In episode #069, my friend Paul Moore shares a great strategy for finding mentors and we even spoke with a young man that Paul mentors who shares how we was able to get Paul to agree to be his mentor.
And in episode #075 my friend and mentor Joe Fairless shared how he found his first mentor and the steps he recommends each investor to take in finding a mentor.
In these past episodes, we share the importance of getting a mentor as well as provide practical steps in how to find a mentor. So, in this episode I will touch on some of those principles but my main focus will be on paying mentors.
In episode #006 (“Getting Started in Real Estate Investing”), I list EDUCATION as the first step in the process of becoming a successful real estate investor
- Reading books
- Joining online communities like BiggerPockets.com or the Old Dawg’s REI Network
- Reading blogs
- Listening to podcasts
- Networking (REI Clubs and Meet-ups)
- Are just part of that education process
Once you have a good body of knowledge, then you’re ready to start writing your PLAN, the third step. Your plan…
- Defines your niche
- Mission/vision
- Outlines your goals and strategies
- Your target market or markets
- Defines your criteria
- Outlines your Marketing Strategies
- Other…
Then, I believe, after that step or during that step, it’s a good idea to have your mentor review your plan. You should have a mentor in place at that time. Your Strategic Plan is an important document that will guide and direct your investing efforts and you want it to be shaped and crafted with someone who has experience and wisdom.
There are a number of reasons why a mentor is important. First, a good mentor can…
- Teach you
- Evaluate you
- Help you develop a winning strategic plan
- Help you select a good market or markets to invest in
- Help you in the analysis, evaluation and underwriting stage of potential properties
- Check your numbers on deals
- Give advice on funding and financing your deals
- Give referrals to people and businesses that can help you,
- And maybe even help you find potential financial partners and investors
- That’s just a few of the many benefits of having a mentor.
A key question you may have is “So, where do I find a mentor? We do discuss this in more details in the episodes I referenced at the beginning of this episode, which, by the way, will be listed and linked in our show notes at olddawsreinetwork.com/blog. But in quick overview, here are a few of the ways to find an mentor.
- First, start with your close circle of family and friends
- Your Church, Sinagod or place of worship
- Clubs, organizations, golf buddies, etc.
- REI clubs/-MeetUps
- Real estate investing conferences
- Workshops, seminars
Now granted, when you find any mentor, keep in mind, it shouldn’t be a one-way proposition. You need to provide him or her with something that makes it worth their time and effort. If you have a skill or expertise, offer it. If you can volunteer to help them with paperwork or footwork for their business, that would be great. Whatever you do, you should seek to be a benefit to your mentor not a burden.
[If you know someone – an experienced real estate investing professional – whom you would love to be your mentor but you just can’t get in to meet with this person, email me. I may be able to help]But, if after looking in all those places, you still can’t find someone… there are always “mentors for hire.” And they aren’t too difficult to find…
- But first, I would exercise a word of EXTREME CAUTION here!
- This can be a great experience or a nightmare you regret
- It all just depends
- There are a lot of people out there that that will take your money to be your mentor. You just want to make sure it is someone you can truly trust and who will follow through with their promises.
- You don’t have to look too far to find “mentors for hire”
- It often how it starts:
- You receive an email, tweet or FaceBook invite from a person who has a real estate investing education business or is a well-recorginzed REI guru
- Or maybe you see them in an video advertisement
- The ad usually shows the guru in his Ferrari with his beautiful super model girlfriend while he takes you for a tour of his Beverly Hills mansion, and he closes out the video sitting by a grass hut, sipping mi-tis in Fiji… you got the idea
- Or maybe it’s a less pretentious person who sounds sincere but, nonetheless, has something to sell
- Usually, the next thing you know, you’re watch a free webinar
- But by the end of the webinar, you’re so excited and pumped about real estate investing you can hardly wait to get started and you feel that this person can really be the one to help me take that big leap
- And, at the end of the webinar, you buy a product or service because, really, it’s worth $10,000 but he is going to let YOU have it for only $997 (of course, you want to be one of the first to respond so that you get the extra $1,500 worth of other stuff – ONLY available to the first 10 people who sign-up (UPSELL #1) – Now a lot of these guys are experts at the UPSELL, in other words, getting you to buy something, only to let you know what you bought isn’t enough and that you really need the NEXT thing to get what you NEED.
- The course you ordered arrives in the mail, you tear the box open and get to work – immediately. The materials seem pretty good but, after a while, you get bit overwhelmed, life happens and the notebooks and DVDs, in their bright colorful cases, end up going into your bookcase and the next thing you know, you’re buying another program, but this one is on flipping. And then it’s the one on deeds and liens and wholseselling and (just fill-in the blank) – And pretty soon you need to buy another bookcase. Gee, I’m getting smart. It’s The SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME gone awry!!! Squirrel! Where do I begin? Squirrel!
- But, luckily, your first guru keeps sending you emails and one catches your eye – it’s a seminar and it’s near your hometown. Sure it costs double the cost of the package you bought but there will be real live people there, just like me, and real estate experts
- And, of course, you have to go because you got an AMAZING discount (because you bought his other stuff earlier) and you think, if I go in person, it will be much better and I’ll really be able to start… (UPSELL #2) Chi-Ching!
- You go to the seminar, meet a lot of great people, even some that are multimillionaires now. You are ready to become a millionaire tomorrow! You buy more books, more products (UPSELL #3) Cha-Ching!
- But to REALLY REALLY succeed, they said in the seminar/bootcamp, you NEED the one-on-one coaching. That is your real key to success!
- And the good news is — there are cheaper types of coaching where you only have to pay a measly $2,500. But… the coaching where you REALLY get the most is the $20K, $30K, $50K or $100K VIP, Platinum, Gold Coated, Guaranteed Ferrari with the supermodel — Elite Out of This Unverse level of coaching… do you get it? (THE FINAL UPSELL!!!) Cha-Ching! After all, when I’m a millionaire $100,000 will seem like petty cash!
- [First, before I go much further, let me say this… If this is you, I’m not making fun. Believe me! The only reason I know this so well is because I’ve already been there and done that! I’m more laughing more at myself than at anyone else. My bookshelves are full of more wholeselling, foreclosing, house flipping, note-selling, apartment selling programs then anyone.
- So all this to say… Is it a good thing or a bad thing to pay for a mentor? And before I say what you may think is a “No,” I have to say it depends.
- Even though most use the same techniques, there are some who actually follow-through and can help you get into your first deals – and some may actually help you find funds, partner with you or invest in your deal. It all depends…
- If this is a route you are considering, just make sure you do your due diligence… just like any investment.
- And there are “more affordable” mentors and that doesn’t mean they are not good
- Make your list of what you want and stick with it. For example:
- I want a mentor who…
- Can educate me on every aspect of real estate investing
- Will be available whenever I call
- Who will teach me how to find a good market to invest in, how to analyze deals, how to negoitiate, how to develop a good team
- Who will help me find funding
- Who will hold my hand through the escrow of my first deal
- And so forth
- I will tell you, I know a number of people who are directly successful in real estate investing today because they aligned with a “mentor for hire.” Just because you are paying does not immediately mean they are a rip-off. But, unfortunately, there also those who take advantage
- Those I know who have succeeded with these mentors are very tenacious, perhaps even pushy. And they make sure that the “mentor” or “guru” does everything they promise and that they are getting the biggest bang for their buck.
- Remember! You are an investor, and a good investor does their due diligence. What is your ROI – your return on investment?
- If you find someone whose program appeals to you, first do a thorough online research – do a google search by the person’s name and type the words “review” or “scam,” to see if there are reviews of the program.
- BiggerPockets.com has forums where people discuss many different gurus – a great resource
- You can find a lot of information online, just dig
- But also try to find someone or, hopefully, many people, who have been coached or mentored by the person and ask them the question, “Do you feel you got your money’s worth?” And ask, specifically, how the mentor/coach was involved in their first deal… if they had a first deal.
It’s all a matter of being a wise steward of your resources. If you blow all your funds on a guru so that you have nothing left to invest, then that would not be wise.
Think long and hard about it. If you can get a one-on-one mentorship with someone who is an expert but has nothing to sell you, I think that is best. But if you can’t, there are some sincere folks out there who can help you. You just have to be discerning and cautious.
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