You’re never done learning, and all successful entrepreneurs know that you’ll never truly feel like you’ve ‘made it.’ But if you’re lucky enough to be at a point in your career where someone greener is coming to you for guidance, you should strongly consider agreeing to be a mentor. Here’s why.
The Long Game
Every argument I’ve ever heard against being a mentor have all been dazzlingly short-sighted. I’ve heard it said that mentorship is too time-consuming, offers no gain for the mentor, and does nothing but put more competition in the field. (For one thing, if you’re that afraid of a little competition, you have much bigger problems on your plate.) But that view is incredibly limited and limiting. Offering guidance and advice to younger professionals in your field isn’t hatching more competition, it’s grooming more allies. You should never conduct business as though it’s kill or be killed, because business just isn’t a blood sport. Running a business or a marketing campaign with that mindset is like playing dodgeball while everyone else is trying to play soccer. The only points you’ll score are in your own mind, and you won’t be playing for long.
Double Your Impact
Why did you first get into business? Is it because you had a great product idea, or a skill that you wanted to share with the world? Becoming a mentor to a burgeoning professional is like having double the power to influence the way your industry runs and the way the market reacts to your product. If you’ve ever been irritated by competitors who lowball the market, or whose sleazy business practices made it harder for you to gain the market’s trust, then mentorship is the solution.
Expand Your Expertise
The most effective way to reinforce skills is not through repetition or competition, but through teaching. Our brains retain much more of the concepts that we try to articulate and teach to others. We stay at the top of our games when we share what we know. If it’s important to your business model to be seen as an expert, then you should be routinely sharing your skills with newcomers. You will find that amazing results can be reached when fresh minds approach old problems while armed with a seasoned veteran’s knowledge, which benefits everyone.
The Takeaway
Everyone has time for a cup of coffee. That’s all the time it really takes to mentor a young professional—a cup of coffee, an email, or a message on LinkedIn can be the world of a difference to a business owner or marketer who is just starting out and grateful for your insights. You don’t need to be able to write a book on the subject to be able to give someone a few hints that you wish you’d had when you were new–you just need a willingness to make connections and the desire to make your market just that little bit better.
