I was mentored in commercial real estate by the top minds in this business, and it made all the difference in the world. I needed to work with someone who was experienced, a mentor with gray hair and scars who could help guide me so I could reach my goals as safely and quickly as possible.
When I began investing in commercial real estate, I had four goals:
- Create flexibility and more options for my future – such as working less hours, leave my job and invest in commercial real estate full time, or have financial security if my job hours were reduced.
- Gain financial freedom.
- Create generational wealth for my family.
- Invest in multiple deals and own several properties.
To achieve my goals, I needed training in commercial real estate investing. I didn’t want to learn all the expensive and time-consuming lessons the hard way. Instead, I sought out the right commercial real estate mentor to guide me. I ended up working with some of the leading commercial real estate mentors of that era.
Now more than twenty years later, having become a mentor myself, I want to share with you 5 qualities to look for in a commercial real estate mentor so that you can safely fast track your path to success and financial freedom.
#1: National Experience
Three reasons why it’s important your commercial real estate mentor has national experience:
Reason 1 – Broaden Your Horizons: Dealing nationwide will broaden your horizon and help you get the complete picture. Having the complete picture on something gives you understanding which makes the decision-making process easier.
Reason 2 – Perspective: Having national experience gives you a different perspective because it enables you to track what’s happening in other markets across the country. This makes it possible for you to follow prosperity trends, so you don’t miss out on opportunities.
Reason 3 – Secondary Markets: If you live in a booming city or affluent area, deals with good cash flow and decent returns are tough to find. However, when you have a national perspective, you can keep track of where the greener grass is, and it is found in the secondary markets.
You probably wouldn’t consider a deal in a high-priced market and buy at a 3% or 5% cap rate. However, the secondary markets that are around this market are just as profitable. Having a national perspective on where the prosperity trends are enables you to find the leading secondary markets. This will give you a higher return on investment.
When you have a mentor with national experience:
- You can broaden your horizon and get the complete picture
- Your perspective is a different than a local person
- You know where the greener grass is in secondary markets with a high ROI.
All this will lead you to the best deals.
#2: Mentor with Tools and Resources
Mentoring is more than just teaching what to do. A mentor could have the best book or YouTube channel in the world, but without the tools to get the job done it’s pretty much useless in terms of reaching your goals. In contrast, if your mentor can provide great advice plus leadership and practical resources, the outcome can change your life. So, be sure your mentor has all the tools and resources needed for you to apply what you learn.
#3: Proven Teacher
There are lots of successful commercial real estate investors out there. However, many are not good teachers. They would rather be golfing, boating, or investing in more properties rather than teaching some rookie the ropes. This isn’t intended as a criticism because most people don’t have the gift of teaching AND the gift of being highly successful in commerce.
I have been wired differently. I get pleasure from helping others buy their first 20-unit apartment building. Yes, I continue to acquire more properties even though I am financially free, but I get even more gratification from helping someone else do it.
Qualities of a proven teacher:
- They have a servant’s heart when teaching, meaning they believe it is more blessed to give than to receive, and this will be evident in their teaching.
- They have the skills, patience, and passion to get across what they’re trying to communicate, ensuring you understand it.
- They provide proof of good teaching in action.
What is proof of good teaching in action? I’ll give you a great example. We have the number one rated YouTube channel on commercial real estate investing with over 32 million views on our teaching alone. So, having a proven teacher is tremendously important.
#4: Gray Hairs
Commercial real estate is cyclical with an up cycle, a sideways cycle, and a down cycle. You need to know what to do, when to do it and how to do it in each of those cycles. Therefore, it is important you work with a commercial mentor with the gray hairs that can only come with experience. Have they seen twenty plus years of ups and downs? Have they successfully navigated several market collapses? Learning how to navigate the cycles of commercial real estate from an experienced mentor enables you to maximize all the opportunities to be had.
No one who is successful escapes adversity and you need to have a mentor that has gone through adversity and not only survived but thrived from it. As one of my mentors advised, “Don’t go into business with someone without a limp.” Without exception, you will face unprecedented times at some point in your life, and you will be thankful for the gray-haired mentor.
#5: A Mentor Who is Financially Incentivized
If the mentor and mentee are working together to make money, you can assume the relationship will be sustainable. You will experience consistent long-term mentorship, and as a beginner investor, this is the key to your success. A relationship that’s sustainable and consistent long-term is vital because commercial real estate is not a get-rich-quick practice. You can be in it for a while before you see the results, however the results are worth waiting for.
Many professionals out there charge a one-time consulting fee and then you’re done, which is not ideal. This is how we work. We share net profits with you 50/50 so that when you make money, we make money. It’s a win-win. With this agreement we are mutually aligned, meaning that we both have skin in the game and when you have skin in the game there’s commitment. Also, being financially incentivized together to make money produces more cashflow and profit per deal. We’ve been doing it this way for a long time, and it works.
Become My Next Protege
If you would like to apply to my Protege Program to be mentored, please apply here. Because we are a small company, we must be selective on who we choose. Unfortunately, we can’t mentor nearly as many as apply, so if you don’t get in the first time, keep trying because I don’t know of any other company like ours. So, don’t get discouraged and keep on trying.
