By Peiying Peng & Liz Zed

In your busy life making money, having a mentor might not be something that enters your personal radar. There are so many other things to attend to: your balance sheet, cash flow, investment, following market and trends, update your financial profile. Where does the mentor fit in? A mentor helps you to have confidence to take on all the challenges of making money.

Why have a mentor? A mentor gives you more than a sounding board. A mentor has been around the blocks a couple of times, and has more experiences than you. A mentor is able to help you to see the big pictures and fulfill many roles. A mentor is the cheer leader when you are down. A mentor urges you to take risks when you lurk behind. A mentor shares their experience in ways that will provide insight and propel you to take forward actions. A mentor warns of obstacles and suggests ways to circumvent them.

“Ok, ok, I am convinced,” you say. “But where? And how?”

Where to find mentors:

• Clubs and groups (investment, mastermind, etc)

This is an obvious choice. You already know those people in those clubs and groups have similar interests as you do, and some of them have been given good advices and show themselves as good listeners also over time.

• Past employment

Current employment is probably not the best place to find your mentor, not that there are none there, but it can get too personal to be comfortable. Jog your memories of past colleagues, supervisors, and bosses and see if you recall how you admire their experience in the area you are interested in.

• Referrals

This is also obvious. Let other people do the sorting for you and follow their recommendation.

• Volunteers at a local business bureau who are retired successful business owners.

And don’t forget, have a meeting with them first. This sounds obvious, but people forget. Also remember, you are not looking for a friend, but liking them is one of the most vital aspects when looking for a mentor.

Happy Hunting.