Mentors…Mentors…Everywhere Mentors
By Lisa Bickford
Early on in a relationship
with one of my most impactful mentors, and not
quite believing I was so fortunate as “have”
him, I asked, “Why me? You’re a super
successful guy with lots of stuff on your
plate…why would you consider spending some of
your very valuable time mentoring me?” Over his
favorite Burger King lunch I had treated him to
as “payment” for the meeting, he answered,
“Because I want to pay back the universe for all
the good it has given me.” Willard and I met in
1992 and over the years he became a great friend
and mentor to me. And when he died a couple of
years ago, he left a wonderful legacy in me as I
continue to apply what I learned from him. As I
do my tiny bit of mentoring to you for the next
5 minutes while you read this article, it is his
example I will attempt to emulate by “paying
back the universe” (and Willard), for all the
good given to me.
Here’s a bit of my
history: I didn’t set out to be in printing, I
“fell” into it when I was 19 years old. I had
no money, no college, no previous experience,
and certainly no idea what I wanted to be “when
I grew up.” I saw an ad in the paper looking
for someone to help walk-in customers at a quick
print/copy-shop, filled out an application and
got hired. After the first week – I just KNEW
this was for me – I came home saying, “I can’t
believe they are paying me for this job – I love
it so much!” That was in September of 1984.
Fast forward thru to 2009…I
went from “counter-help”, to customer service,
to production manager, back to customer service,
sales, sales, and more sales, and now, along
with my husband, I have owned my own printing
company for almost 13 years. (And still lovin’
it!)
So, how did I get from
point A to point B? Of course all the normal
(and true) answers: risk, hard work, focus,
determination, etc. But tons of credit should
also go to my mentors. Throughout my career I
have had dozens of mentors …some for more minor
day-to-day decisions, and a very important few
that helped guide me through major events and
decisions. I honestly can’t say where I would
have ended up without them. Furthermore, I
imagine even the most independent trail-blazing
among us has had mentors along the way. I hope
the information below helps you in your path to
find and develop a relationship with a mentor.
Mentors can be anyone
and come from anywhere:
Coaches, advisors,
counselors, teachers, & trainers…are all
mentors.
Clients, employees,
vendors, business owners, consultants, industry
experts…are all mentors.
The retired business owner
you know from church, your neighbor who had a
business out of her home all of these years,
your cousin the sales-manager…again, all
mentors.
You…are a mentor.
The problem is generally
not FINDING a mentor. The problem is generally
finding the RIGHT mentor at the RIGHT time.
OK, so how do I find the
RIGHT mentor for me RIGHT NOW?:
Sorry, but in my
experience, it’s not something that can happen
RIGHT NOW. Finding and developing a
mentor/mentee relationship…just like any other
relationship…takes time. Sure, sometimes the
stars are aligned and the exact right person
crosses your path at exactly the right time, but
more often than not there is an investment of
time and energy that will need to be made.
The first step is to be
open to the give and take of business
relationships – and I am not talking about
business transactions. What I am saying is that
everyone has their own story, their own
strengths, their own goals. Be open to
connecting with people on that level – sharing
goals, strengths, weaknesses, etc., and pretty
soon a relationship has developed. I have found
that when I am open…when I lay my cards out on
the table (in the reserved way we Minnesotans
do), I just start to connect with people. That
connection is what leads to a relationship that
can develop into a mentor relationship. For me
it has always been about genuine interest in the
other person’s story. I find other people’s
stories fascinating. And usually people like to
share that information.
And then start to connect
anywhere you can. I am always open…even
looking…to get to know someone who can teach me
about the next step in business. And if you are
open to it, sometimes mentors come from the most
unexpected encounters: I met Willard when my
husband and I answered an ad in the newspaper
for land for sale. One thing led to another,
and the next thing you know I was buying him
lunch at Burger King to pick his brain about
buying my own business. I had laid my cards out
on the table, he liked what he saw, and wanted
to help me.
While it may work for some
folks to be more direct by contacting a
potential mentor with the express intent
developing a mentor relationship, I have always
pursued relationships more “organically”. I am
not saying you shouldn’t do this, but I have
never personally gone into a relationship solely
with the purpose of asking that person becoming
my mentor. To ask someone if she will be my
mentor sounds like too much of a commitment to
make…I’d rather just build the relationship and
see where it goes.
And be patient…mentors for
little situations are all around, but mentors to
help guide you through big events take more time
to connect with and take longer to develop the
deeper relationship that is required for more
in-depth guidance.
Yah, but doesn’t a
mentor have bigger fish to fry than helping
ME?!:
The answer is often times,
yes…mentors often have busy lives with big,
important decisions to be made. So how can you
make your mentor feel good about the time they
are investing in you?
OK, so let’s say you’ve
established a relationship with someone you
respect and can learn from, and it feels like it
is moving in the direction of a more committed
mentor/mentee relationship. How can you give
them something that makes this relationship
rewarding for them, too? First, and above all
else, be grateful and respectful of their time
and experience. Then, as the relationship
develops, try to figure out what makes them
tick…why they have decided to give this gift to
you…and how you can make the relationship as
rewarding for them as it is for you. Perhaps
there is something or someone you know, or a
talent you have that would be valuable to
them…or perhaps they’d prefer to just be
connected to you as they watch you develop. If
it is the latter…that’s when I would thank them
profusely and offer to “pay it forward” with the
next person who asks you to help them.
Mentors…Mentors…Everywhere Mentors
Just keep your eyes open to
the possibility and you will develop a network
of mentors. Sometimes you’ll give more than you
take, and sometimes it will be the other way
around, but being open to the connection is the
only way to create the most valuable
relationships. And then go “pay back the
universe” for all the good it has given you.
Other mentoring resources:
*SCORE (Service Corp of
Retired Executives) is a volunteer organization
specifically designed to help entrepreneurs.
Their web address is :
http://www.score.org/index.html
*BNI (Business Network
International) is a networking club with lots of
“go-getters”. Great people to mentor to and.
Here is their website to look for a local BNI
club:
http://www.bni.com/
*And now there is all of
the social networking options: LinkedIn,
Twitter, Plaxo, FaceBook, etc. In the 2 months
or so I have been connecting to folks via social
networking, I have already guided or been guided
by half a dozen people.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of
Highlight Printing, is
a veteran of the printing industry and a lover
of all things printed. Since 1984 she has
worked her way up through many areas of the
industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in
1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in
printing since the early 80's. The things she
continues to find most satisfying are the
wonderful business relationships that have
developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers,
and the energy that is created from challenge
resolution.
Lisa’s contact info:
Email:
lisab@highlightprinting.com
Phone: 612.522.7600
Twitter: Printing_Mojo
LinkedIn: Lisa (Crawford) Bickford
Web:
www.highlightprinting.com
Blog:
http://mnbusinessprintinganddirectmail.wordpress.com/
