Mentors: How to find and be one
“There’s no failure in trying.” -Ron Holt
I’ve been so fortunate in my career to have a handful of mentors that helped me see what was possible, and believe I was capable of achieving it.
This week I sat down with Ron Holt on the One New Person podcast. Ron is the founder and CEO of Two Maids & a Mop, named America’s fastest growing cleaning company by Inc.com in 2016, and still climbing.
Ron dives into his entrepreneurial journey, from spending 7 years scraping together enough money to get a local cleaning business off the ground (where he cleaned the first houses as the only employee), to building a national franchise bringing in $600,000/month in revenue and completing changing the lives of his franchisees.
This is the most business-focused episode of the podcast I’ve ever recorded, but no less inspiring. Ron has an endless stream of advice for getting your mindset right for success, including passion, pivoting, sacrifice, leadership, and how to communicate a shared vision.
Mentorship
In my favorite conversational turn we discussed mentorship, a topic near and dear to my heart. After all, one doesn’t disrupt a $25 billion industry all by themselves. We are all standing on the shoulders of giants. In Ron’s case, one of those giants are Warren Buffett, who he has never met in person, but considers a mentor just from how much he’s learned from Buffett’s generosity in sharing his wisdom with the world.
His other mentor is a different story.
Just as Two Maids & a Mop was about to begin franchising, Ron was attending a conference in Las Vegas to learn more about the industry. He was in the lobby before a session began, and noticed that sitting across the table from him was a guy named Fred, who he didn’t know at the time.
“He asked, “What are you doing here? What’s your deal?” And I told him, I was super proud ‘cause I had twelve corporate stores, I’m the founder. I was sort of bragging. And so I said, “Who are you, Mr. Fred?” And Fred says, “Well, I’m the founder and CEO of this little company called Subway.””
At the time, Subway had over 42,000 locations globally.
“And so it was embarrassing, but in true entrepreneur-style, it didn’t stop me from just using that opportunity to engage as much as I could. I didn’t know how much time I would have with him, but I knew I was going to use every second that I could. For the next hour I ditched the seminar and just talked to Fred Deluca.”
Fred and Ron stayed in close contact, becoming his friend and mentor, and one of the most fulfilling relationships in his life.
You Need a Mentor (or at least a hero)
There’s really no reason to blaze your own path anymore. Whatever you want to do there’s a good chance someone has done precisely that, and is able to give you great advice on how to get there for yourself.
Finding a mentor seems rather challenging to most. I asked Ron for his advice on how to find one, since most of the mentors in my life have been the result of a chance encounter:
“I have no problem going up to someone, whether it’s physically or virtually, and trying to introduce myself, and be vulnerable. I just ask questions. People who’ve accomplished things in life tend to want to talk about those accomplishments.”
When you look at it that way, it’s pretty simple. How do you find a mentor? Show genuine interest in someone’s accomplishments, ask meaningful questions, and demonstrate an eagerness to learn from their story.
“Whatever you want to do in life, someone has already carved that path. Man, it’s 2019. Nobody is first to market anymore, so somebody’s done it. So why not try to find that person? And the fact that it is 2019 and we’re all digitally connected, how can you stop yourself from trying to find that person and getting to know them?”
But what if you reach out to someone you’d love to be your mentor, and they aren’t interested?
“Maybe they say ‘No,’ I don’t have time for you. And maybe they don’t. But if you ask 100 people and one of those guys does reach out to you, you’ve got one person that can really serve an important role, maybe for the rest of your life. So, why not? There’s no failure in trying.”
I’d like to make a quick point here from a mutual friend of Ron and mine, and the person via which we were connected, Seth Godin. On the topic of mentorship, Seth said this in a 2010 blog entitled “Heroes and Mentors”:
“Mentors provide bespoke guidance. They take a personal interest in you. It’s customized, rare and expensive.
Heroes live their lives in public, broadcasting their model to anyone who cares to look.
…
Like a custom made suit, a mentor is a fine thing to have if you can find or afford it. But for the rest of us, heroes will have to do.”
If you can’t find a mentor who will have a custom, one-on-one relationship with you, at least find a hero or three. Heroes set an example and give us something to aim for.
Simon Sinek is one of my heroes. I’ve never met him and probably never will, but when faced with a major business decision I can ask myself, “What would Simon do?” And based on his prolific output on the Internet, I have a pretty good idea of how he would answer if he were speaking to me directly.
You Need a Mentee (or at least a student)
On the flip side, I highly recommend you mentor someone. Find an up-and-comer in your field, take the under your wing, and show them the ropes. Dedicate personal, one-on-one time, at least once per week to sharing your knowledge and wisdom with someone looking to do what you’ve already done.
You don’t have to be a seasoned veteran of your industry to mentor someone. You might be 25 with a few years under your belt at your organization, and precisely the kind of mentor a 22-year-old in their first year is looking for: someone who remembers what it’s like to be in their shoes, but has made positive strides in their career.
Mentoring is not just good karma, a way to give back to the universe, but it’s also one of the best ways to get even better at your own work. We get a much better understanding of our work when we have to teach it, and we gain the opportunity to see our work through someone else’s eyes, often providing perspective and insight we would be blinded to on our own.
So while you’re searching for a mentor, start mentoring someone this week.
“Building Empires and Weaving Dreams” with Ron Holt
Listen to my full conversation with Ron on this week’s episode of the One New Person podcast below, and use the links to subscribe via your favorite streaming service:
