Have you thought about becoming a mentor in your business?  

Today’s show will teach you how to become the best mentor you can be with tips from our guest, Lynne Reznick.  Lynne is an educator-turned-photographer on a mission to share her knowledge and lessons learned from nearly a decade of industry experience. A lifelong learner at heart, Lynne combines her passion for training and mentoring with a unique teaching approach grounded in proven educational practices.

Mentorship Vs. Advising

We all know the phrase, “pick your brain” for when someone wants to get to know more about what you do. This would be considered advising! A Mentorship, however, is long-term and not for educational credits, and often includes a mixture of advising and on-the-job experience. A role where the mentee should be allowed to learn and fail, and try again in a safe space and with support and guidance. This is not free labor, it is an exchange of services and knowledge.

Should I Charge to be Someone’s Mentor?

A mentorship can be offered for free or you can charge a fee for your time as a mentor. There are a few factors that go into how to decide which is right for your business:

1. What is your main goal in mentoring? Are you hoping to exchange services with your mentee?
2. Your Availability/Time. Sometimes you can only take on a few meetings a year, whereas other mentors may be able to spend more time with their mentee.

No matter what option you choose, they should be mutually beneficial for both the mentor and mentee. No matter free or paid — Successful mentorships need:

1. Clear expectations on both sides
2. Clearly laid out time commitment
3. Aligned in goals/outcomes for the mentorship
4. Mentor willing to be an open book
5. Mentee invested and curious
6. Contract or agreement in writing and signed

Some mentorships fail because of lack of clear expectations, outcomes, or communication. Your job as the mentor is to set these from the start.

“The key is to come in with the mindset as a mentor that they are allowed to mess up or get something wrong.  The idea is that they are doing it in a safe space that you’re providing for them as the cushion to learn from those mistakes and move forward.”

Lynne Reznick

If you want to learn more about the role of mentoring in your business, click here for Lynne’s FREE Mentorship Quick Start Bundle! It includes the step-by-step application process for finding the perfect mentee, sample position description to clearly explain and promote the mentorship, sample contract/agreement, and sample expectation for onboarding.