The Importance of a Mentor
Copyright 2006 Black Butterfly Press
Growing up in Detroit, Michigan in the 1950's, like many other
African Americans of that time period, my family had modest
means. (Of course, it was years before I realized this fact.)
But anyhow, when I became a young adult, I met my husband, who
had also been raised in similar lean conditions. One of the
first stories my husband told me about his childhood was about
how he often didn't have boots in the winter. Now anyone who
grew up in Detroit knows that it snows heavily in the winter in
this city.
Anyhow the story went that his father, (now deceased,) who was a
proud Black man, had told his son, "Step down in the other
people's foot prints." Looking back, I understand now that the
unspoken words were--"So you won't get snow down in your shoes."
When I think of it, this was an ingenious way to keep your feet
from getting wet with snow. At the same time, this saved the
father's pride that he couldn't afford to buy his son a pair of
boots. The main thing is that the son always remembered this
valuable lesson about love and survival long after his father's
death.
As a writer, I'm always thinking in parables, so I'd like to
make an analogy. Just think of someone stepping through the snow
(without boots) by putting his feet down in someone else's
footprints and compare it to what it is like for a new business
person to follow a pattern set by an established business
person. This is what having a mentor is like. In business, you
are more certain of success when you walk in someone else's
footprints. This can keep some of the snows of failure off your
dream when you've had a mentor.
In fact, having a mentor should be a prerequisite to starting
your own business. On the Internet they have many career coaches
for this same purpose. However, I got the idea to seek a mentor
about two years ago, after reading an offline magazine article
about how you should find someone doing what you want to do. The
article even pointed out that the Small Business Association was
starting mentoring programs or "incubator programs." Shortly
after reading the article, I was fortunate enough to have had
the hands-on experience of working with a Mentor at a publishing
house.
My mentor's name is Dr. Rosie Milligan of Milligan Books,
http://www.milliganbooks.com. She has published over 50 authors
in the past two years. Before I went through my apprenticeship
at Milligan Books, I knew I wanted to publish other writers, but
I didn't have a clue as to how you go about doing it. Even after
having self-published my books, (which at that point had slowed
up selling since I'd gone through all my family, friends and
colleagues,) I was just at a loss. On one side, I saw a blank
wall and on the other, I envisioned my dream of being a
publisher. Since having had a mentor, though, I've been able to
fill in many of the missing pieces and launch an ezine on the
Internet, called On The Same Page.
(http://www.maxinethompson.com). Now, I have future plans for
publishing ebooks.
I read that you should find mentors, even if they are great
people who have been long dead. That works fine for some people.
But for me, I need the experiential form of learning for it to
carve itself into my brain. Some people can learn by being told
information. Others can read it in a book and comprehend it
thoroughly. I'm the type of person who has to learn from
hands-on experiences. I approached Dr. Milligan and told her
exactly what my objective was. I admitted I had all these "empty
spaces," since I did not come from a business background. One of
the best things that ever happened to me was that Dr. Milligan
agreed to let me work as an apprentice in her publishing company.
So looking back, these are the benefits I have gained from
having had, and still being able to call on my mentor, Dr.
Milligan.
* You get to learn how to do what you love to do, and you find
out if this is the business for you.
* A mentor can save you time and money. When I printed my second
book, I lost a few thousand dollars due to ignorance. I erred by
going to a pre-press company, who still did not provide me with
a book. I had to scrap the project and start with another
printing company. From this experience, I've learned there are
many unscrupulous people who will take advantage of a writer's
desire to be published. A mentor who has been through the ropes
will keep you from making the same mistakes. They can walk you
through the process with far fewer errors.
* A mentor can be a helpful person. She can open doors and bring
you light years towards your goal by sharing her resources and
expertise. For example, Dr. Milligan taught me to never put the
carriage before the horse. Dr. Milligan said that you should get
your book set up in distribution before you go on Oprah or any
TV show. It doesn't matter if you have a nationwide audience if
no one can get the book when they go in bookstores and ask for
it.
* A mentor can keep you from investing your life savings in
something that you may discover you don't want to do anyhow.
Before you take the plunge, you'd do well to find a mentor
working in the field you'd like to run your business in. If you
work and learn all the functions of the trade, and you find out
this was really not something you wanted to do, you will have
saved yourself from opening a business doomed to fail.
* A mentor can help you identify your skills. When I first went
to Dr. Milligan, she asked me to write down all the things I
could do. (My interviews that I conduct on On The Same Page at
come from being a social worker and finding out "Now what's
really going on?")
I listed the various skills I'd learned as a social
worker/self-published writer. I started out working in Dr.
Milligan's company from the bottom, doing the menial things that
keep the day-to-day operations going. Over time, I learned how
to do each job from packaging to formatting. From that training,
I found out what my strong points were.
I learned from this experience that I am more of a visionary,
rather than a technician or strategist. All of these people are
important to a business. So I have since surrounded myself with
people with strengths in the other mentioned areas that I am not
as strong in. I now focus on my strengths; which I see as
helping to create a viable industry for the self-published
writer.
Meantime, I'm learning how to accept my limitations. I now seek
help with the chores I don't care for. I realize we can't make
it alone. No one is a success in a vacuum. Therefore, I network
with other writers and businesses. Most of all, still go to Dr.
Milligan for counsel, advice, and help.
This is the first and foremost tip for seeking a mentor. Offer
your services first.