Forums like BiggerPockets and social media sites like Instagram can be vital for finding driven individuals whose message resonates with you, before reaching out to them to see if they would be willing to give you guidance within the industry. It is important that you not think of yourself as ‘looking for a mentor’ in the most general sense, but looking for someone whose work and passion meshes with your own.
Before you contact them, however, be sure you do an inventory of what skills you have and what you can bring to or give to the mentor. The time of these big players is incredibly valuable, and so there is a need for reciprocity when they donate it to your education. If you find that you do not have the skills they need, go get those skills or otherwise plug those holes in your education before finding a mentor. In fact, it’s best to come to a mentor with an offer of how you can help them, rather than asking what they need.
