What a 1-On-1 Virtual Mentor Can Do for Your Online Business
I think I just found my calling
Being an entrepreneur is a nightmare.
I was not prepared for it. In the beginning, the goal was not to make money — until it was. Monetizing my writing became on my mind 24/7. I read books, took courses, created a website, and wrote until my fingers went numb — but to no avail. Couldn’t get any traction. I made a few dollars here and there, but never enough to feel like I made it. I know it’s silly to think you can make it in a few years. I get it now. It takes more than hard work.
“If hard work alone made you rich, all construction workers would be millionaires. “
Nothing is more frustrating than not knowing WHY what you’re doing isn’t getting the results you want.
So, if you’re in a position like mine where you want to avoid feeling lost and confused in your freelance business, if you’re tired of taking courses and getting no results, and if you don’t know where you’re at or where you want to go in your business, this is for you.
I want to talk about virtual mentors and what I wish I knew when I started my freelance business.
· How Will a Virtual Mentor Help Me?
· The Power of Mentoring
· Why Online Courses Are Not Always The Answer
· My Personal Experience with Online Courses
∘ The #1 thing courses forget to include:
∘ But what happens when you’re stuck?
· What Does a Virtual Mentor Even Do?
∘ Benefits of a virtual mentor
∘ Downsides of a virtual mentor
· It’s Not a Shame to Have Someone Hold Your Hand and Take The Lead
· Cost of Working with a Virtual Mentor
· Get Prime Coaching
· If Accountability and a Step-By-Step Plan Are What You Want… Then Hell Yeah!
· Every Entrepreneur, Freelancer, and Business Owner Needs A Mentor
· Alex Hormozi Spent $120,000 for 4 Phone Calls with Grant Cardone
How Will a Virtual Mentor Help Me?
Fair question.
I wondered the same thing. Never thought I would take this seriously until 5 years into my freelance journey.
Here’s why.
I feel surrounded by brick walls—no idea how to overcome them. Everywhere I go turns into a dead end. Yet, I keep pushing. I want nothing to stop me. If there’s a will, there’s a way, right? I genuinely believe that. After all, I read about it through books like Shoe Dog by Phil Knight or Sam Walton: Made in America. But you genuinely learn it when you live it. Yet, the frustration never goes away. You’ll feel it regardless of how many success stories you read. It doesn’t matter.
So how is getting a virtual mentor different?
The Power of Mentoring
Did I ever mention I’m an English teacher?
It’s my full-time job. I work 16 hours a week. That means I mentor my students, I show them what paths to take — what they're doing right and what they’re doing wrong — and I ease the struggle of learning a new language. Sometimes, just saying a few positive words of encouragement helps. You can see it on their faces.
What I’m saying is I know the impact mentoring has on my students.
When there is confusion, I pluck it out. When they struggle to find the words to talk, I never berate, criticize, or judge. I create the perfect class environment for students to make mistakes and shine. As learners, we’re allowed to make mistakes. Very little learning happens when you don’t make them. Wanna know the problem?
It’s when you do not know if you’re making a mistake.
When you’re not aware of your mistakes, how can you correct them? Because what happens next is you keep going on that same path of a downward spiral. You dig a big hole; you cram yourself into it, and it then becomes hard to get out. Happened to me many, many, MANY times!
Why Online Courses Are Not Always The Answer
This is the trap we all fall into.
We look at testimonials of people raving about a course. We think to ourselves, “Man! this course sounds too good to be true. It must be IT”. More often than not, the course turns out great, and we become convinced it’ll fix all our problems. It feels like a waste to give it up, so you go through the course thinking it’ll change your life. You’ll learn the deepest secrets that’ll unlock your “true potential” — corny as it sounds. Soon you realize it’s not rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies.
One thing I learned is that for every person who sells information online, there is someone else giving it for free.
Nowadays, everything has become accessible. All you need is to look. I’m not saying courses don’t work; they do. But here’s the thing: you can achieve more with a virtual mentor, a face-to-face mentor, an online coach, an online mentor — whatever you want to call it — than with a course.
Courses are simply not for everyone — something marketers avoid talking about. Because we learn and absorb information differently.
My Personal Experience with Online Courses
I took a few courses in my life, some were free and others I paid for. And do you want to know something? They were all amazing.
I’ve never experienced a bad course, though I’m sure they exist.
The first one I’ve ever taken blew my mind. It introduced me to copywriting, cold-emailing, marketing, online writing, SEO, and more. It had everything you wanted a course to have: a private community, worksheets, over-the-shoulder tutorials, short and bonus lessons, lifetime access, etc. I was beyond pleased. It cost $3xx, and in my head, it was money well spent. In a few months’ time, I was sure I would get that money back when I find clients… right? right?
Nope.
Years go by and I had to take other courses. It’s not that the first one was bad. It was good, but it wasn’t that good. But how could I have known? It was my first time buying ANYTHING online. The entrepreneur who sold the course to me cared not about my success but about the money in my pocket.
“If you’re running a business, you contend with the rampant assumption that your main goal in life is to part fools from their money.” Harvard Business Review.
And that’s how I felt. A fool. After all these years.
The #1 thing courses forget to include:
They rarely, if ever, have a virtual mentor to coach you personally.
I know it’s a lot to ask, but having your own personal coach to lighten the burden of having to plan everything out is priceless if you ask me. Unfortunately, when a course includes personal/virtual mentoring, it’s most likely on the expensive side ($1,500+).
Course creators’ primary goal is to help as many people as possible.
A noble but challenging task. But in order to do that, focusing on one person at a time — giving feedback and a detailed, personalized plan to build their business — is next to impossible, especially when you have thousands of students.
Instead, course creators design courses with a ton of material and content to go through. Overkill!
But what happens when you’re stuck?
What if you need an expert to show you the way? What if you need undivided attention from a coach? What if you need to change everything about your business? And, assuming you do that, how will you know if what you’re doing is right?
Sure, you could ask for help in a private Facebook group.
Its members will give you pointers and that’ll probably fix a thing or two, but what if you get bad advice? Worst part is, you won’t even know it. A lot of “what ifs”. I know. And I’m being very pessimistic, but I’ve been through this. No matter how much I change in my business — niche, website, outreach strategy — I always seem to go in vicious circles.
Every person I talk to has different advice about what I should and shouldn’t do.
Having a virtual mentor beats courses every. single. time. Let me explain.
What Does a Virtual Mentor Even Do?
A virtual mentor is an online coach who can help you grow and become the person you want to be. The benefits of having someone who’s been through what you’re going through, who’s been where you’re at, and who can help guide you in the right direction are invaluable.
Benefits of a virtual mentor
An online mentor can help in several ways:
- They can help you find your passion, purpose, and mission in life. This can be done through regular virtual meetings.
- They can help you develop skills that will help you achieve your goals. For example, if you are or want to become an entrepreneur, then they can teach you how to start your own business from scratch and grow it from there.
- They can also give advice on specific situations that might arise during your journey towards success. They may have experience in similar situations which could help them give good advice on how best to handle the problem at hand.
Downsides of a virtual mentor
When it comes to the pros and cons of a virtual mentor, the list of benefits is long. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t downsides. Here are some cons to keep in mind as you consider working with an online coach:
1. You can’t see your coach in person.
If you’re used to having face-to-face conversations, this may be difficult for you at first. Doing it online can feel like a step-down. But that’s not necessarily true. With the right coach and the right online platform, it’s possible to have all the same benefits as an in-person mentorship without sacrificing too much of the personal touch.
2. You don’t have the face time to build genuine relationships with your coach
You can’t ask them to grab a coffee or grab lunch if you have a question or need advice on something. Instead, you have scheduled meetings every week. Any more than that will probably require additional fees to pay.
3. It’s hard to get feedback if there are other people with you
This only applies if you’re in a group coaching program.
4. You need to be self-motivated
If you’re looking for someone to lead you through every step, a virtual mentor is a good fit. A virtual mentor is going to tell you exactly how to do things. You’ll have to make sure that you follow up with the guidance that’s provided. Betraying it will do neither of you any good.
It’s Not a Shame to Have Someone Hold Your Hand and Take The Lead
Especially at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.
In my case, I want an experienced coach who can help me focus on the most important tasks. As a writer, you wear different hats and it becomes hard to focus. For example, I know I have to hone my writing chops, develop a nice-looking website, network with other writers and influencers, improve my social media activity, generate leads, create content, etc. All by myself. But my biggest hurdle ever is…
Finding work/clients.
I did everything expert writers advise you to do:
- Create a portfolio
- Find a niche
- Have a website that displays my services
- Reach out to potential clients
I’ve spent an entire month sending cold emails.
Verdict: there is something wrong with my pitches (or my portfolio, website, niche…).
I know it, but I can’t see it, and a professional business coach — someone who’s been in this space for far longer than me — will see it. If I had someone with years of experience under their belt already who can pinpoint what I’m doing wrong, that would make all the difference.
Someone affordable I can invest in who can see the forest for the trees.
Cost of Working with a Virtual Mentor
I’ll get to that “someone” in a minute.
Let’s first talk about the average cost of working with a virtual mentor or online coach. The cost depends on the type of service you’re looking for and is about the same as in-person coaching. The only difference is that you don’t have to travel to your coach’s office, which can save you time, money, and hassle.
Great! I want that. Very convenient.
If you’re looking for someone to help you set and accomplish your goals, then the cost will depend on the number of sessions you want to book. Most coaches charge $100-$300 per hour. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1,000-$3,000 for a 12-week session.
So it all depends…
If you need help with marketing, business, or sales, then expect to pay $200 per hour, depending on the level of service provided by your mentor. You could also opt for a package deal where they help you create an online course or launch a campaign. Business coaches charge between $1,000 and $4,000 a month.
Hiring a business coach is an enormous investment.
But luckily, I found the perfect program that provides business coaching for less than $100.
Get Prime Coaching
I talk about Rene Lacad in this article.
He’s a successful marketer that keeps changing the norm of traditional education.
I invested in his Branded Ecom Store Blueprint course, where he gives a list of 30 winning e-commerce products to sell on Shopify and 30 winning E-commerce shops for inspiration. Thanks to these resources, I’m on my way to selling my first ever product. Exciting stuff since I have never sold anything online.
But once again, Rene is on to something bigger and better.
This program he built, Get Prime Coaching, is offering to give entrepreneurs and freelancers their own world-class business coach for an affordable price — something I have seen nowhere. I can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars on an online coach when I’m not even generating money from my business. And, I assume, neither can many people.
The question is…
Is the program worth it?
If Accountability and a Step-By-Step Plan Are What You Want… Then Hell Yeah!
I want someone to hold me accountable.
I have never experienced weekly accountability and access to a mentor who’s there to answer ALL my questions. I’ve had online mentors and coaches. I’ve virtually interacted with them occasionally. Mostly, I see them in video lessons, and that’s about it. Sometimes, I email them to get advice on issues I struggled with, but this is not how to bring out the best in someone.
“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor
I cannot find the switch to turn my business around.
I’m tired of thinking, planning, and seeing zero results. I want someone else to do it all for me, and I’m prepared to do as they say. It’s simpler that way. I want to focus on the aspects of my business that matter the most, then show up the next week, like a good student, and show my mentor that I’ve done my homework. That’s the biggest benefit I see in a virtual mentor: removing the hassle of planning things out.
All YOU have to do is to show up and put in the work.
Entrepreneurship can be such a lonely journey. It’s even harder when you don’t have a real-life community for support. I have no writer friends, which makes it difficult for me to find good advice.
Every Entrepreneur, Freelancer, and Business Owner Needs A Mentor
It’s a lonely and dark road.
I’m not saying you can’t make it without one. You certainly can, and many people have done it before. I read that 1% of Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs. Of those with a mentor, 97% say they are valuable (Source). Yet only 37% of professionals have a mentor (Source). 89% of those who have been mentored will also mentor others (Source). It’s hard to make it when you’re by yourself, man. I’ve been on my own for years and I’ve thought of giving up many times.
I’m very thankful for all the help I got. Really.
I don’t want to deny that I’ve had help. Often, I didn’t even ask for it — It was given to me and I will never forget that. But I understand that people, especially entrepreneurs, are busy and can’t always be there for you. So, I know if I invest in the support I need, it’ll create better results and mitigate my confusion about, well, everything.
Investing in help puts you on track to meet your business goals.
Alex Hormozi Spent $120,000 for 4 Phone Calls with Grant Cardone
He believes these calls could make him a billionaire one day.
There are two ways to navigate through business and learn superior skills: learn from courses, books, workshops, or seminars. Or, an even better way to do it is to pay someone who has the skill or knowledge to teach you one-on-one.
For the first time in my life, I’m excited to invest in a virtual mentor. Working one-on-one with an expert will help me grow at a much faster rate because paying for information is the only way to buy time back. Instead of taking five years to learn a skill, I can learn it in 5 weeks.
Work 1-on-1 With An Expert To Start An Online Business That Makes $10k-$20k A Month.
