ONE-ON-ONE
MENTORING
& COACHING

What is a mentor?

Mentors are known as advisers and role models, the people who have “been there” and “done that.” These individuals support and encourage their mentees by offering knowledge and direction, both general and specific. The ultimate goal is to help their mentees improve their skills, increase sales and grow their business.

A formal mentoring program is a structured, one-on-one relationship where the mentor can openly ask questions and get the guidance required. A well-functioning mentoring program requires thorough strategic planning and organization and schedule zoom calls, which help increase knowledge and build skills for future goals and milestones.

Everyone has different goals that mentors can help them achieve or improve on. These goals typically include making more money, successfully starting a business, scaling a current business, closing client deals, finding their purpose, upgrading their current skill set, making an impact, and achieving success in life and business.

Without a business mentor, it can be challenging to navigate the harsh world of business. A business mentor can specifically teach you everything from critical skills to survive in the cut-throat business world and how to get clients to networking tips and daily business motivation to keep you moving forward.

What should you look for in a mentor?

You want to find someone with who you resonate and respect. Choosing a mentor based on their financial success or wealth does not mean they will be the best mentor or teacher for you.

In other words, don’t just look at how rich or successful the individual is. Ask other questions. Do you connect with this person? Do you share the same core values? Do you respect what they do and their process? Are they an ideal role model for you? Can they help bring your business to the next level? They may be successful, but are they successful in the kind of way you strive to be in the long run?

How I met my business mentor

An important chapter in my life was when I met the man who changed my life forever; my business mentor.

When I was in my early 20s, I met Benjamin Falkenstein. At the time, he ran a successful liquidation warehouse and chain of retail stores. His brand and stores were growing rapidly.

I was young and unemployed, and then my mother introduced me to a loud, out-spoken, somewhat vulgar entrepreneur from South Africa. “Chris, are you looking for a job?” he said, to which I replied, “Yes!” The following day I was moving dirty skids around his warehouse amongst 8 other sku pullers.

I was fascinated by his operation and the number of trucks of merchandise that entered our facility daily. I was eager to learn, worked as hard as humanly possible, and constantly observed his process.

Benjamin was brilliant. He was one of the first people to pioneer the concept of buying liquidation in bulk then selling them for retail, all under one roof here in Canada.

This clever sales model involved finding and buying inexpensive products by the truckload, and from there, cleaning up the boxes and putting them out on the retail floor.

After my first year, I requested a position in the retail store, merchandising products and making sales. By that time, I worked directly with my business idol, a marketing genius and self-made millionaire. He was everything that I aimed for, and I was willing to soak in as much knowledge and experience as to get to his level.

I spoke to him daily and asked, “Do you need any extra help? I’m willing to come in early or stay late and work on weekends.”

Benjamin nodded and said, “Yes,” and said, “work ethic is always the most important trait a man should have.”

This was the beginning of an eight-year friendship and mentorship that changed my life into entrepreneurship.

Over the years, I moved from warehouse worker, merchandiser to sales representative, assistant store manager, store manager, and district manager of 5 retail locations.

My responsibilities and salary quickly grew from minimum wage to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, all by the age of 25.

I listened, I did and never questioned his direction. I knew that he had something that I wanted (success), and I was willing to do anything to achieve that.

Currently, at 44 years old, I still use the marketing strategies and sales skills that he taught me almost 20 years ago.

I’m not sure where Benjamin lives today, if he remained in Canada, or if he still runs a successful business, but if by any chance he reads this text, I would like to say, “Thank you!”

His mentorship changed the direction of my life, and played a huge role in me becoming a self-made millionaire.