Mentorship

Looking for a friendly, engaging
and listening mentor to help you?

Many people find it useful to have a business or life mentor — someone you can talk to, air your problems to (be heard!), and then seek our helpful advice or solutions from.

I’m excited to offer affordable mentorship for people trying to achieve certain goals, and join people on their growth journeys.

    Why do mentorship?

    As we progress through life and our careers, we encounter many varied problems, obstacles and challenges. We also encounter opportunities we want to capitalise on, or sometimes wonder whether there are opportunities out there that we’re missing out on. These span across many fields and questions.

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    You may find yourself frequently asking questions like:

    • Why do I feel like my career isn’t progressing? Am I in the right job / career?
    • How do I convince people to see the value in the work I do?
    • How do I resolve conflicts within my workplace?
    • How can I improve my communication skills within my workplace?
    • I’m feeling emotionally disconnected from my work. Why do I feel this way?
    • I want to move in X direction, how should I approach this?
    • What are my natural strengths?

    And many others — The questions are as unique as you and your situation are.

    Often, these and other questions or concerns simply “hang around” in our mind for long periods of time — unresolved.

    Mentorship can help us zoom out, and think about or solve these problems better.

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    What’s involved in mentorship?

    In simple terms, the mentorship I offer is about great quality conversation followed up by great quality “homework”.

    It’s about understanding things more clearly, then acting more on that understanding, all the while having
    someone to help you through the journey.

    For my mentorship service, this is how I strive to do this well:

    Great quality conversation

    1 I strive to first listen carefully to your thoughts, feelings and circumstances. You speak until I’ve gotten the whole picture, and take as long as you need.

    2 I repeat back my understanding of what you’ve said, ensuring I’ve clearly got you.

    3 We discuss things further, drawing conclusions along the way. We explore your circumstances in a non-judgemental way.

    4 I offer suggestions, feedback, strategies and homework for you to consider as your next steps. You choose what you accept as commitments and strategies.

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     Great quality “homework”

    Lots of the value of mentorship lies in the follow-up efforts that you make. At the end of each session we will agree on certain follow-up actions or commitments.

    I might give you observational homework: questions to be answered, or other things to look out for

    I often give recommended books to read that can accelerate your growth rate — reading good books is extremely helpful for career and personal growth

    I remain available between sessions for check-ins

    Who are you? — And is mentorship for you?

    Mentorship is not for everybody. But you’ll know it’s for you if you resonate with some or all of the
    below statements:

    1 I know I have opportunities/challenges, but I struggle to articulate them, understand them completely (or remain open to doing these things better)

    2 I have many things on my mind on a day to day basis, but find it difficult to find the right person to discuss these things with

    3 I have friends I can talk to casually, colleagues I can talk to professionally, but no-one who sits somewhere in-between

    4 I want to explore ideas and problems in conversation with someone with no risk of harming relationships or my credibility — I’m missing this “open forum” / exploration space at the moment

    5 I have struggles that I want to be understood (by someone), but kept confidential, and not judged

    6 I’m open to receiving advice, but I want to be in control or be the gatekeeper of that advice. I’m looking for advice that I can’t come up with myself

    7 I want to have conversations with someone that are all about me; and talk when I want to talk, and listen when I want to listen, and not feel I’m being rude or inconsiderate.

    8 I think I might be missing something, but I’m not clear on exactly what it is

    9 I get conflicting advice from different people that I find hard to tease out or make sense of

    10 I want to talk about stuff that few people talk about; the hidden dynamics of relationships, power-plays, politics, and so forth

    Finally, simply wanting to find a mentor is a very strong signal that you’re ready for it.
    Mentorship only works for those who want it!

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    Who am I?

    Depending on your needs, different parts of my experience may be more valuable to you.
    Mentorship is all about you; this information is offered only to help you identify whether my experience is relevant for you.

    shawn mentorship

    Chief Operations Officer in a Startup

    I work full time in Vine Digital — a highly successful and fast growing digital marketing startup — as Chief Operations Officer. I manage a team of 16+ people. I have a very good understanding of systems, processes, and most importantly — people. I also have very good general business experience, sales experience, and lots of exposure to entrepreneurial environments. I am part of the 3 member executive team in the company.

     

    Digital Marketing / SEO

    I have over 6 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing. If you’re looking to build a career in digital this experience may be helpful to you. Digital marketing is my personal career passion and I teach SEO at the Australian Marketing Institute.

    shawn mentorship

    Happy, “successful” and passionate human being

    I derive great fulfillment from my career, personal life, hobbies and other pursuits. While I don’t pretend to have solved all the mysteries of happiness and success, I’ve certainly had a good crack at it! — and am very satisfied with the outcomes.

     

    Other hobbies and interests

    To some or other degree I am interested in and have knowledge of various fields. Most of this comes from reading books, personal experience and many other conversations.

    These include: Mindfulness (& Meditation), Philosophy, Psychology, Science, Business, Management, Entrepreneurship, Startups, Economics, Self-Help, etc. You can see my bookshelf here. And, it should come as no surprise, I have several mentors of my own 🙂

    If you want to know more about me, feel free to read some articles on my blog, check out my LinkedIn or
    get in touch with the form below and we can have a phone call!

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    How is the mentorship program structured?

    The mentorship program has several components:

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    The brief and introduction

    I send you a form which you fill out to explain your goals and aims in the mentorship program. The form asks many questions like why you’re seeking mentorship, what your personal and conversational boundaries are, and how you’d like to go about the program.

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    Agreement and start

    We agree on a timetable and structure. My general structure is 1-1.5 hours either fortnightly or once a month, at a cost of $50 / 1 hour or $70 / 1.5 hour session, with some built-in out of session support. Payment is taken via PayPal with a recurring subscription.

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    Commencement & regular catch-ups

    We start our regular sessions and take it from there! It’s good to have a schedule and sticking to it keeps up the momentum.

    Ending

    You can end your mentorship program at any time for any reason. Many people enjoy an ongoing mentorship arrangement (especially when it’s working out), but people eventually get all they want and move on!

    Interested in chatting?

    Great! Please fill in the form and let’s chat!