Summary

I believe one of the best investments you can make in your business is a mentor.

Have you ever been curious about getting a mentor for your business? Is there something that has been holding you back from reaching out or finding a mentor?

In this week’s episode, I chat with designer Arlina Roman. I had the privilege of being her mentor for a while and we chat about why she invested early on in mentoring and courses, how mentoring propelled her design business, and how she is always striving to learn more.

In this week’s episode we go over:

• Why Arlina invested in coaching at the start of her business
• The gaps she saw in online courses
• 3 Things that shifted in her business from gained confidence
• What to look for in a mentor
• And why the entrepreneurial path is anything but linear

Starting Over and Investing From Day 1

In late 2019, after years as a graphic designer for a design firm, Arlina was unexpectedly laid off from her job. She quickly started searching for ways to start her entrepreneurial business and get it off the ground and running. She found Dre, an online Instagram coach for business owners, and was immediately stunned when she heard that Dre invested almost $40,000 in online courses, masterclasses, and mentorships to grow her multi 6 figure business.

Arlina knew then, that gaining knowledge and insight from peers ahead of you in business, was crucial to growing her business. She reached out to Dre for guidance on how to scale her business on Instagram. They swapped services, Arlina offered a logo design and Dre offered Instagram strategy, and she was able to not only secure her first client but gained knowledge into her business from the beginning. Arlina immediately saw the value that mentoring would do for her design business.

She decided to sign up for our Brand Clarity Academy and loved the course but knew she wanted even more guidance.

Looking for More Beyond Online Courses

Arlina dived into courses and masterclasses right away for her new business, but the class would end, and she’d still be feeling stuck and lost in her business.

She knew she wanted a 1 on 1 approach and guidance. When I started offering coaching, she jumped on the chance and immediately felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. Finding a mentor can be tough but Arlina credits finding someone in her field, in an aspirational stage in their career, and most importantly someone you trust to her success with mentorship.

Aha Moment

Arlina credits one of her moments of clarity in her business was getting the outside perspective from me to niche down her market and audience.

She saw lots of other brand designers offering templates, downloads, guides, etc., and before mentoring, thought she was supposed to follow suit. When she niched down her audience, it niched down her offerings and provided her a clear picture of who her audience actually is and what they are actually looking for.

Arlina now offers a free guide to creating amazing unboxing experiences and has gotten rave reviews from current clients and her audience at large. Once she was mentored to find commonalities among her audience, it made her messaging, branding, and overall business flourish.

Gained Confidence to more than double her prices

On one of Arlina’s first calls with me, she mentioned what she charged, and immediately, I told her to double her rates and charge more! After she picked her jaw off the floor she started charging more for even her past clients.

Being able to charge more for her services came from not only perfecting her skills, but also the confidence she gained during our time together. The gained confidence helped her:

1. Charge more – One client, who prior was charged $700 for a logo suite, Arlina charged her $2000 for something similar and the client didn’t bat an eye.
2. Add new offerings to her services – Arlina was also able to add a new service into her product suite after our time together : VIP Design Days. I helped her define her audience and what aligns with their goals, and VIP Days were a perfect addition for them and Arlina .
3. Overcome limiting beliefs around herself – Arlina says one of her biggest struggles when starting in design was selling with confidence. She was shy and the social anxiety would get to her. But she did the work, practiced, and her confidence grew. She gained more clients and learned that selling doesn’t have to feel icky but is a service to her audience. Her gained confidence helps her see that losing a sale is not a reflection on her.

When you find your clients and audience, who align with your business, they’re growing with you too. As you grow and charge more, they too should be growing and paying more to level up with you.

When you find a mentor who can confidently tell you to charge more, who is in your corner to answer all of your questions, and who believes in you, you will be able to raise rates, develop new offerings, attract new clients, or whatever your goals maybe! When you can hear and see what’s possible, you start to believe it for yourself.

Confidence translates to trust between you and your clients and confident designers bring more to the table for their clients.

But What Happens if I Fail?

Investing in your business (and yourself) is a mental hurdle that is so hard for some business owners to make the leap towards. You may start to question, What should I expect? What will I get in return? What if this is a bad investment? What if I make the investment, but don’t reach my goals? Imposter syndrome starts to creep in.

Not only have I been a mentor to designers like Arlina, but I have my own mentors too. I now know that investing in outside help is a key to growing my business.

But of course, if you are going to make an investment, you want it to be a “good” one right? Good courses and instructors will have a layout of the course ready for you to view and if the outcome of the course gets you so excited to start, then you know it’s worth looking into. Good instructors will map out how to get from point a to point b. Find someone who details what you have been looking for.

There are loads of free resources that designers should utilize out there, but both Arlina and I have found that “when you pay, you pay attention”. Investing will cost money, and some investments will not pan out how you expected, but you will always walk away having learned something new about yourself or your business. When you put money on the table it makes you put more on the line.

Mentors do not Equal Overnight Success

Arlina believes that finding a mentorship is a good investment for everyone in business or an entrepreneur role.

She recommends looking for:

• Someone in your field
• Someone with more experience
• People who are where you want to be

But even with the 1:1 guidance mentoring does not equal a quick and easy fix to getting to your goals. Success does not happen overnight. Don’t give up because it’s not going as planned. Slow seasons happen. The entrepreneurial journey is long and you will never feel like you “made it”. Every day will be different and every time you grow and stretch, something new will come up to challenge you again in your business.

A mentor is a great investment to gain the confidence, guidance, and help on which path to take in your business. Ultimately, it’s up to you to take the steps on the path forward and to make the important moves. Don’t give up, keep going and keep learning.

Where to Find Arlina

Instagram | Website