Some mentors and teachers do this out of the goodness of their heart. Let’s say a senior lawyer makes $500 an hour and you spend 15 minutes of their time on a telephone, you’re not probably going to give them $150 for their time. But you should think of something that is valuable to them for the time that they’ve just provided. Maybe it is a really nice handwritten card, thanking them for their time. Maybe tickets to a charitable event that you have access to. It might be flowers. Whatever it is, you need to think of the value the mentor is providing and provide something in return to show your appreciation. Now, this doesn’t mean that you’re buying their time. It is just a token gift, but it has to be a genuine, token gift.
Once we actually figure out what this is actually going to cost you, you then need to figure out how you are going to use them.
