James Dooley Interviews ODYS Mentor Mads Singers

James Dooley Hi so today I'm joined with Mads Singers, one of the ODYS mentors. Pleased to meet you Mads, how you doing. Mads Singers Good to see you again James. I'm doing very good. James Dooley Sounds good. Let's jump straight in then Mads. So how has mentorship shaped your career and personal growth. Mads Singers Yeah I think my career started in the corporate world and I was very focused on management when I was at a very young age. I would say both mentors and coaches have had a profound impact. Particularly now in my later successful years I would say I hire coaches and mentors for everything because fundamentally there's no point in me figuring out how to go to the gym and use the equipment the right way when I can have someone teach me how to do it. The same thing with business. If I want to get my finances under control or get better at finances I would hire someone who's good at it and get them to help out. Yes you can figure stuff out by yourself but one you make way more mistakes and two it takes significantly longer. My philosophy is I like generating great results and making a lot of money very quickly instead of doing it very slowly. So I think that's the core mentality behind mentorship. In terms of my career specifically I've had probably three mentors over the years. The first two I didn't pay anything. It was people I took initiative with. I walked up to them and said hey you're cool, you're doing what I want to do someday, would you be interested in mentoring me. The last one is someone I paid for where I got a ton of value from a high level business standpoint. Whatever you're doing there's always someone who's better than you unless you're Elon Musk which I don't think will be watching this. James Dooley Sounds good. So when did you first realise then in your journey that mentorship was important. Mads Singers I spent a lot of time when I was getting into management reading a ton of books. I read Think and Grow Rich for example and that talked a lot about masterminds and finding other like-minded people to mastermind with. I found that super helpful. It was through some of the books I was reading that I got the notion of looking for mentors and coaches. I've had some great coaches and mentors and some that were less great. Sometimes you don't necessarily win every time. Sometimes the personality between the two of you is too far apart. Sometimes stuff happens. But I would say 85 to 90 percent of my mentorship experiences have been very good. James Dooley So what would you say, what key lessons have you learned that you couldn't have learned on your own or you might have learned but it would have taken you two or three years of failing to get there. Mads Singers Honestly a lot of what I'm teaching people today. Delegation for example was a huge thing. I'm a super perfectionist. I'm super detail-oriented by nature and I'm the last person that would naturally delegate anything when I could just do it myself. It took me a while to learn how to do it but having a mentor guiding me through that journey was absolutely invaluable. I see a lot of people like myself who spend 10, 20, 30 years stuck not getting anywhere because they don't get hold of delegation which is such a critical skill. I'd also say communication specifically. Communication when you're in business or management is so important. I've had multiple coaches and mentors. Some on public speaking, some on general communication. Today I'm sure some people would disagree but I believe I'm a fairly good communicator and that's come from guidance. A lot of time as humans we don't see how other people see us. One of my first coaches basically told me I offended people. I was shocked because I wasn't trying to be offensive. She said when you're being funny and humorous people don't get it. They think you're being serious. It took me a long time to accept it but I started subconsciously watching people and realised she was right. Without that outside perspective I would never have learned that lesson or it would have taken me a really long time. Often even as a mentor myself I give people advice and think I should do that myself. James Dooley I think the big one there is learning to let go. A lot of business owners seem to be perfectionists and it's so difficult to initially take that step and let people take responsibility. Anyone that comes to me seems to hit a threshold and I always say you need to speak to Mads. You need that middle management system set up and you need to stop thinking that a job done well is done by yourself. You need to learn to let go. So the next question is what is a mentor not. Mads Singers This is a big one. Most people when getting a coach or mentor expect them to solve their problems. My goal is never to solve people's problems. It's pushing them in the right direction. If you're tunnel-visioned like this it's opening your eyes a little so you have more view and can see a better path. Don't hire a mentor if you want someone to do something for you like build a site or fix your SEO. That's not what a mentor is. When I mentor people, if I see they don't take action, I stop the relationship because for me it's not about making money, it's about making a difference. If people don't take action I'm wasting my time. When you become successful one of the core things you value is using your time on things that actually make a difference. James Dooley Now we're in a world where if you don't innovate you evaporate. With AI and everything moving fast why do you think mentorship is more important than ever. Mads Singers Our teams are constantly getting support in AI. We've hired people who are very good at it to help our team out. Not to do the work but to consult and guide. Some of our people know a little but if you find someone who's really good you get a lot more value. We're constantly looking at who is the best around. Who can we hire to coach or consult. I've seen you do the same. Sitting with someone talking about topical maps for example. If you don't get it, it can be mind-blowing and move your business forward significantly very quickly. People often make the mistake of not understanding ROI. As a business owner it's about taking asymmetrical bets. You put money into something where the upside could be 10x or 50x or 100x. That's how I look at business. James Dooley So with regard to choosing the right mentor how do people go about that. Mads Singers For me it's been a mix. I have a huge network so often I know people. If I'm considering someone as a mentor I'll ask other people who know them what they think. Sometimes they say it's a great fit, sometimes they say maybe not. James Dooley Why did you decide to join the ODYS mentorship program. Mads Singers I love helping. The ODYS model gives people a way to get coaching from me without having to go through all the hoops. I really appreciate Alex as a business person. He's a very good business person and I like supporting initiatives like this. James Dooley There are many ODYS mentors who are all great. Why should someone choose yourself as a mentor. Mads Singers My core strength is definitely people. I've coached hundreds of business owners on how to manage better. Everyone comes to me saying they're a bad manager or don't want to manage people. Many SEOs want to do SEO but they eventually realise they need to choose between being an SEO or a CEO. If you want to make real money and build a real business you need to become a leader. It's learning delegation, hiring great people. All skills take time but with a good mentor you learn faster. James Dooley What do you tell someone who's never had a mentorship call. Mads Singers Two steps. First take a step back and ask what's holding me back. Most companies' problems aren't one SEO hack. It's usually sales, marketing or management. Look at your business and decide which area needs the most focus. Then invest in a mentor based on that. Ask colleagues for insight. Most investments I've made in mentors have always paid back because they unlock shortcuts. James Dooley Specifically related to mentorship what would you tell your 16-year-old self. Mads Singers I started early. My first coach was at 19. The one thing I’d say is invest in yourself. When I was younger I was cautious with money. Now I know nothing gives a better return than investing in yourself. I could have invested a lot more a lot earlier. James Dooley Is this you admitting you're tight and frugal and that's why you're last to the bar buying drinks. Mads Singers I usually take advantage of people who... no. Not really. I'm more reserved. Many assertive people want to show off and I let them. James Dooley Back onto the mentorship question. Some people say calls seem expensive. Then two weeks later they come back saying it was the best investment they've made. Thoughts on cost versus return. Mads Singers I've had over 700 customers in my coaching business. I have a 100% money-back guarantee and not one person has ever asked for a refund. There are different levels of expensive. Expensive like you won’t eat for four weeks or expensive like it feels a lot for a short session. It took me a long time to learn the value of paying for quality. You can always find someone cheaper but likely not someone cheaper and more successful. Successful people value their time. Honestly even with ODYS prices we might make more money focusing on our own businesses, but coaching is about helping people and seeing results. James Dooley How can people book you then Mads. Mads Singers Get onto the ODYS website, go to mentors and find my profile. It's typically the most handsome picture you’ll find. James Dooley For anyone watching this the URL is odys.global forward slash mentors slash Mads Singers. You'll see his profile picture. I'll let you decide if it's beautiful or not. It's been a pleasure having you Mads. Anyone looking to grow an offline or online business you should book Mads. You've done a lot of coaching for us and it's been a pleasure having you on. Mads Singers Awesome. Thank you very much James.