Latest / The Career Mentor Podcast with Fexingo: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Career Advisors / How to Find a Mentor When You Are a Side Hustler
Transcript
- Lucas: So, you're a marketing manager at a mid-size tech company by day. But by night, you're running a growing side hustle—maybe an Etsy shop, a consulting practice, a YouTube channel. And you're thinking, 'I need a mentor.' The question is: who do you ask? Luna: Right, because the corporate mentor might not get the side hustle. And the side hustle mentor might not get the corporate constraints. Lucas: Exactly. That's the tension we're unpacking today. I've been thinking about a specific case: a woman named Priya, a marketing manager I spoke with recently. She runs a successful Etsy store selling custom planners. She brings in about forty thousand dollars a year from it—on top of her ninety-thousand-dollar salary. Luna: That's a serious side hustle. So she's essentially living a portfolio career, even if she doesn't call it that. Lucas: Precisely. And Priya told me she felt stuck because she wanted a mentor who could help her scale the Etsy business, but she also needed career guidance for her corporate role. She didn't think one person could do both. And you know what? She's probably right. Luna: So what did you suggest to her? Lucas: I introduced her to what I call the 'Two-Lane' approach. You need two mentors—one for each lane. Lane one: your corporate career. Lane two: your side hustle. Separate people, separate goals, separate meetings. Luna: That makes sense. But finding two mentors when you're already time-starved? That's a big ask. Lucas: It is. But here's the key: you don't need two formal, monthly, hour-long mentoring relationships. You need one strong corporate mentor—maybe someone in your company two levels up—and one informal, quarterly advisor for the side hustle. The side hustle mentor might be another Etsy seller, a small business owner, or even someone you find on a platform like SCORE. Luna: SCORE, the nonprofit that connects small business owners with volunteer mentors. That's free, right? Lucas: Yes, completely free. Priya ended up finding a retired retail executive through SCORE who had built a chain of stationery stores. That was her lane-two mentor. For lane one, she approached a senior director in her company's product marketing team—someone she admired but had never worked with directly. Luna: How did she approach the senior director? That's often the hardest part. Lucas: She used a specific ask. She said, 'I'm a marketing manager in the company, and I'm interested in moving into product marketing in the next two years. Could I buy you a coffee for twenty minutes to hear how you made that transition?' Not, 'Will you be my mentor?' That's too vague. She framed it as a one-time informational interview, which is low-risk for the senior person. Luna: Smart. And if it goes well, she can ask for a follow-up. So that's lane one. For lane two, what was her pitch? Lucas: She told the SCORE mentor, 'I run an Etsy shop doing forty thousand in revenue. I'd like to get to one hundred thousand in three years. Could you help me think through product line expansion?' That's specific, numbers-driven, and shows she's serious. Luna: I love that. It's respectful of the mentor's time. Now, I know a lot of our listeners are in Priya's shoes. A 2025 McKinsey report found that nearly 36 percent of U.S. workers now have some form of side income—up from 28 percent in 2022. So this is a growing need. Lucas: That's a huge shift. And the report also noted that these 'portfolio careerists' often report higher satisfaction but also higher stress. A mentor can help with the stress piece—especially if they've navigated the same dual path. Luna: So let's talk about the first meeting. What should a side hustler ask in that initial coffee chat? Lucas: For the corporate mentor, focus on career navigation. Ask things like: 'What skills should I develop to move into product marketing? How do you prioritize projects? What mistakes did you make early on?' For the side hustle mentor, ask operational questions: 'How did you find your first ten wholesale accounts? What's your pricing strategy? How do you handle inventory during slow months?' Luna: That's very different. And it shows you've done your homework. Lucas: Exactly. The worst thing you can do is ask a generic question like 'How do I be successful?' That puts the work on the mentor. Instead, you want to show that you've already done the thinking—you just need their perspective to fill the gaps. Luna: What about the time crunch? Priya has a full-time job, a side hustle, maybe a family. How does she fit in two mentoring relationships? Lucas: She blocks one hour per month for the corporate mentor—that's a standing lunch or a virtual coffee. For the side hustle mentor, she does a thirty-minute call every quarter. That's four hours a year. Totally manageable. Luna: And she can prepare an agenda ahead of time to make those minutes count. Lucas: Absolutely. I'd even suggest sending a one-page update before each meeting: 'Here's what I've done since we last spoke, here's what I'm stuck on, here's what I need your input on.' That makes the mentor feel respected and the conversation stays focused. Luna: That's a pro tip. Now, what if someone can't find a mentor in their company? Maybe they work at a small startup with no senior people to spare. Lucas: For the corporate lane, look outside. Industry associations, alumni networks, LinkedIn. You can find a senior marketer at another company who's willing to do a one-off call. The same approach works: specific ask, low commitment, high preparation. Luna: And for the side hustle lane, there are tons of online communities. Etsy has its own forums, and there are Facebook groups for small business owners. You can find a mentor there, too. Lucas: Exactly. The key is to be explicit about what you're looking for and what you're offering. Priya, for example, offered to help her SCORE mentor with social media marketing—it was a skill swap. That made the relationship more reciprocal. Luna: I like that. It's not just taking; it's giving back. Now, one concern I hear from listeners: 'I'm afraid my corporate mentor will judge my side hustle or think I'm not committed to my day job.' Lucas: That's a real fear. And it depends on your company culture. In some industries, a side hustle is seen as entrepreneurial and positive. In others, it's a red flag. My advice: don't lead with the side hustle in the corporate mentoring relationship unless you know the person well. Focus on your corporate growth first. If the side hustle comes up naturally, great. But it's not the main topic. Luna: So keep the two lanes separate, at least initially. Lucas: Yes. And if you're worried about your boss finding out, check your employee handbook. Some companies have policies on outside work. But in practice, many managers are fine with it as long as it doesn't interfere with your performance. Luna: Good point. Now, let's talk about the sponsor angle. A mentor gives advice. A sponsor advocates for you. Can a side hustler find a sponsor? Lucas: Absolutely. But the sponsor is almost always in your corporate lane. It's someone who will put their reputation on the line to get you a promotion or a stretch assignment. That relationship is built on trust and results. So for Priya, her corporate mentor could become a sponsor if she delivers strong work on her day job. Luna: So the side hustle doesn't hurt that—it might even help if she develops transferable skills like project management or customer insights. Lucas: Exactly. Priya's Etsy business taught her about A-B testing product listings, which she applied to her company's email campaigns. She could highlight that in a performance review without mentioning the side hustle directly—just the skill. Luna: Smart framing. Okay, so to recap: find two mentors, one for each lane. Keep meetings short and prepared. And use the side hustle to build skills you can showcase at work. Lucas: That's the playbook. And if today was actually useful to you, this is how these stay ad-free—listener support. You can buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep the podcast independent and focused on practical advice like this. Luna: Yeah, it really makes a difference. Every contribution helps us keep the show free for everyone. Lucas: And we're grateful. So back to Priya—six months into this two-lane approach, she told me her Etsy revenue grew 30 percent, and she got a promotion at work. She said the biggest change wasn't the advice itself, but knowing she had two people in her corner who understood her whole life. Luna: That's the power of intentional mentorship. Not just any mentor, but the right mentor for each part of your career. Lucas: Exactly. So if you're juggling a day job and a side hustle, don't settle for one mentor who kind of fits. Build your own two-lane system. It takes a little more effort upfront, but the payoff is huge. Luna: Great advice. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And to our listeners—good luck out there.