The Secret to Finding a Great Mentor: Don't Ask to Be Mentored Many entrepreneurs think of mentorship all wrong. And that means they're missing the great mentors in front of them.

"Will you be my mentor?" When I became editor in chief, I was unprepared for how often I'd be asked this question. It came from a teenager at a business conference, who waited around to talk with me until everyone else had left. From a first-time entrepreneur through an Instagram DM. From a podcast host, after an interview. From a startup founder, after I put her in the magazine. It happens every few weeks now, and I'm not alone in this. Many successful entrepreneurs tell me it happens to them, too.

Related: 7 Reasons You Need a Mentor for Entrepreneurial Success

We almost always say no, for reasons I'll explain below. But it doesn't have to be this way. The question these people are asking is, I think, a symptom of a larger problem: Many entrepreneurs misunderstand what it means to have a mentor.