ODYS Mentor Stewart Vickers Interviewed by James Dooley

James Dooley: Hi so today I'm joined with Stuart Vickers who is one of the Ody mentors. Stuart I'm going to jump straight in and I'm going to ask you the first question. How has mentorship changed your career path and personal growth? Stuart Vickers: I suppose compounding is the ultimate word. I was grinding away for years on the sofa with a laptop like many other people. You look at that progress graph from the first four years to the final two years and you realise how much it has spiked. It all comes down to getting out and talking to the right people. My progression was slow but now with the Ody mentors programme you can jump straight in and get one of those mentors immediately. James Dooley: So when did you first realise the importance of having a mentor in your professional journey? Stuart Vickers: Early on it was from meeting people at conferences. It was always that quiet drink in the bar or the chat in the back of a cab when they basically said you're doing it all wrong. In the early days of running the agency I thought I understood backlinks until people showed me the real insights and how to turn that into a proper service. You might only be 20 or 30 percent off but if you keep going down the wrong path it compounds. When someone experienced points you in the right direction your next five years can be huge. James Dooley: Incremental improvements are key. Even the 1 percent gains compound. What lessons have you learned from mentors that would have cost you a lot of money if you tested everything yourself? Stuart Vickers: So much. The inner workings of agencies. Running a service business. Testing. For example link building. People panic that one wrong link gets you deindexed. It's not entirely wrong but people become too cautious and then never build links. Most bad links are simply ignored. You have to try very hard to get into penalty territory. That changed my mindset and helped me go harder on my sites and clients. The result was growth because I stopped hesitating. James Dooley: And with artificial intelligence now being a huge part of the industry what role can mentors play for people still learning how to use AI? Stuart Vickers: People understand the basics of ChatGPT but they stay basic. They don't push themselves. You need flashes of inspiration. Someone bought my CTR manipulation course and asked how to check if their coordinates were over the sea. I said drop them into ChatGPT and it will tell you the major cities in the radius. They never thought of that. Mentors help you think outside the box and use AI for analysis not just writing. James Dooley: For someone watching this trying to choose a mentor what qualities do you think they should look for? Stuart Vickers: Get the specialist for the problem you're solving. Industry specific is ideal but rare. If someone has proven expertise in that field and has been in the game long enough you can’t go wrong. James Dooley: Why did you decide to become an Ody mentor yourself? Stuart Vickers: I really like the Ody brand. I’ve been a customer for years. When they started collecting top names in the industry I couldn’t say no. James Dooley: What are your main strengths as a mentor? Stuart Vickers: Ninety nine percent of SEO is content and links. People overcomplicate it. Mentorship is often reassurance. If someone is doing everything right they just need clarity so they don’t chase shiny objects. If not then I help them identify the last 20 percent they’re missing. Usually content. Links. Sometimes a technical block. And the broader business side. Are they even targeting a market with demand? James Dooley: What advice would you give someone seeking their first mentor? Stuart Vickers: Don’t hesitate. The pricing model now includes 10 or 15 minute calls which is insane value. Beginners usually just need a few simple corrections. If your average commission is $5 why are you in that market. Go for the one with $500 commissions. If you overthink it you stall. Get on the call and start taking action. James Dooley: If you could go back and talk to your 16-year-old self what would you tell them about mentorship? Stuart Vickers: Don’t waste time on the academic path. Find someone crushing it in a modern industry and learn from them. I know people in their early 20s who got four or five years ahead of me because they focused on monetisation not tradition. James Dooley: Some people say mentorship is expensive. Others say it was the best investment they ever made. What’s your take? Stuart Vickers: Look at other industries. A plumber costs a couple of hundred. A doctor or lawyer costs thousands. These are all people fixing a pain. We fix pain and make you money. One call can set you on a path worth millions. So paying $500 to $1,000 is tiny. If we were a bricks and mortar profession no one would question it. And because we do fractional time you can start with 10 minutes. Very low barrier. James Dooley: It’s not just the knowledge bombs. It’s the money saved. People spend five to thirty thousand a month on backlinks. If you show them the difference between a good and bad link it saves them a fortune. How can someone book a mentorship call with you? Stuart Vickers: Straight on the Ody mentors page. If you can’t find it message me on socials and I’ll point you in the right direction. Ody is the best place to get help. James Dooley: Great. It’s been a pleasure to have you on Stuart. I highly recommend Stuart. He’s excellent at link building, off page SEO, parasite SEO. He’s ahead of the curve and in multiple private masterminds. If anyone wants an SEO mentor check out Stuart Vickers on the Ody mentorship programme.