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If you take a look at the stories of great entrepreneurs – such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)'s Sam Walton, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Bill Gates, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) – you will see that they had the help of mentors and advisors.
After all, being an entrepreneur can be lonely, stressful and challenging. And it's often difficult to get solid advice.
"I can't overstate the importance of mentors in my life," said Ben Casnocha. Ben started his first business at 14 years old, and even wrote a book on his experiences, My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley
So where do you find mentors? Ben recommends lots of networking. In fact, he considers the Small Business Administration's SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) a great resource (and it's free).
But be wary. Make sure you do lots of background research on the people you like. You might realize that they really aren't a good fit.
What's more, another good starting point is social networks, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. You'll find many people who are interested in helping out.
"But social networks are only the beginning," said Ben. "The actual building of the relationship usually has to happen on the phone or in person. And you never want to cold call someone and say, 'Will you be
my mentor?' A relationship must grow to that point."
Finally, you might want to check out an interesting website, IdeaBlob.com, which is part of Advanta (NASDAQ: ADVNB). IdeaBlob is an innovative place where you can post your business ideas – and get feedback.
"When we started IdeaBlob.com," said Ami Kassar, the chief innovation officer at Advanta, "People thought we were crazy. Would people really share their business ideas?"
So far, people are sharing quite a bit, as the site has grown. "What we are seeing is the community providing lots of useful advice and suggestions," said Ami. "It's still in the early stages, but it does look like entrepreneurs like to help each other out."
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-12-2007 @ 10:12AM
Mary Harrington said...
My mentors are my children who are in their 30's, all highly educated, several with advanced degrees in business. I sent them this article with my thanks.
Mary
www.latintrivium.com
11-12-2007 @ 11:14AM
Ralph Mueller said...
My company has been in business for 35 years utilizing the sales talents of direct sales reps. They are getting increasingly harder to find and I am looking for new avenues of getting more sales. Any suggestions?
11-12-2007 @ 3:29PM
samuel jones said...
I believe in peer groups and individual coaching.
It helped me for many years.
sam j
11-12-2007 @ 3:31PM
samuel jones said...
i believe in peer group and individual coaching.
It worked for me for many years.
The more brain power the better.
Sam J
11-12-2007 @ 5:07PM
wilson said...
Need a mentor or advisor for Diesel components company to discuss the possibility of selling it for early retirement.
Please send me your comments to adiusa@aol.com
11-12-2007 @ 5:39PM
Gwen said...
It's quite ironic how I was just thinking yesterday about how I wished I had a good, sincere mentor. After having been woman of the year in 2002, by the Women's Business Association, My business went under because of someone else going out of business and I've had to start all over again from scratch, but I'm not givin' up!!! I've even got myself a new website now, CHECK ME OUT!!!!
www.realbreadpudding.com
11-13-2007 @ 7:49PM
Ola Idris said...
I will like to be a mentor to any one that will like business in any part of the world I have travel to about 85% of the world and I speak a lot of languages, I will be happy to tell you more about me later.
Ola Idris
11-13-2007 @ 7:21AM
Carol said...
Another great group is www.marketingprofs.com. I'm a sales and marketing coach and regularly answer advice there.
Carol
www.automaticsalesperson.com