Ask anyone successful in any line of work how they did it, and there’s at least one thing they’ll all agree on: You’ll never make it without the guidance of special people who’ve walked your path before.
Finding a business mentor is the best way to stay afloat, grow your business and advance your career. Whether they’re family members or friends, former bosses, colleagues or executives you’ve met, you can learn something from everyone.
Here’s how to identify, develop and nurture mentorship relationships.
Get specific with your mentor needs
Before you can find a mentor, you have to identify the areas for which you’d like advice, says Brad Sugars, CEO of Action International, a Las Vegas-based professional coaching organization.
“Define what you want a mentor for – finance, marketing, sales, product development,” Sugars says. “It’s not enough to just say, ‘Everything.’ Don’t look for one mentor to be everything to you. I’ve got a buddy who gives real great relationship advice but, man, I’d never take his financial advice.”
After you know what you’re looking for, try to find it by joining the types of organizations your potential mentors frequent – charities, sports clubs or business networking groups, among many.
At 35, Bill Wagner, CEO of Accord Management Systems, Inc., in Westlake Village, Calif., put an ad in The Wall Street Journal.
Copyright 2009 StartupNation, LLC
Click here to read more from StartupNation