Business Mentors, Advisers & Coaches
Here’s an article I wrote sometime ago for my original DennisEdell.com blog. Since it’s the sort of article that will always be relevant, I figured I’d resurrect it once again. C’mon now, tell us YOUR story at the end 
.
Whatever you wish to call him/her, for the most part they are there for the same reason; to help, guide, and support you, whether for business or personal reasons.
Some that do it for a living, do have specific titles and handle specific cases or situations; but for the most part, they all want the same end result.
It can be very difficult when first starting out. Here you have this brand new business idea which you need to build upon, but where to start?
You need to network with people (online and off line depending on the business), get the word out, build traffic to your website (if you have one), think about taxes & business licenses and so on and so forth. Phew!
All of it combined can be very exasperating to say the least, especially if you’ve never done such things; and can be very difficult to do alone.
Everyone needs a support system of some kind; other than family or friends that is. Someone non-biased and not judgmental. Someone there to hold you accountable, guide you when you need it; yet step back a little when you don’t.
Perhaps someone to simply talk to from time to time; one who’s been there and understands what you’re going through on a daily basis.
How do you choose such a person? Where do you find them? First you need to agree to 3 very key points that you must must MUST have in common with whomever you choose to model yourself after…
Trust, Respect, and above all else; you must share the same core values & beliefs. If not, it could be a very short relationship for sure.
Finding a mentor is not necessarily a difficult task. It could be virtually anyone for which you have an admiration for, see as successful and wish to follow.
You may specifically seek one out; on the net for instance at websites like SCORE among others. If you’re in a network marketing business, it could be your upline, or a team member that is doing a little better then you or has been in it longer. (However, these people may be a bit biased or even judgmental)
(Although SCORE mentors are all *business owners*, they are considered to be primarily offline. I’m sure you could find mentoring programs offered online if that’s what you prefer.)
Maybe there are other marketers whom you admire. You study their websites and incoming emails; taking their recommendations whenever possible. It could even just be someone or more than one that you see often on different forums that you frequent.
Funny thing is, you may not be seeking one at all; you may not even realize you need or want one and then POOF, out of nowhere there they are! This is exactly what happened to me when I first started.
What I would very much like to hear now , is YOUR story.
Do you have a Mentor, Business Adviser or Coach of some sort? I’d love for you to share with us.
Are you a Mentor, Business Adviser or Coach; either voluntary or paid? We would love to hear from the other side as well!
Please feel free to leave your comments, or better yet; email me your story and I’d be happy to post it for you!
Or both. Hehe.
To our mutual success,
Dennis
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April 24th, 2009 at 11:06 am
When i first started out i was lost i didn’t know what to do. Than all of a sudden i had an idea i typed it into google and i came across this one search because it caught my eye i clicked on it and it was a site called problogger.net. I read many of his posts and they were unbelievable because he said about how much money he made blogging online and that he got hooked to it. He also stated that he has been doing it full time and it gave me an idea if he can do it than why can’t I. He also had an idea where he had a board of jobs you can apply for in which you can get paid for freelancing which i thought was pretty cool. I got very excite so i started blogging myself and enjoy it myself. And here I am today because of this guy named darren rouse.
almir´s last blog post..Vital Tips That Can Aid Any Blogger
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:09 am
@almir, Have you bought his book?
April 24th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Haven’t had much luck with mentors. Worked for some people who I could study, find what I liked, and more often find what I didn’t like or didn’t want to do. Not that I’m any special case, but I am definitely of the personality where if I want to do something, I’ll just figure it out myself. Makes for more lasting lessons.
Matty Byloos´s last blog post..John Casey
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:11 am
@Matty Byloos, True but at the very least I find it extremely helpful to have someone to bounce ideas and thoughts around.
Matty Byloos Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
@Dennis Edell, Indeed Dennis. Having someone to emulate and feeling the desire, typically out of an overwhelming amount of respect, to follow in someone’s footsteps is a great thing, I would imagine. But as you say, having trusted colleagues with whom to discuss important things, and to bounce questions around, is priceless.
Matty Byloos´s last blog post..Monday Reading List: April 27, 2009
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
@Matty Byloos,
Indeed! I have several on my list according to specialty. I don’t make a move in some areas before chatting it up a bit with that particular person or persons…..trust is a huge factor in this for a multitude of reasons.
Matty Byloos Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
@Dennis Edell, Very wise of you. I’ve been working on that strategy this past year. Seeking advice of others in the field before making a move. Even if you are already set with a strategy, it’s nice to query a colleague who might shine a light on something you haven’t thought of.
Matty Byloos´s last blog post..Monday Reading List: April 27, 2009
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
@Matty Byloos,
#1 tip - grow a thick skin and make sure you pick “tell it like it is” people.
“Yes” men and woman will mean demise.
Matty Byloos Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
@Dennis Edell, That made me laugh. Thick skin, in growth process: CHECK!
Matty Byloos´s last blog post..Monday Reading List: April 27, 2009
April 24th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Mentors are hit or miss. There are many different kinds: court-appointed, people that care, people forced to, etc… If you want to learn something start simply by research. I find that in craft work (i.e. Construction, plumbing, etc) mentors are great. But in things like programming you can start by yourself. Regards!
Beer ratings´s last blog post..Beer News @ All Beer Blog
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:13 am
@Beer ratings, I’m not judging here, but court-appointed and forced too? Not really what I was aiming for. lol
True though, somethings just take a bit of self research.
Welcome to th blog! However in the future to assure proper linking of your URL, please leave a real name in the field along with your keywords.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I did have a mentor before which didn’t turn out so well! Now, no I don’t have a mentor, business adviser or coach of some sort. To me, i feel that I don’t need one as of now, maybe in the future and that I can figure it out myself and to say the least it has pretty much worked out well for me!
Salwa´s last blog post..The Mass Media Marketing Marathon
almir Reply:
April 24th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@Salwa, you know what its good that your taking that route but there will come a time in which you will need someone’s help and if you don’t have that help it can leave you in trouble I know
almir´s last blog post..Vital Tips That Can Aid Any Blogger
April 24th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
In my business life, I’d both had mentors and been a mentor. There are people who have come to my aid when I’ve really needed it, and I’ve done the same for some of them. The bonds one builds up have been great, and often timely. Also, as an executive coach, people sometimes pay me to be sort of a mentor for them; I’m appreciative of that.
When it comes to being online, though, man, could I use a mentor. I’ve got Adsense down well, but some of the other stuff I haven’t done all that well with. I have a goal to be bringing in at least $3,000 a month through internet sales, and instead I’m averaging around $125 when I’m lucky, which is much higher than a year ago, but still way far from what I want and need. So, an online mentor would be great.
Mitch´s last blog post..Six Things I’ve Learned About Affiliate Marketing
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:16 am
@Mitch, I know what ya mean buddy. I suppose the “bright side” is that the “pros” will tell you you’re making $124 more then most.
Mitch Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 10:24 am
@Dennis Edell, Sure, I could run with that, I suppose,… maybe they” loan me the other $2,875 to make me feel better, eh?
Mitch´s last blog post..Linkshare
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am
@Mitch, Ask. And be sure to let me know how that goes.
Mitch Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@Dennis Edell, Gotta find one that will talk to me first. lol
Mitch´s last blog post..Linkshare
April 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I own several medium size businesses offline (200-500 employees) and also work as a business adviser for many companies including listed ones about their MIS and Online Strategies. Now, I’m mostly having fun with my new blog!
I am a self-made person, from young I quickly understood that if I wanted a different life than other people, I would have to do things in a different way.(I love self-improvement stuff)
If I have any advices (for your success online or offline or in your life) to share from my personal experience both as a learner and a teacher, here they are:
* know what you want and why. (if you have the will, you’ll find the how)
* don’t let people discourage you by telling you what you can’t do or that it is impossible.
* acknowledge the fact that you don’t know all that there is to know about something. (Put your ego aside and be open to learn more)
* Don’t just learn stuff, take action! Knowledge is not power, it’s the KEY to power; and unless you use it to open the lock, it’s useless.
Here are the people who most influenced my thinking (note that I don’t agree with all what they say or offer)
_ Bob Proctor
_ Jim Rohn
_ Brad Callen
_ Jack Humphrey
_ Darren Rowse (newly since I joined the challenge)
I take pride in learning from everybody I met who has valuable information, and help those who need me.
Nicolas Prudhon´s last blog post..Can We Survive the “NoFollow” Black hole?
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:18 am
@Nicolas Prudhon,
Wow, I may just turn that into a post.
April 25th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Hi,
Well, I offer free business consultation in my blog.
But most of all this is based on my professional offline experiences. But most ofl my advices are given in business forum.
April 25th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Hi Dennis,
Some day in the distant, distant future. ~ Steve, the working trade show guru
You should have published this post a earlier this week in honor of Earth Day. You know… reduce, REUSE, RECYCLE. That applies to blog post too, right?
I worked with SCORE a little bit a long time ago, and highly recommend it. Maybe I’ll even join them when I retire, whenever that is!
Steve | Trade Show Guru´s last blog post..Trade Show Booth Display Design Secrets
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:19 am
@Steve | Trade Show Guru,
Cute Steve. lol
I have heard really good things about SCORE; never used them myself though. Yet.
April 25th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I have not yet entered into business or something as still I am a teen. But its really helpful for every businessman to have a advisers or coach.
Harish´s last blog post..5 Things That Indicate A Successful Blog And Blogger
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
@Harish,
So you blog just for fun?
Harish Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:26 am
@Dennis Edell, To be honest I do blog for fun. Just as a part time or something like that
Harish´s last blog post..5 Things That Indicate A Successful Blog And Blogger
April 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@Nicolas, respect! You sound just like me beside the fact that you are farther down the road than I am. Brad Callen has definitely been one of the first people to inspire me to do something online and in the personal development arena I am a huge fan of Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and Denis Waitley. I’ve also started listening to Anthony Robbins because his passion comes across very strongly.
I’ve had a offline coach that I paid to help me but I have to admit that it wasn’t money well spent. I think the major reason was that he was recommend to me but I didn’t know him and therefore didn’t look up to him and respected him enough for him to really come across to me. However listening to self development tapes has had a huge impact on my for sure.
/Mikael
Mikael @ RetireRichRoadmap´s last blog post..Making Money on the Internet with Adsense
Nicolas Prudhon Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
@Mikael @ RetireRichRoadmap, Hi Michael, I guess we understand each other!
I also got all the courses from Brian Tracy and Denis Waitley!
I’ve listened a bit to Tony Robbins but not a huge fan of the style personally.
I enjoyed a lot information given by Brad Callen in his ebook “SEO made Easy” at the time it came out. However, the information is now quite outdated and I don’t agree with all the software he has (I have a lot of them and still use them actively), especially the latest one that put your article and link immediately on 10,000 blogs… This is the ultimate red flag of offsite over-optimization, and just wait that you stop paying your monthly fee and oops all gone…
Nicolas Prudhon´s last blog post..Can We Survive the “NoFollow” Black hole?
Mikael @ RetireRichRoadmap Reply:
April 26th, 2009 at 2:10 am
@Nicolas Prudhon, LOL… the SEO Made Easy was the exact same book that I read
I’m a fan of SEOelite and KWelite (only using small parts of each) but I agree that he mus have had a brainfart with that last product. That is so NOT like him.
I’ve just subscribed to your blog so I can wait to learn what you have to offer since I think I’m following the same path and don’t mind speeding up the pace.
Mikael @ RetireRichRoadmap´s last blog post..Making Money on the Internet with Adsense
April 26th, 2009 at 8:21 am
You’re right Dennis, this post will always be relevant. Like Steve, I worked with SCORE a while back. In the late eighties actually. That would make a great project for someone looking more to do - an online version of SCORE for online businesses.
I’ve always had mentors, even if neither the mentor or myself knew at the time. Today blogging has compounded everything. By that I mean instead of a single mentor we can follow many others that we relate to and are where we want to end up. I think this is the first time I would call many of my online peers as mentors too.
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog post..ClickBank Niche Sites - Quick and Easy DIY
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:24 am
@Brian D. Hawkins,
I’ve always had mentors, even if neither the mentor or myself knew at the time.
That’s the best kind in my eyes.
Mikael Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@Brian D. Hawkins, blogging has definitely made many experts a lot more accessible but unfortunately blogging has also created a lot more “experts” that really aren’t experts at all. If you pay for someone to mentor you I believe that you’re going to be a little more skeptical about what they tell you and whether you feel that you’re getting value for money. With free “expert” advice you might fall into a trap of believing someone that you would have been better off tuning out
Mikael´s last blog post..How to Find the Best Adsense Ad Placement
Brian D. Hawkins Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 6:40 am
@Mikael, You’re right Mikael, I just started a rant on the topic yesterday but gave up on it. I was going to point out all of these ‘SEO experts’ spamming me when their own sites have zero rank or placement. I cooled off before making myself look like an angry jerk … again lol
It doesn’t take long to see who’s lead to follow when blogging. Right here on Dennis’ blog we can find plenty of people well qualified to be mentors, including Dennis himself but we shouldn’t tell him. Don’t want to inflate his ego
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog post..Valuable Article Marketing Training by EzineArticles.com - Free!
Mikael Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 7:03 am
@Brian, I think the worst part of it is that new people coming online are led to believe that these people are sharing “facts” when in reality their advice might set them back months or years. I’m sure there are lots of people giving up because of it.
Mikael´s last blog post..How to Find the Best Adsense Ad Placement
Dennis Edell Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 8:08 am
@Brian D. Hawkins, No ego here my friend, I don’t want the responsibility.
April 30th, 2009 at 7:00 am
I was lucky and had a business mentor assigned to me when I left collage, via going through a graduate to enterprise program. She used to do a very good job of trying to keep us on track and set goals, whilst being realistic, which I think is many new businesses biggest problem. Its good to have a reality check on your business ideas from someone who has lots of experience and an unbiased attitude. She also helped us to get a lot of work which was very useful when starting out and cash flow is tight.
Matty Byloos Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 9:51 am
@khaled, Totally agree with you on the idea of staying realistic about one’s business goals and practices. Sounds like you had a great (and unique?) experience!
Matty Byloos´s last blog post..Don’t Smell the Floss Part 1: Story Breakdown
Dennis Edell Reply:
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 am
@khaled,
I couldn’t agree more. It’s so very important to get people thst are not just going to “yes” you to death.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Dennis, I really enjoyed this post and especially all the stories that follow.
Like you, I have always had mentors…sometimes more consciously than others.
One of the most exciting times I have had with a mentor was when I was in the early R&D phase of my Skyaak (ring-wing glider) invention.
I sent a sample prototype to the Canada Space Agency in Ottawa when CDN astronaut Dr. Marc Garneau was president.
The CSA is a very gracious organization, as Dr. Garneau’s executive secretary personally phoned me early one morning to inform me that my package was sitting on the president’s desk and that he would be opening it later that day.
Partly for security reasons (she asked for a detailed description of the contents) and partly as a courtesy, this was one phone call I will never forget!
But the real buzz for me was the fact that Dr. Garneau and I exchanged several personal e-mails on the topic of R&D of my aeronautical design.
Marc shared some very useful information/contacts with me as well as personally steered me to senior officials at the National Research Council Aerospace Division.
You can imagine that this respect and responsiveness went a long way towards encouraging me to carry on.
I have many more stories of very helpful mentors that have been there for me throughout my career but this has got to be a highlight.
Dennis Edell Reply:
May 7th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
@Michael Gaudet, Wow man, that’s a helluva story there. I love hearing of things that work out so well.
Welcome to our community here!
Michael Gaudet Reply:
May 8th, 2009 at 7:26 am
@Dennis Edell, thanks Dennis. Yeah, when I stop and think about it, mentors have played a vital role in shaping my life and career. Now I am in a place where I get to pay back with some expertise of my own. For example, I meet regularly with a few friends and we paint socially. But really, it is understood that the first hour or so gets dedicated to ‘tips’. For this to really work, I think there has to be give and take.
Dennis Edell Reply:
May 8th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
@Michael Gaudet, Very well put Michael, any long term success must be a give and take.