How to Attract a Business Mentor?

**questeds** · 08-23-2010 08:06 AM

Hi Guys,

I believe that knowledge is power, so I am looking for a business mentor. Does anyone have any tips on how to attract a high calibre entrepeneur? I am not interested in 'Business Coaching' no offence intended, but I do want to learn and understand where people have been successful, and just as importantly unsuccessful.

I am gunning for Richard Branson, but realise that may be a little optimistic.

Any thoughts/suggestions welcomed

Questeds

**mtnjkwe** · 08-23-2010 09:54 AM

1.Try looking for someone you will like as a mentor first
2.Send them a tweet/polite email present yourself and what your doing
3.Get to know them, and then pose your question or wish.

What is a mentor? Someone who can 1.Guide you and 2.Advice you on what your doing, what to do, and what not to do.
Unfortunately most successful entrepreneurs cant afford such time out to guide you. So your best bet is to compile a list of questions you think will benefit you can get them to answer you.

Another option will be to head over to Andrew's Mixergy.com website where he interviews entrepreneurs and there you can get to learn from each and everyone of them for free.

**generationy** · 08-23-2010 01:52 PM

WOW, love that question! Having reached out to several successful entrepreneurs, one of the things that I would suggest is to first have a well-defined business idea. Don't start reaching out and asking for tips, suggestions etc. if you don't have anything to discuss. They get these requests on a daily basis. If you want to reach out, create a personalize email, letter etc. that defines exactly what you intend on attaining from a short conversation with them. If you want 5 minutes, tell them why and how that will help you. Trust me, 90% of the successful entrepreneurs out there will share their insights with you so long as you aren't wasting their time and efforts. Right?

After that, be patient. Don't lose patience because then you will just lose the opportunity. On that same thought, follow up after say a week or two. Give them time but be consistent as well. People like persistence but don't "annoy" too. It's always best to learn about the individual such as his story, background, company info, entrepreneurial journey etc. If you share some aspect, emphasize that! Connect with them personally so that you don't seem like "just" another person looking to reach them.

Wish you much success! Good luck!

**dgilly10** · 08-23-2010 02:15 PM

I believe that the question you have asked is one of the smartest questions anyone could possibly ask.
the first thing that you should do is choose an individual that has exactly what you are looking for, within their Faith, Family life, fitness, finances, and the fun that they have. if their life looks like what you are looking for in those areas then you have found the right person. I will tell you from experience that the fellas that I choose to mentor are always the most hungry, they are not the brightest are "best fit" but they want it the most are are willing to learn and begin to think. the man that I mentor with is Orrin Woodward... look him up in my opinion there is no better.

**Lili Cruchelow** · 08-23-2010 07:02 PM

This is great that you are seeking out mentors. I believe the quickest route to success is learning from other who have paved the way. I also understand not wanting a coach. Most entrepreneurs are very independent people and would rather not have an official coach. I have been studying successful people for years and found that all successful people have similar characteristics in the way they think and act.

I started my business 5 years ago from scratch without any prior knowledge. I learned as I went and I now have a multimillion dollar business. I have written a book that is geared towards teaching these success characteristics to new entrepreneurs. I am just in the early marketing stages of the book and would gladly give it to you for free if you promise to give me feedback on it. No strings attached, I just want to understand if my content is indeed helpful to a new entrepreneur. If you are interested, please contact me through my blog at lilicruchelow.com and I will email you a copy.

I wish you well!

**forbes** · 08-23-2010 08:04 PM

Mentors are interested in giving back to the industry that helped them become successful. When approaching a mentor never offer them money!

I recommend you try to get in touch with one of the most honest and brightest business coaches in history, Dan Pena. He came from the ghettos of Los Angeles and now has his own 15th Century Castle in Scotland.

Check his website www.danpena.com

**guidemesingapore** · 08-25-2010 03:12 PM

Try getting a mentor in an industry you are interested in. Learning from their experience could be immensely valuable.

**ServiceBizBoost** · 08-26-2010 04:08 AM

I am a business mentor from new zealand. Would you like to explore my services. Visit my site. This will help me to be part of business success.

Do let me know.

Lorraine

**CharlieB** · 08-30-2010 04:39 PM

A while ago I was thinking of a social networking site for mentorships. The site would require people requiring mentors to make an account saying what area they are looking for guidance in etc and a mentor would sign up and find someone who they think they can help and build a relationship via instant messaging and maybe video calls via the website. The general idea is to make the process of finding a mentor easier and would be a niche version of facebook.

Is this a good idea or do facebook and twitter remove any possibility of this happening?

**ServiceBizBoost** · 08-31-2010 01:36 AM

Check at the testimonials from clients. It's very helpful for you.

**adtraka107** · 08-31-2010 02:31 AM

If you want a high calibre mentor I recommend Robert Evans. In his Online Mentoring Program he clearly explains the step-by-step instructions and illustrations.

**FishBowl** · 09-01-2010 06:20 AM

Hi Questeds,

Yes, you may be being a little optimistic with Richard Branson :-) There is some very good advice within this thread though, so hopefully you'll get exactly what you need.

Completely not intending to be spammy, but I genuinely think you might be interested in inafishbowl.com - you can apply to be a featured business if you live in the UK and are trading and receive advice and support from the Expert Panel, which includes celebrity entrepreneurs such as Rachel Elnaugh (Dragons' Den), Ben Way (Secret Millionaire), Claire Young (The Apprentice), as well as other very knowledgeable business experts. Applying is free and easy and can be done through the inafishbowl.com application page. I think that might be a really useful experience for you.

Hope that helps.

**ServiceBizBoost** · 09-02-2010 01:15 AM

There are many people who advices business consulting. So, try any of them and how they have helped the companies to progress.

**nelsonnebraska** · 09-03-2010 05:36 AM

I think it's always better to learn something, if you want to run successful business. So learn and take your feet and put them in the shoes of your audience. Many entrepreneurs wound deeply rooted in the details of your business, they forget that the public is not psychic, or willing to fill in the blanks themselves.

**mbabusiness** · 09-05-2010 02:08 PM

Meet them in person. Academic settings are great for this. Guest speakers are often CEOs and high level executives. If you aren't in school, there are many free or small-fee conferences and meetings all over the place.

for example, I met the president of Botox department at Allergan at a bio-tech conference. I didn't ask him to be my mentor as I know he is a very busy person, but I got to ask him some questions.

If you are enrolled in an academic program (MBA, etc.), your professors are awesome resources. During my 1-unit seminar at my undergrad, my professor was a VC.