its happened  naturally  for me a few  times on oline…. in   forums….

.  and how about  SCORE?   THE  RETIRED   BUSINeSS  GUYS  WHO  VOLUNTEER  … they  have helped lots of  businesses….and  would  give a  different  perspective   maybe… 

i never  tried that….mainly i   tried to   have the same  policies  that  the  best  dealer i knew had…. and  that worked out  for us…… 

I have a number of people that I look up to, consult with, and get great advice from. 

I think of it like this, if you are the “best in your class”, you are in the wrong class. There is always someone out there you can learn from. If you want to improve you need to surround your self with people who have succeeded at what you are trying to do. 

I have found some of my mentors in many places. Some online through nurturing relationships, some in my community who have successful business. One of my most influential mentors has a window covering business. It has nothing to do with the internet, in fact he hates the internet and everything to do with it. He has been in business for over 35 years and has an very successful business. He understand small business and community. I always learn something new from him every conversation that I can apply to my business.

@jasonwiser

“If you are the “best in your class”, you are in the wrong class.”
Complete awesomeness. I tell my daughters this when they complain that they’re not the best in their ski/snowboard class. The other day my daughter moved up and I saw her and she said “Dad! I’m the worst in my class!” with pure excitement.
Although it might not be the way I would have phrased it, I could see she was finally getting the message.
@hildaalanisgonzalez

I would want to find someone who had been in a similar industry for helping me grow my business, but I’d also like someone who had developed their own personal brand, as I’d like to do more speaking and definitely feel like I have a book in me.

I’ve worked with mentors formally and informally and both have their merits. Paid coaches provide you with more focus but the deeper relationships are definitely built with informal mentors. I have several friends and colleagues that I regularly run ideas by and get their input. I also do the same for them. It’s a great way to learn form one another, get fresh perspectives and new ideas that you’d never thought of on your own. Most of us operate in completely different industries but we still think on the same wavelength so meeting up is always so energising. Or maybe that’s just the 3 cups of coffee we have while chatting    

@rich-brooks I think just putting out what you’re looking for in a mentor can open up the contacts and connections for you. A book? more speaking? Sounds awesome. Not sure I’d classify myself as a mentor but they are certainly both topics I’m experienced and passionate about. Am happy to chat to bounce ideas around.   

@jasonwiser Love your approach of always being able to learn. In a way many of my clients could be considered mentors because on every ghostwriting project I’m learning new things even though it’s just part of my work. 

Have to add that I’m loving these SME groups. Am learning so much from all of you and loving it!!! Thank you!!!

Mentoring has always come to me through industry related conferences. Meeting people there, with similar challenges, often has opened up the conversation to stay in touch. 

With so many blogs out there it is much easier to “interview” a potential mentor. I’ve been contacted by several folks to mentor them based on their readership. And vice-versa.

However, I have friends I’ve met over the years through other ways (like kids sports – community interests) and find through our conversations I can learn a lot there too. Of course, listening as much as contributing.

As for the non-payment mentor situation, I’ve always offered something in exchange for their time. Respecting their wisdom and energy is super important to me, so I’ve offered up social media help to other organizers & mental clutter coaching to social media folks.

in a  general  way, i have a lot of   experience  as a mentor…in a real informal way…  lots  of newbies have come  to me about opening a store..after seeing  ours……..but i  find  that   if  a person has  the wrong idea  about  starting up a  store     they   probably  arent  going to c hange their mind….  if they realy  are hot for an idea  they  cant hear the   other side…usually i end up   trying to tell them they dont  have enough inventory to have a chance…. they are so hot to open a store they  dont hear that message  …. they dont  do the math right….then they open  and a  couple of yrs later   they  close with a lot of  debt…..i blame it on the self esteem movement  too…the  go girl  thing…that    tellls  you   you just need a lot of inspiration…. what a joke….imH o…

also i n seeking out a mentor i  think  getting  someone outside your  field   is   a  good idea….there are so many sacred  cows in any field  that  can totally lead  you  astray….like  the universal  advice   GET ON FACEBOOK… when its probably not  going to  work at all for   a  good  1/3  of  businesses….no matter how  good your   tekk  skills  are…

What I would recommend is use SCORE for free coaching.  You need to be very clear about what you need in order to use SCORE successfully.  I’ll shoot you the SCORE ebook once I finish getting legal approvals for all the logos.

As a small business, you should also have a board of director.  Identify people in the community who would be willing to be on your board.  They would be a formal board that keeps you accountable in your business. 

Set up your own personal board of advisers.  Find people whose expertise you need.  See if they would be your mentor/adviser. 

Here’s an important idea.

A mentor is someone who gives away their time to help you succeed with no expectation of personal gain. Why would someone do that? While the answer might be different for different mentors, I can tell you that I get great satisfaction from watching people grow and develop within their business.

If you are looking for a mentor to confirm that you already have the right ideas, don’t bother. You have to be willing to hear advice that rubs you the wrong way. Ideas that run completely against the grain of what you naturally would do. Opinions that don’t fit with your view of the world. And you have to be willing to try them out. 

What I see most often is that people get in their own way. It’s those precious ideas that we don’t want to let go of that actually keep us from success. If you respect someone enough to ask for their advice, be willing to follow it. Experiment with it. Give it a try. Because you are not going to like every idea they give you. Their ideas will push you to rethink things. But that’s exactly what may be needed to get you from where you are to where you want to be.

I like most of your answers..@Charlene..I like your answer. With Score, I had a bad experience – however I am sure that there are some great mentors with Score. 

I have been a mentor many, times – it’s nice to see that by holding the space for people I have mentored that they figure out for themselves what is best for them. Even though I said this..having someone outside your business really helps you to clarify the solution. I also would say that Mastermind groups are great for mentoring as well.