Coaches and Mentors

Coaching is big business nowadays. You can get free advice from places like the SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives), easily find thousands of for-hire coaches through Google or sites like The Coach Connection and even drill into specialized areas like this site which provides Franchising coaching.

When I started my first business in 1983, I contacted SCORE and I have to say they didn't do much for me. The problem was simple, I think: the coach was someone who had worked as a CFO at large businesses but had no understanding of my little one man consultancy. We talked right past each other. Looking back, I realize that I should have understood that it was just a mis-match and requested someone else, but I was much younger then and I just gave up. I had to learn from my own mistakes, which certainly does teach the lessons, but the cost can be pretty high.

That's too bad, because whatever your business, there's surely a coach who can help. The Internet makes it much easier to both find and work with people who might be geographically distant, but you can probably find someone close enough for face to face coaching if you prefer. Whichever you choose, make sure you have a good match, that the person understands you as well as the business you are running. If you feel uncomfortable, move on: there are plenty more out there. Finding the right mentor can really help you avoid having to learn it all the hard way.

Versatile Site Map Generator $59.00
A1 Sitemap Generator

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.