Having good mentors is the one key to success most small business owners most mention.
Right now, thousands of people are getting together in mentoring groups to learn from each other. If you have never been inside a group, this episode of Business Insanity Talk Radio this week is perfect for you.
In this abbreviated version of the show, we focus on going inside one such group: The Sharing Ideas Mentor Group. They are small business owners who get together once a month to share knowledge. We are joined by:
Jim Stephens, the President and CEO of Mazzi Technologies, helps businesses successfully leverage Interactive Media to cut costs, drive profits, and increase productivity. Tony Ozelis, the founder and CEO of LocationIsland.com, a web-based educational magazine dedicated to teaching commercial real estate site development to the independent business person. Diana DeRosa, a veteran equestrian photo journalist who has traveled the world and has recorded equestrian history for close to 30 years, owns her own PR firm called Press link and worked with the renowned Christopher Reeve as his Road Manager for eight years from 1997 until his passing in October of 2004.
Listen now as we discussed why each member joined and the results they get by participating.
Have you been a member of a mentor group? What kind of results have you had?
I have been in one for over a year now. At first it started with 2 of us – we were both talking about how we were looking for such a group, so I suggested we start with ourselves, rather than spending the time to hunt for a group or trying to start something big. A few months back we added a 3rd person. It is done virtually over the phone.
It has been a great experience. We even named it – BusinessForward! We start our turn with our “bitch of the week” where we complain about something. Usually this gets comments or suggestions that help us resolve the issue. We then say what we planned to do since the last call (we call every 2 weeks) and whether we did it or not, then talk about what we’ll do by the next call.
Gee, I am way overdue in writing a blog post on this!
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Bitch of the week- I love it!
I have yet to try a formal mentor group, but have established small niche mentors in different subsets (business, Social Media, personal etc…) I’ve found them to be extremely helpful but lack the big picture thinking. I’d like to find someone who has had the business experience of starting and selling a company to help guide me, it’s not easy being 23!
Brett- I have done this…let me know how I can help!
I recently tried to start a MasterMind group with some up-and-coming speakers. Let me just say that picking the right people can make or break you!
No question about that Sima!