Mentor – an experienced and trusted adviser!

Mr. Hughes was my first and favorite mentor. He was my 9th Grade science teacher and he had an incredible talent for making education fun as well as teaching us students how to question everything and seek out answers for ourselves.
He was also the first teacher who didn’t instantly blow me off as stupid or slow. I was an absolutely terrible student and learning in school was really difficult for me. All of my other teachers treated me like I was invisible. Mr. Hughes wanted me to know that he saw me and that I wasn’t going to fall through the cracks. He would often sit with me outside of school hours and try to help me understand the basics of math and science.

That made a lasting impact and had a lot to do with the fact that now I want to help other people build their businesses and achieve their dreams.

Why is a Mentor so important?

Mentorship is one of the most important aspects of business. All of you reading this should have a mentor (or five!) and if you don’t then I suggest you start seeking one out now.
A good mentor is not going to lie to you. They might soften a blow but they’re going to be honest because telling you the truth is imperative to your success. A great mentor will connect you with the right people, places and resources. A mentor will also challenge your views and decisions because you might not always be right.

Finally I feel that while finding a mentor is incredibly important, just as rewarding is becoming a mentor. In order for small business and entrepreneurship to stay at the forefront of the business world, we need to be raising the next generations of entrepreneurs. If you have the opportunity to teach a class, answer questions in an online forum or to connect at a networking group, then you will find that there are lots of people that are waiting for somebody to notice that they aren’t invisible.
You can become somebody’s Mr Hughes. And in my opinion, there’s nothing better than that.

– Miri