Entrepreneur’s Journal: Getting real advice for your business

15 12 2007

Entrepreneur’s Journal: Getting real advice for your business

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Wal-Mart (WMT), Starbucks (SBUX), Small business

IdeaBlob logo If you take a look at the stories of great entrepreneurs - such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)’s Sam Walton, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Bill Gates, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) - you’ll see that they’d the help of mentors and advisors.

After all, being an entrepreneur can be lonely, stressful and challenging. And it’s often difficult to get solid advice.

“I can’t overstate the importance of mentors in my life,” stated Ben Casnocha. Ben started his first business at 14 years old, and even wrote a book on his experiences, My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley.

So where do you find mentors? Ben advocates lots of networking. In fact, he thinks about the Small Business Administration’s SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) a great resource (and it’s free).

But be wary. Make sure you do lots of background research on the people you like. You might realize that they really aren’t a good fit.

What’s more, another good starting point is social networks, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. You’ll find many people who are interested in helping out.

“But social networks are only the beginning,” stated Ben. “The actual building of the relationship usually has to happen on the phone or in person. And you never want to cold call someone and say, ‘Will you be
my mentor?’ A relationship must grow to that point.”

Finally, you might want to check out an interesting website, IdeaBlob.com, which is part of Advanta (NASDAQ: ADVNB). IdeaBlob is an innovative place where you can post your business ideas - and get feedback.

“When we started IdeaBlob.com,” said Ami Kassar, the chief innovation officer at Advanta, “People thought we were crazy. Would people really share their business ideas?”

So far, people are sharing quite a bit, as the site has grown. “What we’re seeing is the community providing lots of useful advice and recommendations,” said Ami. “It’s still in the early stages, but it does look like entrepreneurs like to help each other out.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the internet Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.