MBA in Small Business

[Burgo]

Ok I dont know whether there is such an animal or not. But a discussion on another board talked about mentoring.

Mentoring has become a very good business and some really know how to charge, but what qualifications does a mentor have.

Strange as it may seem I actually do a little mentoring via a couple of forums, well I call it mentoring you may call it something else.

So if a mentor say charges $ 4000.00 for his / her time just how qualified are they and what field of qualifications do they have?

[Mark L]

That seems to be an underlying problem in the business mentor / life coach fields. I've met people operating in both arenas, with no formal qualifications or training in their respective fields. I've witnessed a business mentor encourage a naive retailer to waste copious amounts of money on utterly innapropriate promotional activities, resulting in the retailer in serious debt and out of business. And I've met "life coaches" who are unable to get their own lives on track.

Granted, there are people out there who do have exceptional abilities in business mentoring and life coaching, but how does one tell the good from the bad? And what recourse is there after unfortunately choosing a bad one? Are there any industry standard governing bodies in these fields?

Saying this though, I do strongly believe in the value of mentoring. Are there any members out there who'd like to offer their services as mentors to other members and share some wisdoms gained from lifetimes of experience?

[Burgo]

With 50 years business experience and in different industries. Self employed for 24 years. Also have cet IV in training and assessment. Still dont think I'm qualified to mentor or coach or am I wrong?

[Mark L]

With all that under your belt you're definitely qualified to provide an opinion and advice based on your experience. And considering that no mentor's advice should be taken as gospel 100% of the time, only as guidance and for perspective, then I'm sure there are many members out there who could benefit from what you've learnt and done throughout your career!

[Burgo]

Thanks Mark, those ar words of encouragement indeed, and yes only too happy to help where I can.