Top 5 Business Mentorship Programs
Mentorship comes in different forms, Success does not happen overnight, it begins with a step. To be successful, we have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things we need to know to achieve our goals. No matter the level you are in your career/business as an entrepreneur, or business professional, A business mentor is an experienced individual that assists and offers direction, and advice to their mentee by helping them to manage, and grow their business by encouraging them to develop the necessary skills they need to be successful. Everyone needs a little guidance always in their business pursuit and a business mentor stands as a reliable source for help and advice, however, it’s not an easy task to find a business mentor especially if you are not sure where to look or the services you need from them. One of the beautiful parts of getting a business mentor is that you are being mentored through the process of grooming professionally and personally in other to get that desired results you need for your business growth.
What is Business Mentoring?
Business mentoring is a relationship between you as an entrepreneur/business owner and someone who stands as a guide with business experience that can put you through while making difficult decisions, pointing out ways to improve your business and asking questions generally about your business to motivate you to aim at a top success performance.
Most successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs all relied on mentors to grow their businesses. Mentoring gives your business an edge by being an important ingredient in growing your business.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of top business mentoring programs.
Table of Contents
MentorCruise
MentorCruise is an independent platform that connects mentors and mentees. It was founded on March 1st, 2018 by Dominic Monn to help kickstart your growth. It is a versatile mentorship platform that also provides mentorship programs for business owners and startups.
PROS;
- The support system is very good
- It encourages and enables collaboration to foster the mentor-mentee relationship
- The MentorCruise platform is safe to use
- The features are reliable
- It can be used on IOS, windows, and android devices
- The layout of the platform is excellent
- Individual and team mentoring available with top mentors
- Unlimited messaging, in addition to video calls
- Wide range of mentors for different areas.
CONS;
- It’s just focused on tech, business, career, and design mentorship
- Since the mentors are big-time professionals at F500 companies, their rates tend to be higher and can be unaffordable to mentees.
MicroMentor
MicroMentor is a non-profit free business mentoring program for entrepreneurs and a rewarding volunteer opportunity for business professionals. It was founded in 2001 by Karen Doyle Grossman. Micromentor’s online business mentorship program offers organizations and individuals access to a branded customizable program. It enables the world’s largest community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and business mentors to create powerful connections, solve problems and build successful businesses together. It is best for small business development organizations, economic development agencies, foundations supporting entrepreneurship, as well as corporations looking for a skills-based employee volunteering program. Its features include mentor/coach matching and mentoring program management.
PROS;
- It’s free and accessible to use
- It’s international-friendly with a range of supported languages
CONS;
- It’s only intended for business owners
- Volunteer-based mentoring may mean less commitment and flexibility.
Score
Score is a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping small businesses, get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. The Vision and mission are to foster vibrant small business communities through mentorship and education, it also aims to give every person the support they need to thrive as a small business owner. It was founded by Walter H.Channing in 1964 and you can choose a mentor from their database.
PROS;
- It’s free to access
- Multiple communication channels available including LiveChat
CONS;
- It’s only intended for USA business owners
- Mentorship is only done via local chapters
- Volunteer-based mentoring may mean less commitment and flexibility.
Clarify
Clarify is a marketplace that connects entrepreneurs with top advisors and industry experts to conduct market research, and get strategic business advice to help you to be more productive. It was founded by Dan Martell in 2010 and it has supposedly been used by 17,414 entrepreneurs who made 150,000 phone calls in the last years. people browse to look for answers to specific questions and are ready, and willing to spend money to help.
PROS;
- An extensive network of experts for users to select from
- Smooth processes and quality advice provided
- It provides value for people seeking fast answers
- It handles everything from scheduling, billing, setup of the conference call, and even if you want to donate your earnings. This makes it convenient for both the user and the expert as no administrative work needs to be done by both parties.
CONS;
- There are no help requests and community networking functions
- It only accepts audio calls via the conference line they provide
- There is no personalized matchmaking and users can choose their experts to consult with
- Members can post questions on the answers page, and obtain answers from experts for free but experts are not obliged to do so
GrowthMentor
GrowthMentor is a 2 sided marketplace and marketing mentors with founders, and marketers who could use some help. It was founded in 2017 by Foti Panagio. It’s a curated platform of invite-only startup and mentoring mentors who have proven experience in their respective fields. you can browse all mentors or get personalized results by filtering based on things like objective, language, industry, or software tools. Another great way to use the platform is to schedule to call just to validate your ideas and the general direction of your marketing strategy.
PROS;
- Large range of expertise mentors
- The crowd shares issues with available mentors
- Unlimited calls
- Other resources available
CONS;
- Small database of mentors
- Best for short-term issues/questions
- No team options
- Pricing commitment per quarter/year.
CONCLUSION
With all that has been listed, you can tell that a business mentorship program is very important in getting that desired result for your career/business growth. I hope this article assists you in getting the right expertise in moving forward with your goals.
