Woodworking Business

You are not logged in. [ Login ] Why log in
(NOTE: Login is not required to post)

Who do you call when you need a mentor?

5/29/15       
Calvin E.

My company has grown quite a bit over the last 20 years, and I've had some success. I've learned a lot from a lot of people, and for that I'm grateful. At some unknown point in time however, I have outgrown the advice of almost everyone that helped me in the past. I'm bigger, more successful and more profitable than all of them. Which is great. But I have nobody I can talk to anymore when I need advice. My problems are not the kind that my former mentors can solve.

There are people on this forum that have similar size and experience I feel to what I have, but who wants to air out their questions in public? And who wants to offer free advice of the nature I'm looking for?

Where do you go for mentorship when you're questions have millions of dollars at stake, instead of hundreds or thousands? When its no longer about woodworking, but about business? Big business.

5/29/15       #2: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Paul Downs

I joined Vistage to get good advice, and it's been very helpful. I'm matched with a group of peers - companies of comparable size from a variety of industries. This gives me a good group of people to discuss problems that are common to every growing business.

5/29/15       #3: Who do you call when you need a men ...
John S  Member

You might try your local business college or technical college. Those institutions generally like to hire instructors with real life business experience, I know I used to be one of them. They also like to get involved in local businesses; it's good for the students, good for the companies and good for the institution.

Of course I don't know if the specific schools around your area have the exact expertise you are looking for, but there's only one way to find out ... and asking is free!

5/29/15       #4: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Jim Conklin  Member

Website: http://www.jhconklin.net

What type of issues?

Depending, I would avoid academia, preferring those with success stories in the areas of your concerns - perhaps regardless of trade.

5/29/15       #5: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Pat Gilbert

You have the right idea, listen to people who are at your level.


View higher quality, full size image (591 X 589)

5/30/15       #7: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Mel

"There are people on this forum that have similar size and experience I feel to what I have, but who wants to air out their questions in public? And who wants to offer free advice of the nature I'm looking for?"

The answer to that is a lot of people. People love giving advice. I'm a professional airer outer of questions here, and I'm just some kid with a whole lot of questions. People here are really into what they do.

As for the "public" aspect--I hear you... it's why I'm anonymous here. And in terms of public feedback, once in a while you get unnecessary angry venom, but that's a drop in the ocean. People here are really into it, and most likely are facing similar problems to yours.

Of course get a private mentor if you can, but I must say that the folks here have yielded gold for me, and so far no question has been left unanswered.

Hope you find what you need!

5/30/15       #8: Who do you call when you need a men ...
D Brown

I would think that if the advice given by those who have helped you have lead to your greater success , even though your success is greater than theirs , they may still have solid advice for you.

The SBA has a group called SCORE
retired executives and such freely giving advice to business's.

5/30/15       #9: Who do you call when you need a men ...
same boat

I've been pondering the same thing....with 15 years in the industry, and over a decade of regularly looking on here I keep seeing a lot of history repeat itself in the posts. Don't get me wrong, I love this forum. It has helped propel my career much in the way it will probably propel mel's....

This year I decided to attend the Executive Business Conference that Stiles puts on. It was very good. Helped to maintain the perspective of business. One concept a presenter introduced was a "reverse mentor". The idea is that technology and processes are changing so fast, that having someone younger to bounce things off can help you identify opportunities you didn't know existed.

I've also been following the Entreleadership Podcasts, and The American Inventor (Paul Akers, Owner of FastCap). These have been helpful in forming perspective.

I also read alot. But nothing would take place of a one on one with a mentor.

I too am looking for something else.

5/30/15       #10: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Mel

Kay so I'm just going to go out on a limb and say it...

I think that what is often in the way of mutual learning is that people are, for some reason, a little aggressive with responses. I see this time and time again--some guy has some thing he is struggling with, posts it, and 15 people close to present it like he's an idiot for not knowing the answer to his question.

Not saying it's all the time and everyone, but I think that it's there enough to stop a lot of people that are more conservative from asking questions.

Maybe?

6/7/15       #11: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Jim E

There are a coupe of options out there that have worked for me. The first is a best practice group from AWI and the second is EO.
http://www.eonetwork.org
This is like Vistage but less expensive and is member lead instead of the huge commissions that Vistage leader get.

Good luck

6/9/15       #12: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Derrek

Website: http://closetdr.com

Years ago I went to a big city chamber event and they had small breakout sessions. I was looking at the time for help on things and met a business coach we worked together for about 5 years and I learned a ton of things from him. We still stay in touch today even though he is on to other things. I can't tell you where to find one, but a good one will be well worth it.
when I was smaller I did a lot of networking with people within my industry. At some point I cut that back a lot because I had outgrown those companies. I found I had to be working with people that had the same growth goals as I did. If your a million dollar company it doesnt work networking with a guy doing $400k or a guy doing 10 million.

7/21/15       #13: Who do you call when you need a men ...
Mark Newton  Member

Hi Calvin, I just started to work with SCOPE, a business mentoring function of the small business association. I'm sure you're already familliar with them but if not, they are a free service and mentors all have big business entrepreneurial backgrounds so might be worth a look. I hope thats not useless info for you but I wanted to offer my 10c worth. :-) Good luck.


Post a Response
  • Notify me of responses to this thread
  • Subscribe to email updates on this Forum
  • To receive email notification of additions to this forum thread,
    enter your name and email address, and then click the
    "Keep Me Posted" button below.

    Please Note: If you have posted a message or response,
    do not submit this request ... you are already signed up
    to receive notification!

    Your Name:
    E-Mail Address:
    Enter the correct numbers into the field below:
     

    Date of your Birth:



    Return to top of page

    Buy & Sell Exchanges | Forums | Galleries | Site Map

    FORUM GUIDELINES: Please review the guidelines below before posting at WOODWEB's Interactive Message Boards (return to top)

  • WOODWEB is a professional industrial woodworking site. Hobbyist and homeowner woodworking questions are inappropriate.
  • Messages should be kept reasonably short and on topic, relating to the focus of the forum. Responses should relate to the original question.
  • A valid email return address must be included with each message.
  • Advertising is inappropriate. The only exceptions are the Classified Ads Exchange, Machinery Exchange, Lumber Exchange, and Job Opportunities and Services Exchange. When posting listings in these areas, review the posting instructions carefully.
  • Subject lines may be edited for length and clarity.
  • "Cross posting" is not permitted. Choose the best forum for your question, and post your question at one forum only.
  • Messages requesting private responses will be removed - Forums are designed to provide information and assistance for all of our visitors. Private response requests are appropriate at WOODWEB's Exchanges and Job Opportunities and Services.
  • Messages that accuse businesses or individuals of alleged negative actions or behavior are inappropriate since WOODWEB is unable to verify or substantiate the claims.
  • Posts with the intent of soliciting answers to surveys are not appropriate. Contact WOODWEB for more information on initiating a survey.
  • Excessive forum participation by an individual upsets the balance of a healthy forum atmosphere. Individuals who excessively post responses containing marginal content will be considered repeat forum abusers.
  • Responses that initiate or support inappropriate and off-topic discussion of general politics detract from the professional woodworking focus of WOODWEB, and will be removed.
  • Participants are encouraged to use their real name when posting. Intentionally using another persons name is prohibited, and posts of this nature will be removed at WOODWEB's discretion.
  • Comments, questions, or criticisms regarding Forum policies should be directed to WOODWEB's Systems Administrator
    (return to top).

    Carefully review your message before clicking on the "Send Message" button - you will not be able to revise the message once it has been sent.

    You will be notified of responses to the message(s) you posted via email. Be sure to enter your email address correctly.

    WOODWEB's forums are a highly regarded resource for professional woodworkers. Messages and responses that are crafted in a professional and civil manner strengthen this resource. Messages that do not reflect a professional tone reduce the value of our forums.

    Messages are inappropriate when their content: is deemed libelous in nature or is based on rumor, fails to meet basic standards of decorum, contains blatant advertising or inappropriate emphasis on self promotion (return to top).

    Libel:   Posts which defame an individual or organization, or employ a tone which can be viewed as malicious in nature. Words, pictures, or cartoons which expose a person or organization to public hatred, shame, disgrace, or ridicule, or induce an ill opinion of a person or organization, are libelous.

    Improper Decorum:   Posts which are profane, inciting, disrespectful or uncivil in tone, or maliciously worded. This also includes the venting of unsubstantiated opinions. Such messages do little to illuminate a given topic, and often have the opposite effect. Constructive criticism is acceptable (return to top).

    Advertising:   The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not an advertising venue. Companies participating in a Forum discussion should provide specific answers to posted questions. WOODWEB suggests that businesses include an appropriately crafted signature in order to identify their company. A well meaning post that seems to be on-topic but contains a product reference may do your business more harm than good in the Forum environment. Forum users may perceive your references to specific products as unsolicited advertising (spam) and consciously avoid your web site or services. A well-crafted signature is an appropriate way to advertise your services that will not offend potential customers. Signatures should be limited to 4-6 lines, and may contain information that identifies the type of business you're in, your URL and email address (return to top).

    Repeated Forum Abuse: Forum participants who repeatedly fail to follow WOODWEB's Forum Guidelines may encounter difficulty when attempting to post messages.

    There are often situations when the original message asks for opinions: "What is the best widget for my type of shop?". To a certain extent, the person posting the message is responsible for including specific questions within the message. An open ended question (like the one above) invites responses that may read as sales pitches. WOODWEB suggests that companies responding to such a question provide detailed and substantive replies rather than responses that read as a one-sided product promotion. It has been WOODWEB's experience that substantive responses are held in higher regard by our readers (return to top).

    The staff of WOODWEB assume no responsibility for the accuracy, content, or outcome of any posting transmitted at WOODWEB's Message Boards. Participants should undertake the use of machinery, materials and methods discussed at WOODWEB's Message Boards after considerate evaluation, and at their own risk. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages it deems inappropriate. (return to top)


  • Forum Posting Help
    Your Name The name you enter in this field will be the name that appears with your post or response (return to form).
    Your Website Personal or business website links must point to the author's website. Inappropriate links will be removed without notice, and at WOODWEB's sole discretion. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    E-Mail Address Your e-mail address will not be publicly viewable. Forum participants will be able to contact you using a contact link (included with your post) that is substituted for your actual address. You must include a valid email address in this field. (return to form)
    Subject Subject may be edited for length and clarity. Subject lines should provide an indication of the content of your post. (return to form)
    Thread Related Link and Image Guidelines Thread Related Links posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should point to locations that provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related Link that directs visitors to an area with inappropriate content will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    Thread Related File Uploads Thread Related Files posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. Video Files: acceptable video formats are: .MOV .AVI .WMV .MPEG .MPG .MP4 (Image Upload Tips)   If you encounter any difficulty when uploading video files, E-mail WOODWEB for assistance. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related File that contains inappropriate content will be removed, and uploaded files that are not directly related to the message thread will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links, files, or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)