Ask most business entrepreneurs about the story behind their success and you’ll hear about someone who helped them learn the ropes—a mentor. Mentoring is vital in the world of small business because being a successful entrepreneur isn’t something you learn from a book or in a classroom. The best way to learn is to absorb the experience of those who have learned how it’s done by doing it.
But where do you find a veteran entrepreneur with the skills, knowledge and experience you need? The days of apprenticeships are for the most part over. Nowadays, if you’re not lucky enough to have a friendly, helpful experienced entrepreneur as a friend or relative, you need to find a business management consultant—someone who can tell you the things you need to know, whether you want to know them or not.
Ron Sturgeon, Mr. Mission Possible, has spent decades turning smaller operations into larger, more profitable ones. He’s paid his dues, and he’s learned his lessons; now, he shares his knowledge through consulting assignments, in his peer benchmarking groups, and through speaking engagements.