My training as a new police officer included a part called field training. During that part of the training, a new officer fresh out of the academy is paired up with a veteran police officer. The purpose behind the pairing is that the new officer can learn from the more experienced officer, so he does not make the same mistakes a lot of rookie officers do. In business, even for business owners, the same holds true. For a business owner, finding a mentor is important to help you grow and learn.
The National Association for The Self-Employed is actually a mentor to many business owners. When a new business owner clicks on their website, there are many resources that they can tap into and learn from, including their blog page, which has a ton of information that can help a business owner grow. See, as a police officer, there was a lot I was taught in the academy, and then there was what the seasoned cops taught us on the street. The NASE can teach you a lot of valuable insight to help you grow your business, but you may still need that mentor to help you navigate the land mines of business that you will come across.
For example, an older person starting a new business may not understand how using Instagram or LinkedIn could help him grow his business. He may not understand that tweeting has become extremely important and Facebook is for more than just family and friends. There are many potential customers that the new business owner may be missing out on. A business owner who has been in business for a while may show him how he can outsource people to tweet on his Twitter and write compelling articles for his blog, all of which can help the business owner get known in his space.
Grant Cardone is known for his motivational speaking sessions on real estate investing, leadership, entrepreneurship, social media, and finance. Cardone's companies generate over 100 million annually, and his famous quote is, "The weak compete, the strong dominate." Part of being strong for Cardone is learning how to use social media, much like a brand-new business owner must learn to do. Having a mentor who knows how to dominate social media is crucial for someone who has never done it.
In today's society, it sometimes seems as if business owners are afraid to help each other grow because they think there is not enough business out there for all of them. However, take some time to find yourself a mentor to help you grow your business. You decided to become a business owner, and when you did, you did not do it for it to fail, you wanted it to succeed. Of course, there will be bumps along the road, but at the end of the day if a person has already done what you are getting ready to do, they can show you how to navigate the obstacles on your journey.