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There are few experiences more rewarding than teaching what you know to someone else. The mentor-protege relationship is perhaps the ultimate teaching experience: a one-on-one transfer of accumulated knowledge and wisdom designed to benefit both parties involved.

Proteges are a common occurrence in the business world today. Experienced people in every industry often decide to “adopt” a protege-whether the arrangement is through a formal mentoring program, or an informal mutual decision to take a new employee “under your wing” and show him the ropes. The reasons to enter into a mentor-protege relationship are many, but the most common is when the protege candidate shows promise from the start.

Mentor-protege relationships can be either formal or informal. Informal mentoring relationships often develop on their own, with the more experienced person offering advice and assistance and the newcomer taking that advice to heart. Many organizations have formal mentoring programs, which can be either within the company or within the industry. For example, the Small Business Administration runs a mentoring program where retired business executives dedicate their time to developing proteges.

College interns also figure into the equation. Though proteges are not always interns, the relationships are virtually the same, while the reasoning may be different. But whether you work with a protege or a college intern, becoming a mentor can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your professional life.

A Brief History of Mentoring

The actual origins of the mentoring process are unknown. However, the word “mentor” is derived from Homer’s Odyssey. The original “Mentor” was an older man who served as an advisor to the king. Unfortunately Mentor was rather ineffectual in his advice. However, the term in this context refers to the goddess Athena, who took on the form of Mentor to advise a younger man in the art of war.

There have been many famous mentor-protege pairs throughout history. One of the earliest and most well-known was Paul of Tarsus and Timothy, a first-century Christian bishop. Minister, activist, and Morehouse college president Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays served as a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; and the poet Ezra Pound guided a fledgling T.S. Eliot through his literary career.

Most recently, the protege concept has been illustrated through billionaire Donald Trump’s reality television show The Apprentice, where young men and women compete for the opportunity to claim Trump as their business mentor. Learning a trade or an industry from someone with more experience has been a consistent occurrence throughout history, and it is still a viable and successful approach.

You don’t have to be Ezra Pound or Donald Trump to offer something worthwhile to a protege. If you’ve had experience in a business or industry, you can benefit someone new to your field and have the pleasure of watching a new talent unfold.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.—Mother Teresa

Phil de Fontenay
http://www.articlesbase.com/coaching-articles/mentoring-a-protege-a-rewarding-experience-63132.html

I am so serious to build my own business. I don't mind using the hard way.

Well, hopefully buddy you won't have to do it the hard way, but go to the SBA website and look for SCORE they provide advisors and mentors for free.

But the best bet for getting a mentor is just go to a business owner in the business that you like and just ask them, trust me it works

There are many people who are opting out of the employment workforce and creating their own home business opportunity. Maybe you are thinking of joining them but you’re not sure how to find one that is legitimate, profitable and not too difficult to begin with.

If you read the newspapers and search the internet you will overwhelmed with the possibilities of making money through a home business opportunity. You’ve seen them; network marketing (MLM), online auctions, data entries, paid surveys, affiliate programs to name just a few. So, let’s just have a quick look at some of them.

Paid Surveys:

This is where you sign up on a website which will give you links to companies that pay for completed surveys. Every year, companies spend billions of dollars to find out what the consumer thinks of their product. This helps them to make improvements and saves them wasting money. It is a good idea to register with as many companies as you can to increase your chance of being chosen for the surveys. When you complete and return the surveys sent to your email, the company will pay you monthly, either with checks or points that can be used at stores. So, by sitting at your computer and answering questions, you’re involved in a home business opportunity!

Independent Travel Agency:

Do you enjoy travel? This home business opportunity gives you a way to earn that extra cash through being trained as a home-based independent travel agent. Usually you are given support and mentoring during the learning process as well as some travel perks. You can find out more by going online.

Online Auctions:

This home business opportunity allows you to sell and buy services and merchandise online. You’ve already heard of eBay and Yahoo! Auctions which offer you a way to advertise your product all over the world. Some people have even gone the next step and are trading at auctions.

Affiliate Programs:

If you already have a web-site you can drive traffic to other relevant sites, and these businesses will pay you for finding them customers. The ‘how-to’ requires knowledge which may mean some money spent on initial learning. Again, if you go online you can find out more about this home business opportunity.

Data Entries:

Can you type well and enter data into a computer? Do enjoy working with details? Then this home business opportunity may be for you. All you will need is a computer, necessary basic software, and an internet connection. Tasks may include typing, proofreading, editing, and updating information for various businesses. Data entry work could be in the areas of medical and law.

Network marketing (MLM):

Basically, network marketing is when you recruit other people to sell products and you get paid based on what they sell. We all know Avon, Tupperware and Amway but these days there are hundreds of different organizations to choose from where you can do business without leaving home. This is due to the internet. You will need to spend time researching suitable and reputable businesses, and gaining knowledge about the best methods of marketing to make this home business opportunity a success.

The above are just a sample of what’s out there for a home business opportunity. Here’s hoping that you find that specific one which will suit you and enable you to enjoy the lifestyle of so many others who work from home.

Summary:

There are hundreds of home business opportunities for those wanting to enjoy the benefits of working from home. It can be overwhelming to know where to start but there are a few that may motivate you to begin your journey for a new lifestyle.

Brooke Hayles
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/home-business-opportunity-an-overview-of-the-different-options-you-can-choose-from-59991.html

I need a source for assessments for businesses or manufacturing that I can add to a business web site for mentoring people also assessments for personal growth that would not charge a fee to add them to my web site. Thanks for any help.

www.forms.com or www.bravenet.com they have some good ones there. FREE !

A home business is probably the easiest to set up and get going quickly. All you need is a few basic things such as a telephone, a room set aside, a computer, an Internet connection and you are ready to go. Of course you need to know what your business will be and you usually have to get a permit from the city even though it’s in your home. But did you know that most home - based businesses fail? They take the smallest amount of startup capital yet they have a high failure rate. One big reason why most home business owners fail is because there was a lack of adequate market analysis for their product or service. Let’s face it. If there is no customer demand then there will be no sales. Just because you do something well as a hobby does not necessarily mean it will do well in the consumer market. Artists of paintings go through this all the time. Let’s say you are a welder and make really nice iron art. It may be beautiful art but without the demand you will not be successful and your home business will probably fail.

The other reason why many home business owners fail is because they don’t have a plan for their business. They have no business model. You have to identify your market, your market analysis and how you will go about getting financing and carrying out business operations. You need to have a strategy for penetrating the market and how to maintain a profitable level of sales once you are there.

You will increase your chances of succeeding if as a home business owner if you have a mentor or someone who can give you helpful advice while you are getting started and in the early stages of operation. Not everyone has this luxury. You certainly would not want to seek mentoring assistance from a direct competitor. Checking Internet blogs and reading stories of what other home business owners have been through is good too. But scrutinize Internet advice and make sure that more than one source is giving the same type of advice.

Home businesses also fail because they run out of money or never had much to begin with. If you are having cash flow problems then you may need to diversify your products and services a little. Some people are good at two or three skills and can try to get business in another line. You want to make sure that you have enough activities going on that will have quick cash turnover because that is what will fund ongoing activities plus buy your groceries. You don’t want to take on too many large projects where payouts of cash will not happen for a few weeks because you will find yourself running out of money.

There are many more reasons why most home business owners fail. For some it is just a lack of discipline. It is easy to think that if you work from home that you can take an hour here and an hour there and still get something done. This is not true. Others fail to take any time off and end up getting burned out with then it becomes no fun and fails because of lack of drive on the part of the owner. And still other owners fail to take care of their own training and skills and keep up to date. This is especially true in technology fields where the small business owner must constantly stay on top of what is new.

Remember, if you are a home business owner, then it is up to you to watch out for these factors that cause failures. It is up to you to take care of yourself when it comes to rest and relaxation. It is up to you keep your education ongoing.

Terence Young
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/why-most-home-business-owners-fail-79834.html

I have started a small business which provides consulting services to pharmaceutical companies and I want to be able to secure independent contracts with these companies and to employ other consultants. I would like to get in touch with a mentor who can help guide me on the right path.

1. Start with your contacts in the pharmaceutical industry. Do you know of anyone enjoying a top position in the pharmaceutical business who is willing to guide you and open doors for you? The more clout your business mentor has, the better for you.

2. Now is the time to network aggressively. Is there an organization you can join where players in your field are present as well? Participate actively, contribute to committee work and just basically talk to others in the group and you might find someone to mentor you.

3. Check out SCORE http://www.score.org which is an organization of mostly retired business people and entrepreneurs. Their main work is to provide advice, and you might just be able to find someone knowledgeable of your industry

There are many different kinds of businesses that small business owners run from their homes. Some people just prefer to work out of their homes while others do this out of necessity. Whatever the reason, the best home based business for each person is as different as the people that run them. We will examine what it takes to make your business the best one for you.

All of the business books that one can read generally suggest that once your basic needs are met, employees and owners look for something more rewarding in their lives. Meeting your basic needs means that your income is sufficient to provide shelter, food on the table and provide for clothing for yourself and your family. Once you have met this goal, other drivers kick in such as travel, nicer surroundings and many of the consumer type material items that many of us crave. Next comes self satisfaction which we can achieve in many different ways. These come from work activities as well as personal activities that we may become involved in.

Your home business needs to provide you with all of these basic items as well as the higher levels of reward and satisfaction to become truly the best home based business. Since many people find different things that provide them with these levels of satisfaction, we will generalize to some extent. Our readers will need to examine there personal situations and in particular those things that they derive satisfaction from. They will be different for every individual.

Success is derived from many different avenues in a home based business. Just getting started and turning something that was a concept into reality can be extremely rewarding. Expanding this business into an entity that will grow and mature is akin to raising children and many entrepreneurs also derive satisfaction from this aspect as well. Still other people will enjoy mentoring the people that work for them watching them grow in skills and personality while they increase their contribution to the organization.

For many people, money is certainly one of the significant drivers, however satisfied customers, compliments from your customers, artistic satisfaction and many other adjectives can describe the level of satisfaction that you are looking for. We recommend to our readers to take a few moments to examine those items that are truly important to them and use these criteria to develop your strategy for your home business. Before you know it your business will be the best home business for you and your colleagues and family!

Elias
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/what-is-the-best-home-based-business-59422.html