Last week I compared a list of entrepreneurial attributes to world-class sports personalities. While different women exemplified different aspects to the entrepreneurial spirit, they all have one thing in common: They utilize coaches. Without a coach to dole out advice, to provide support and counseling, and to help steer careers, many more top athletes might end up face-first in the snow and ice.

The athlete's coach is similar to the business owner's mentor, because the mentor hopefully will offer the same advice, support, and mistake-avoidance expertise that the coach provides. In fact, there's little difference between the two. But, do you really need a mentor as you enter the business world on your own or even when you're halfway to the goal line? Pros and cons to the acquisition of a mentor exist, and the work to acquire a person to mentor any woman is a bit difficult as well.

Men definitely have an advantage in this arena, as they more or less created our business world and they know that mentors are valuable and, in some cases, detrimental. As more and more women become entrepreneurs, the better the chances that you might find a mentor who might be willing to share her experiences and help you avoid mistakes. While the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau is in the process of establishing a multi-regional demonstration project that includes mentoring relationships between women business owners and corporate executives, entrepreneurial mentorship for women is a tougher situation.

While I don't have all the answers about whether you should seek a mentor or not, I do know that there are certain things that you might look for, ask about, or expect from this effort. First, you don't need to like the mentor like you would a close friend - but, it helps if you admire them and want to emulate their business demeanor and success. Trust is a huge factor in this relationship, as you must be able to talk about your business matters and believe that the mentor's answers to your situations are reliable.

Trust in a mentor develops when you can see that this person truly believes in her product or service, when she maintains confidence in her own abilities, and if she holds a capacity to evolve and change as opportunities present themselves. The only way you can learn whether the mentor has these attributes is if you've watched her. The question arises here is, "Where do I find such a person to watch, and won't I get arrested for watching her?"

To avoid being pegged as a stalker, you could meet a future mentor at business meetings such as a local Chamber of Commerce affair. If you find a local woman who is willing to take you on as a mentoree or prot?g?, then this could be to your advantage, as local business people know and understand local business. If you want to branch out and find a mentor who is nationally based, you may broaden your selection pool but, ironically, it may also take you longer to find someone to help you. On a national basis, The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is the only organization in the United States that focuses solely on educating and empowering women who own businesses, but you could find a person in another town or state who runs a similar business, or who carries the same philosophy about business as you as well.

And, while I use the gender-specific "she" when I talk about mentors, you don't need to stick to a woman as a mentor. However, men and women are different (now, that's an understatement), and a man may not understand your desire to use your intuition in your business decisions. Men, however, could open some doors that are shut to many women, and that could be to your advantage. Also, while mentorship is not a one-way relationship, don't fall into the trap where your male (or female) mentor asks for or expects anything other than a reciprocal exchange of information or social networking.

On that note, one choice is to mix it up and include both male and female mentors for different strategies. In fact, this approach - if you intend to utilize mentors at all - offers the possibility of wider social and business networks for your business. The mentoring could be divvied up among several people, and the variety helps to eliminate the need to find that "perfect" person for the job.

If you do find a person who seems to fit your expectations and that person refuses to mentor you, don't take that rejection personally. If you asked them to mentor you, you can also ask why he or she has declined to assist you. You might discover that personal problems, a large family, or any other issue kept the mentor from giving time and energy to you. Alternately, it helps to remember that business people often seek people to mentor, as mentorship is often seen as a benefit. It helps when you become successful, because that success reflects positively on your mentor.

A number of great articles about women and mentorship exist on the Internet, and I would suggest that you take time to peruse them because I can't cover all the pros and cons about mentorship here. But, I will say that you don't always need a mentor to become a successful entrepreneur. If you're a social animal, you can spend many hours with business comrades at Chamber meetings or at other business functions. I'll spend more time on the value of networking next week, when I explore whether introverts make good business owners.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin