I have been lucky enough to have had great mentors throughout my career. With their guidance and support, I was able to navigate business situations I would have otherwise been blind to. They provided me with the knowledge to become a better leader. To this day I can call on any of them to help me frame thinking, and provide me with perspectives I may not have otherwise considered.
One thing you quickly realize with starting a business is that you don't know everything. You will face professional challenges that you had not even considered. A mentor is one of the most effective ways to navigate these uncharted waters.
One of the people that has done this for me is Shai Gold, who currently serves as a Senior VP at MDAbroad. I will often meet with Shai to share some hummus and discuss new business opportunities or unique client situations. He is always there to point out threats that I may not have considered. Having worked extensively in international markets he is able to provide me advice as I grow and expand the company. We are both salesmen at heart and he always provides interesting strategic advice to further monetize our offering. I am truly grateful to have him in my life and respect his opinion and advice.
I have also been fortunate enough to act as a mentor for a new entrepreneur starting on his business journey. I met Kareem last year at a networking event in Miami. We ended up speaking at length about the mentorship community that he wanted to start. We started meeting every week to discuss his business. I found it very fulfilling to be able to help Kareem in the way others had done for me. We have talked about forming his LLC, banking options, partnership agreements, and marketing strategy. He genuinely values my advice and often calls when he needs a second opinion on an idea.
For my next blog, I will be doing another customer spotlight on Kareem's business. He has started an exclusive leadership community called Knowin', that provides online experts to help people succeed.