What are the pros and cons of mentorship? Is it possible to be mentored by someone that’s younger than you – someone who hasn’t been in the business as many years as you?  

What are the pros of being mentored?

• Mentorship can strengthen your business.
• You learn from another person’s experience.
• It can change your perspective and outlook on your business.
• It is amazing to have a person who you can share ideas with.
• It increases your motivation to get things done – and energizes you!

What are the cons?

• It can be expensive to pay for an expert.
• Selecting the wrong mentor who does not share your vision.
• Not being viewed as an equal.
• Confidentiality could be broken.

Traditionally, mentorship happens when you are guided by someone older than you. I began my working life before computers were on our desks, and learned accounting on the green grid pad. So, when it comes to learning more about technology, an area I needed help with, doesn’t it make sense, then, to reach out to someone who’s always had technology in their life?

Enter my mentor and friend, Matthew Fulton, one of the partners at Parkway Business Solutions. We met virtually because he was bold enough to reach out to me privately on the Intuit® community forum. Matthew wears the title of “geek” proudly. If I’m stuck on something that just isn’t working or if I think there’s an app out there that I can use that may make my life easier, I give Matthew a quick call. He jumps right in. True mentorship. He doesn’t just fix it for me; he explains to me how it works until I get it.

“As an entrepreneur, I feel fortunate to live during a time where it possible to connect with other like minded people who are willing to share their experiences with others,” said Matthew. “When a person takes the time to truly listen to the life experiences of a person willing to share, they gain valuable wisdom from their successes and their failures.”

It seems like we have developed more of a mentorship-partnership – and it is a mentorship that works both ways. We draw from different strengths, feed off each other and exchange ideas. We also can very easily tell each other, “No, don’t do that!” and say the words respectfully.

My other mentorship is with Seth David of Nerd Enterprises. Seth is incredibly talented and focused. He is a driven man who is also caring and giving. For years, I have followed him on YouTube learning from his industry specific workflows, application reviews, and time saving tips and tricks, and recently joined his 97 & Up Accounting & Business Academy group and was amazed at all of the content he was openly sharing with the group.

“When I created 97 & Up, The Accounting Business Academy, I had an idea,” said Seth. “Books had been written in our industry that many people still read and referred to, even though they were 20 years old. While the fundamentals of accounting never change, the landscape has changed dramatically.

“I wanted to build an epic outline for how to run and grow an accounting firm in this day and age. I couldn’t do that unless I was actually experiencing it myself. So I wrote the outline for myself, and then I began sharing it with others as I implemented it.”

The best part of having a mentor like Seth is that nothing is off topic with him. Whether it is one of his group Zoom sessions or a private one-on-one session, you can share your thoughts and ask him anything you may be struggling with.

So, yes, I am being mentored by a Geek and a Nerd. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

First published on Intuit QuickBooks Online Firm of the Future https://www.firmofthefuture.com/authors/lynda-artesani/

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