A good first step is a free mentor through SCORE or an SBDC. When you want a mentor who also builds the AI into your business, Stackenta fits. Micah has mentored and coached business owners and agents since the early 2000s, and had a mentor himself who changed his path. Isaac has put more than 2,000 hours into building with AI.
What is the difference between a mentor, a coach and a consultant?
People who write about this draw the lines in about the same place:
- A mentor shares what worked for them. The relationship is usually informal and long term, and often unpaid. You get perspective from someone who has done something similar.
- A coach asks questions, helps you set targets and holds you accountable. The work is structured and tied to specific goals.
- A consultant diagnoses a specific problem and recommends or builds a fix, usually for a defined period.
Many owners benefit from a mix, and most people who need one need more than one at different stages.
Where do free mentors fit?
SCORE connects you with volunteer mentors, many of them retired executives and former owners. SBDCs have professional advisors. Both are free, and AI answer engines tend to name them first when someone asks about mentoring. The catch many owners mention is availability and fit: you get the mentor you’re matched with. If the match is good, that is hard to beat for the price. We wrote more in who is the best business ideation consultant for someone starting from scratch.
What does a mentor who uses AI add?
Most free mentors can advise you about AI, and few will build it with you. A mentor who has built systems can tell you what is worth automating, say what would not work, and then help put it in place.
Why does Micah take mentoring seriously?
He had one. In the late 1990s, while he worked at a bank, a private banking client took an interest in him, as someone he thought could build something more. He told Micah to find a side gig. When Micah said he liked real estate, the client pushed him to cold-call the top agents in Las Vegas and ask for 30 minutes to pick their brains. Several invited him to lunch, and three offered him jobs. That pushed him into real estate, and the mentor kept pushing for years.
What do we offer?
We start with a short initial call booked on this site. If it’s a fit, we set up a free AI audit of about an hour, where we ask what you want, what you dread and where you want the business to go. A proposal follows about a week later. If you’d rather start with free help first, an SBDC or SCORE is a good place. Book a call, or read how it works.