How to find a great mentor or coach

In previous posts, I've mentioned the blogger Mike Michalowicz, otherwise known as "The Toiletpaper Entrepreneur" and more specifically his blog which you can find at http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/index.php

He posed a good question recently which I have written a contribution for. The question being - how do you find a great mentor to help you in your business? Perhaps more specifically, Mike asked - "while people who carry the title guru, coach, mentor, etc. seem to be a dime a
dozen....So the question is how do you find the truly extraordinary one to direct you?".

Good questions eh?

My quick thoughts on this are:

1. You need to have at least some sense of your short and longer term goals and sticking points. Ask yourself - do you know what they are? If not - then that is where to start. This informs what kind of coach or mentor you need, and what to work on. Revisit this question and recognise your needs will change over time.

2. You need to decide what kind of mentoring or coaching arrangement you want. One-off, for a specific problem, or ongoing, as a sounding board. You might benefit from spending time with different people at different times. This is easy: mentors can be found on mp3 tracks, DVDs, in books, and in person, over lunch.

3. Often, on reflection, you will realise there is someone suitable in your immediate network. Do not be afraid to approach and ask for their help. But be committed to be totally honest, open to new ideas, and time sensitive. Their reward is often simply seeing you grow. Their time is precious; use it wisely, and find ways to give back something.