Fort Worth Author and Entrepreneur Ron Sturgeon
Starting Business Mentoring Program
February 2, 2009 – Fort Worth, TX – Most small business owners struggle to handle the day-to-day issues that arise in their businesses. They take care of their customers but they don’t have much time left over for strategic business planning. “Most small business owners have some ideas about what to do to cope with this recession, but they have not scrutinized the ideas and set clear strategic priorities,” said Mr. Mission Possible, Fort Worth-based entrepreneur and author of Salving Millions from Your Small Business.
In 1989 when Sturgeon was owner of a salvage yard, he joined a peer mentoring group. “Being a part of that group gave me a tremendous advantage over the competition because I had a dozen people with years of business experience helping me develop plans to lower my costs and expand my business,” said Sturgeon.
The business mentoring groups will be made up of 8-10 small business owners. Each member of the group will prepare by writing out the major business initiatives they are planning this year.
At the session, group members will refine the initiatives, share experiences of similar undertakings, and use a strategic planning tool to prioritize the initiatives. “Business owners who participate in our new business mentoring program will leave the one day session knowing exactly which plans to undertake and why,” said Sturgeon.
“In most of these peer mentoring meetings, the owners of other businesses have tried something similar to what is being considered,” stated the longtime Fort Worth-based entrepreneur. “The advice they share can be the difference between success and failure for a business building initiative.”
Paula Merrell owner of the Chef Point Cafe, a six-year-old gourmet restaurant in Fort Worth, participated in a pilot peer mentoring program with Mr. Mission Possible early last year. Her business grew 200% in 2008, and it has continued to grow in the current economic downturn. “Ron did a remarkable job helping me set the right priorities and focus on the high value initiatives to grow our restaurant,” said Merrell.
The cost of the sessions is $650 per participant, a cost, Sturgeon notes, that is much lower than hiring a small business consultant for a day.
Entrepreneurs interested in joining with non-competitive businesses to evaluate and refine key strategic initiatives can e-mail Ron Sturgeon at rons@mrmissionpossible.com or call him at 817.834.3625, ext. 8#. These peer mentoring groups are open to business owners in service businesses of all kinds that need small business help.
Mr. Mission Possible (http://www.mrmissionposssible.com) is the online home of business consultant Ron Sturgeon. With more than 30 years of successful business building, Ron is a frequently requested keynote speaker and sought after small business consultant, mentor and leader of strategic business planning groups. The firm is headquartered at 5940 Eden in Fort Worth, TX. Contact Ron at 817.834.3625 ext.8# or by e-mail at rons@mrmissionpossible.com.
###