Small business owners have always had it tough when it came to finding mentoring help, but now several online alternatives are giving them access to tap into the experience and expertise of successful business people. 

A growing number of web sites, many of them currently for free, allow prospective mentors and proteges to easily find each other.  Each party creates a profile which outlines either the skill sets offered, or the expertise needed.  This approach allows entrepreneurs to tap into a training and mentoring network that previously was unavailable to them.

Once a match is made, both parties usually meet by telephone, and then share issues either through email, text messaging, or telephone.  This process has the benefit of being a time saver, and it forces clarity of thought as it requires mentees to lay out their issues in a concise and organized fashion.

On the downside, miscommunication could occur when the entire discussion occurs without face-to-face contact.  Also, it may not be necessarily safe to reveal information about business plans to someone you have never met.  However, for basic issues and fundamental training, it can still have positive results.

Some resources to check out (Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2008) include:

• MicroMentor.org
• IMantri.com
• GoBigNetwork.com
• IdeaCrossing.org

If you work for a medium to large size organization and mentoring is not available to you there, this might be an alternative for you as well.