Mentoring at light speed

Over the past year an electronic small business mentor programme has undertaken a number of projects. One such project has included a mentor based in New Zealand who has been mentoring a small business owner based in China. This project had its roots in an international small business newsgroup. A newsgroup is a collection of like minded individuals who network and share information, ideas, and provide assistance through the facility of E Mail. Although mentoring over the internet, and specifically through the use of E Mail is not new, it is still in its infancy, and so far appears to be confined to easy question and answer type situations, school based mentoring programmes, or real time chat sessions. This short article is intended to illustrate, how business mentoring does not necessarily need to be undertaken through personal face to face interaction but can be quite successfully completed through personal E Mail communication. One of the main benefits that comes from E Mail mentoring is the absence of any interpersonal bias that may emerge due to body language and/or the personal appearance of either the mentor or the protege.