I’ve had a spate of bad mentors after a good one initially who then disappeared. They seem to be patrolling all the business descriptions to look for someone they can use.
The last person was weirdly obsessed with my disability and wanted me to create write-ups on this as busywork when I’m busy actually running my business. He was obsessed with social media brownie points for showing himself helping disabled people. He did not provide any meaningful help to me though.
For the most recent person, I’m getting the vibe that he’s trying to get in on my business. (I’ve had this happen before.) I have to be cautious about theft of my proprietary materials. This dude seems desperate for work rather than someone who wants to actually mentor as a retired executive (which is what SCORE is supposed to be).
I tried it briefly but it didn’t seem terribly useful when I was first starting out. Now my sounding boards are my entrepreneurial brothers, my old employers, and a couple clients that I get along very well with.
My big issue with SCORE is that it usually feels like I’m talking to someone who no longer has skin in the game. My brothers and I understand each other while also staying in the trenches day to day.