Mentors For A New Career

Want to start a new career? A new business? We have the ready mentors for you. With real world advice.

It’s been a wild economic ride for years now.  Or just a grind for many, just hanging on, hanging in.  Maybe you’ve dreamed of throwing over the plod of a dull career.

Maybe you’ve been thrown.  Pushed by dreams or necessity into starting something new.  A new career, a new line of work.  A new coffee shop, or hair salon, or organic farm, or app factory.  What’s it really take to make a go of it?  The nitty-gritty requirements?

Most people don’t know.  But you can ask.  Find a mentor in the biz.  Get a leg up.

This hour, On Point:  What it really takes to chase that new dream, make that change.
- Tom Ashbrook

Brian Kurth, founder & CEO of Pivot Planet and Pivot Enterprise, two online services that match mentors in different fields with people looking to start a new career in those fields. (@briankurth7)

Kathy Krepcio, executive director of the Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. (@krepcio)

Duncan Goodall, a PivotPlanet mentor and owner of Koffee on Audubon, a coffee shop in New Haven Connecticut.

Melissa Owen, co-owner with her husband Gerry of the Fourteen-Eighteen Coffee House.  They were mentored by Duncan Goodall via PivotPlanet. Former operating room nurse.

Samantha Swaim, a PivotPlanet mentor and head of her own event planning and charity fundraising firm, Samantha Swaim Fundraising.

The New York Times: Taste-Testing a Second Career, With a Mentor -- "PivotPlanet lists mentors in about 200 fields, from acupuncturist to pet therapist to television host. Want to be a meteorologist? Paul Cousins of Portland, Me., will Skype you some advice for $84 an hour. Want to be a winemaker? The site lists four mentors. Interested in becoming a 'tiny home builder'? Brad Kittel, in Luling, Tex., will show you how."

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Things to consider before changing careers -- "Before changing careers, it's best to sit down and honestly assess what is motivating your potential move. If you harbor a strong desire to pursue a passion and make it your career, then changing careers is probably something you must do. But if you are changing careers because you feel slighted by a current employer or you feel like changing for the sake of change, then you might want to reconsider."

Forbes: How To Reinvent Yourself Into A New Career -- "Changing careers and reinventing yourself isn’t easy – particularly when you’re passionate about a new field with no clearly-defined point of entry. But as Yost’s experience shows, being clear about your goals and steadily moving forward on your plan can get you there. How are you reinventing yourself?"