Everyone Has Questions

Here Are Answers to Our Most Asked

FAQ’s

Mentors

Who are the mentors?

The main mentors are those on the EntreDot Team along with numerous other volunteers who are highly qualified business professionals.

What is a qualified mentor?

Mentors are very experienced business professionals who have had considerable business experience in the corporate world and the world of small businesses. They have a wide variety of experiences in many business disciplines, are well connected in the business world and all have the demeanor of a mentor.

How do I engage an EntreDot mentor?

Simply click on one of the Contact Us or Meet Your Executive Mentor links, and you will be contacted by an EntreDot mentor to setup up an appointment. Or, simply request an appointment from the EntreDot website.

How much time will I have with a mentor if I join this program?

Our one-on-one mentoring programs all have one-hour sessions, meeting weekly or bi-weekly. Our group programs include 2-hours per week of mentoring, plus document review time, for the duration of the program.

Can I get a mentor if I have already started developing a business plan?

Yes. We will simply determine how much you have accomplished and continue in the planning process starting with what you already know about your business.

What if I don’t like my mentor?

Although that is very rare, we of course will make the changes that are necessary to meet our commitments to the entrepreneur.

What if my mentor cannot continue for whatever reason?

Of course, we will find a great replacement and provide for a transition period at no cost to the entrepreneur.

What if I cannot continue for a short period of time. Can I resume later?

Yes, you can. We always make accommodations for unforeseen life events that interrupt the mentoring process.

Can I be a mentor?

Programs

What are the qualifications for the programs?

Entrepreneurs simply make contact with EntreDot and get an appointment for an interview. During the interview you will be asked questions that determine your interest in starting and operating a business, your readiness to get started, your family support system, and your readiness to spend the time necessary to participate in the program.

How do I know which program is right for me?

Based on your business objectives and on the maturity of your business idea, coupled with an understanding of the business progress you have made so far, we can easily place you in the right programs to move you forward in creating a good business.

Mentoring Process

What is the purpose of the mentoring process?

Our process is designed to provide a logical stepwise refinement of a business idea into a business plan, followed by a successful launch, and then into an operating business. At each step along the way decisions are made as to how and when to proceed to the next step. Each step is built on the work done in all previous steps so that a well-founded plan is built. In this way, the entrepreneur has dealt with all the major business disciplines necessary to actually operate a business.

What are the times for the 10-Week program?

At this point, these programs run in the early evening between 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm. We will have some programs that will run during the daytime hours.

How are One-on-One mentoring times determined?

As part of the registration process, a fixed mentoring time will be established for the week and will be repeated at that time in all subsequent weeks.

Will I be able to start a business right after the 10-Week program?

That is not likely. Although you will learn all of what is necessary to start a business, you will have many more weeks to go in order to actually accomplish it since you will probably have to also develop your product or service, create the marketing and sales plan, hire people, complete your management team, get financing, and more.

Can I have a mentor once the 10-Week program ends?

That is usually what we do. Once the 10-Week program is over, the entrepreneur usually engages in the One-on-One program in order to continue the work needed to get a business launched and operational

How do you provide the online access to mentors?

We use Zoom and we find it one of the easiest online collaboration platforms. We perform both our group sessions as well as one-on-one mentoring

Referrals

Will you help me find and accountant and attorney?

We will refer you to these professionals, as well as others, that we have worked with in the past. If we don’t know one in your area, we will work with you to identify possible candidates.

Do you make introduction to other business professionals?

We have an extensive base of contacts as well as social media outreach. We usually can easily find others to advise entrepreneurs on most business issues including contacts for professional services.

Costs

What does this cost?

We are a nonprofit organization, so our pricing is done on a sliding scale based on financial need. As a nonprofit organization, we charge a very small fee that helps sustain our operations.

What is the minimum cost?

Once you have engaged with EntreDot and your interest in our programs is established, we will work with you to determine the cost for how you will proceed through our programs. The costs will be a very small part of your business operating expenses

How will you determine the cost for me?

We base the cost on the entrepreneur’s financial need. We simply ask a few questions about their financial position and use a sliding scale algorithm to determine the cost that is right for them.

What if I cannot afford it?

Starting a business does require you to have some money to get it started. There are numerous startup costs that will have to be dealt with and for some businesses they can be quite expensive. If you cannot afford EntreDot’s nominal fee, you may be in a position of not having enough to start a business either.

Social Media

Do you reach out over social media channels?

We have active accounts and landing pages for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. We are also active on Google. We actively engage with people who we come in contact with and encourage others to join us as well as we post interesting information on these channels.

Do you post on social media channels?

We are active in posting out on other news feeds and blog posts, expressing our interest and support.

Do you have a Blog?

We have been writing blogs since 2013 and many of them are still available on our website. We continue to write blog articles that we hope are helpful to entrepreneurs who are starting and operating a business.

Can I be a guest blogger on your site?

Yes. We welcome qualified guest bloggers. Just contact us and we can work out a way for you to do this.

Administration

Do you ensure confidentiality?

Yes, we do. The very basis of trust we have in one another is the foundation of how we relate to the entrepreneurs we help. We also will consider signing confidentiality agreements on a very focused basis.

Will I have to sign a registration agreement?

We do have a very simple registration agreement that spells out the services you will be receiving.

How do we pay EntreDot?

We offer an online payment facility by funds transfer from your bank account. We do offer PayPal as well, and you can simply write a check and mail it do us. We do not take credit cards for obvious reasons.

Will I get an invoice?

By the agreement we have with the entrepreneur, we send out invoices three days before the end of the month to be paid on the first of the next month.

Meet Your Executive Mentor

Thank you for taking a look around. If you’re an entrepreneur who is:

Wanting to start a business,
Looking to grow your business or
Creating a nonprofit organization.

We’d love to speak with you about your business objectives and challenges and see if we can help you meet them.