by Brad | Jun 20, 2017 | Staffords in South Africa
In my business career, I’ve been blessed to have reliable mentors to help me manage challenges and difficulties, as well as successes. They were sounding boards when I was at a crossroads and had no idea what to do. They were stern voices when they thought I was going down a rabbit hole that wouldn’t be worth my time or effort.
Sometimes I listened…sometimes I did not 🙂
But overall, they were (and are) a crucial part of my business acumen.
When we came to Cape Town, I knew I’d be teaching business using agriculture as the platform to do it from. But I had NO IDEA that I’d be able to take all the mentoring that was given to me, and give it back to a much more worthy cause!
The business stuff is low hanging fruit. Most of the issues and challenges the students are dealing with, or WILL DEAL WITH, from a business standpoint are pretty easily solvable and advisable. That’s not to say they listen all the time (I’m talking to you Nziki 😉 )
But it opens the door to do MORE. The core of mentoring is caring. And to get to the core of mentoring, you have to break through people.
In Cape Town breaking through it’s easy as the wounds of the apartide era are sometimes still fresh. There IS healing happening on both sides of the race barriers and it’s amazing to see…but there are still walls.
I believe that all I’ve been through, in life and business, were laid out by God to put me into people’s lives to break down walls and really MENTOR people.
It’s an opportunity to come along side some GREAT people who are hungry to learn, and able to apply and DISCERN advice.
And it’s the PEOPLE that make our mission work in Cape Town great. It’s the people (and I mean each and every student, and each member of the LivingHope HTI staff) that truly fulfill the giving back and helping FORWARD that God calls us to do.
But we need YOUR help to continue our mentoring and doing God’s work.
We need your financial support to help pay for insurance, rent, and other bills. Your support would TRULY help us as a family…but more importantly help us continue to serve God in Cape Town among some amazing people!
Please consider donating to our mission as a monthly supporter where your dollars help continue our work of mentoring and using the hope of Jesus Christ to change lives!
All our best,
Brad and Aubree
We are looking to partner with 20 families on a monthly support basis of 100.00 or more…can you commit that to us for the next 12 months so we can continue our work in Cape Town?
Please join us HERE.
P.S. More pictures below 🙂
by Brad | Jul 27, 2016 | Blog
This week I spoke with 3 ‘newbies’ who either have sites or want to start. One was in the trading niche, one in motion graphics, and one group not quite sure which direction to go.
They all had passion, desire, and the guts to pull off a successful online business. They knew a little about online business, marketing, and what hard work it would be. They had purchased courses, researched ‘gurus’, and asked about specific classes or courses that could help them get started.
Truth time…they’re ALL missing the ONE key to online business success…ready?
In my 10 years of online marketing and business I have learned one thing for certain: There is no class, ebook, video, or webinar you can consume to give you the best ways to move forward towards success quickly and effectively!
NOTHING can substitute experience…EVER.
It’s the one thing you cannot buy. It’s the one thing that cannot be taught. It’s the ONE thing that separates the successful businesses from the struggling or FAILED ones.
Here’s WHY that experience is crucial:
On our calls, my advice and insight for each one was TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!
Sure there are some aspects that can cover any industry, but OVERALL what companies/people need in order to be successful is a proper MENTOR. Some needed general guidance on where to start, one needed focusing on which market they should target, and another was guided OUT of a newsletter idea and into something more up their ‘alley.’ Each piece of advice was solid, but DIFFERENT based on what and where each was in their process.
That’s what a good mentor does…analyze WHERE they are, and where they SHOULD go.
A good mentor is..
Someone who’s been there…done that.
Someone who’s experienced FAR more than they have.
Someone who’s failed…and SUCCEEDED after failure.
That’s a mentor, and THAT is what people need.
You can have mentors for specific areas in your business (marketing, trading, graphics, etc), but overall if you want to succeed you need to have someone who can help guide you through all aspects of business growth and development in order to avoid potholes and aim towards success.
It’s true in life, and it’s true in business…
That mentor can be a parent, uncle, or a 80-year-old former IBM exec who took time to be a sounding board for me during early business stages.
So what are your goals? Where are you aiming? And WHO could be a mentor to you?
Let it sink in, get humble and ask for help, and then grow your business the RIGHT way.
I’ve mentored a ton of businesses over the years. Many have asked for my help, and most of them I turn away – because I’m not the right fit for their business. But maybe I’m a good fit for your business? I won’t know (and you won’t) until you ask.
Can I help your business? No matter what industry, no matter what experience level… Let’s find out!
Start a conversation with me here…brad@bradstafford.com
Cheers,
Brad
P.S. This morning in devotions at LivingHope, the history of Solomon’s son was discussed and if you read it…HERE ;)…then you’ll see that he had an opportunity to heed WISE advice to continue the success of his kingdom…and I think it applies to this. So if you have a few min, check it out!
