Al Spector was the VERY FIRST Mentor to ever sign on with The Jonas Project. He’s been assigned to work with Natalie and Jose Gutierrez with Small Wonders Learning Academy. We chose him as our February Mentor of the Month because he’s not only been a huge help to Natalie and Jose, he’s been reviewing business plans and applications for other VOBs!
“My time with The Jonas Project has been filled with encouragement and energy for Natalie and Jose Gutierrez who are going through the shark-infested waters of opening a pre-school,” says Al. “They are both enthusiastic and positive about this huge chapter of their life. They are both dedicated and eager to learn and move forward to the day their school opens. It has been a challenge to guide them through the beginning stages of their business, but I also recognize the responsibility I have for their success. I want more than anything to see their dreams realized. It has also been fun to see them mature and formulate a workable business plan and cash flow statement.”
Al’s favorite part of guiding Natalie and Jose is being able to use all his years of business experience. Al has seen many of their problems and remembers the solutions! “I have been told that after 45 years, I forgotten more than many people will ever learn about running a company. Many of my experiences have come the hard way by making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. In a mentoring environment, I can keep those mistakes and errors in judgment from ever happening.”
If Al could do anything for the VOBs with The Jonas Project, he’d want to fund them all! “The hardest thing for young people to achieve is enough money to start their businesses. Their ideas and dreams can only be realized with enough money to see it happen. I also see my role as just the beginning, because once the school opens, I want to help them make this pre-school a successful enterprise. So, I look at my mentoring job as a long term activity. I will continue to help. That is my responsibility to them and TJP.”