Elaine Mathews is a ROCK STAR Mentor with The Jonas Project. She’s currently mentoring 8 VOBs and somehow still manages to find time to run her own business. Not to mention, she’s deeply involved with The Jonas Project in so many aspects like helping to put process around how VOBs move through their needs with The Jonas Project. We had a chance to speak with Elaine about her experience mentoring with us, and here’s what she had to say.
TJP: How are you feeling about your participation in TJP these days? What do you think it does for you personally?
Elaine: Well, it certainly wears out your brain! It’s 100 new challenges each day, depending what each VOB needs that day. Definitely, I am lucky that I have some great projects to work on. For me, it’s more than just mentoring. If the definition of a mentor is an experienced guide who you can trust to always have your best interest at heart, the Mentoring Program at TJP is definitely that. I often find however, that once you have accomplished being a good mentor, the VOB wants more of a partner. Someone to help them problem-solve, bounce ideas off of and OBTAIN ADVICE. Starting a business, any business - whether a dry cleaning shop or an enterprise web widget - is the most exhausting, exhilarating, mind numbing thing you can do. Its all the best, and often all the worst, put together in one package. I get the benefit of participating in that for others. I’m not sure life gets any better than that. TJP does too many things for me personally to list, but some of the top benefits would include: being reminded that a single person is not just a single person…you are surrounded by opportunity 24/7, and all you need to do in order to take advantage of it is to open your hand, being reminded that there are others that have given so much more than I ever could and they are EXACTLY ordinary people – extraordinarily, being reminded that I am blessed, no matter how much I believe I “worked hard” for what I may have, it’s not true, it’s a blessing.
TJP: How are you feeling about your participation in TJP these days? What do you think it does for you personally?
Elaine: Well, it certainly wears out your brain! It’s 100 new challenges each day, depending what each VOB needs that day. Definitely, I am lucky that I have some great projects to work on. For me, it’s more than just mentoring. If the definition of a mentor is an experienced guide who you can trust to always have your best interest at heart, the Mentoring Program at TJP is definitely that. I often find however, that once you have accomplished being a good mentor, the VOB wants more of a partner. Someone to help them problem-solve, bounce ideas off of and OBTAIN ADVICE. Starting a business, any business - whether a dry cleaning shop or an enterprise web widget - is the most exhausting, exhilarating, mind numbing thing you can do. Its all the best, and often all the worst, put together in one package. I get the benefit of participating in that for others. I’m not sure life gets any better than that. TJP does too many things for me personally to list, but some of the top benefits would include: being reminded that a single person is not just a single person…you are surrounded by opportunity 24/7, and all you need to do in order to take advantage of it is to open your hand, being reminded that there are others that have given so much more than I ever could and they are EXACTLY ordinary people – extraordinarily, being reminded that I am blessed, no matter how much I believe I “worked hard” for what I may have, it’s not true, it’s a blessing.
TJP: How many VOBs are you working with now and what are you focused on with them?
Elaine: I have eight guys in my queue. The quick answer to what I focus on is EVERYTHING. Plenty of times the answer is, “I have no idea about that, but I can give you a common man’s opinion.” But they are entitled to discuss whatever they need help with. Obviously, with me, technology is a big piece. If you haven’t done it, knowing how to build technology is a black hole. I try to break that into pieces and work with the guys so that they can understand, and have a doable path to success. Truly, I do spend a good bit of time talking to tired people. Starting a business always takes longer than you thought, more money than you thought, and has 1,000 things go wrong that never occurred to you. It can get depressing. Part of my job is to find the little spark and blow it back to a flame again. Mostly I succeed, I think. I do spend time convincing them that they are not alone (entrepreneurial isolation). Not just that they have me, or TJP, but that other VOB’s are having the same experiences. That seems to help. So, there is a “therapy” piece to it. Some of these young men have become like family.
TJP: What is your favorite part of working with TJP and our VOBs?
Elaine: I only get one favorite part? LOL. I guess #1 would be the people. Obviously, I have great respect and affection for John, Teri and David, and “my guys.” That has to be the top. Right under that is that nothing is ever boring. Nothing is ever the same. No two people, no two projects are really very similar. While the answers sometimes are the same answer, each pathway is different.
TJP: If you could do anything in the world for TJP (no limits), what would it be?
Elaine: I have no idea. I spend half of my thought process on things that TJP has asked me to help with (business plans, possibly incubation, finding web developers), and the other half of my thought process trying to figure out how to apply solutions to some of the challenges (funding, resource, office space etc.). I guess if I could conceive of something that would be the most helpful to TJP it would be to find a way to convince a TRULY LARGE audience of what can happen with funds and resources in a way that would obtain those funds and those resources for TJP.