Mentors must be able to meet Veterans where they are in their journey, and lead them where they need to go. A mentor has the skills and knowledge to meet the challenges an entrepreneur will face with a new business, and to prepare that entrepreneur to identify the internal and external resources required to succeed.

Lead

Many people are managers; few people are leaders. Mentors must be leaders. The best leaders don’t give instructions. You are here to suggest, advise, aid in defining pros and cons and point out areas that need attention or decision. Our goal is to produce a Veteran that can build a business. That may mean a decision to pursue a particular business may not be wise, or the timing is wrong. It is not your role to make that decision, but it is your role to facilitate information and share wisdom and guidance so the Veteran can make better decisions for themselves and their business.

Commitment to success

Obviously, you should be passionate about your contribution to The Jonas Project. But it has to go beyond a passion to help Veterans. The potential impact from your mentorship can lead to economic impact in the form of jobs and better, more stable businesses. This is where we teach a man (or woman) to fish.

Problem solving

You should be a problem solver. It’s not enough to identify needs and expect The Jonas Project to solve them. You must be capable of coaching a Veteran to find a way to meet their own needs. Our Veterans are smart and capable, but sometimes need guidance on where or how to find resources. While The Jonas Project exists to act as a force multiplier to assist Veterans with their own capacity, we cannot be the sole resource and problem solver for Veteran needs in the business arena. We would be remiss in our mission were we to not prepare our Veteran entrepreneurs to be self-sufficient and independent business leaders.

The Jonas Project Mentor brings a strong commitment to support the success of our Veteran entrepreneurs. We ask you to focus on making The Jonas Project better, communicate your ideas, participate in execution and understand the value of the overall success of The Jonas Project, not just the Veteran. Where The Jonas Project succeeds in launching Veteran Owned Businesses, we all succeed in contributing to the greater economic strength of our communities.

• Meet with the Veteran a minimum of 5 hours per month. The meetings can be through video conferencing, face-to-face, phone or any other means of communication that works for both the Veteran and Mentor. Veterans are our customers and you must be willing to make some adjustments in your priorities to available to them, so please take this time commitment seriously.
• Submit feedback reports to TJP concerning the Veteran in a timely manner.
• Provide counsel to the Veteran in the Mentor’s field of expertise.
• Coordinate with the Veteran support team to ensure Veteran receives additional Mentor expertise as needed, and to problem solve as needed.
• Collaborate with other Mentors and TJP to share ideas and success stories.
• Maintain complete confidentiality between Mentor, Veteran and TJP.
• Must have proven knowledge in your field of expertise.
• Prefer that a mentor is a U.S. Veteran, BUT NOT required.
• Possesses necessary patience and ability to teach.
• Must have started your own business and been successful. Even better if you’ve failed and recovered!
• You must have had employees (family doesn’t count).
• If you’ve never owned a business, but consider yourself a subject matter expert (SME) we still want you! Our SMEs support our Veterans and work with the lead Mentors on specific projects and topics as they arise.