Your relationship with a mentor may someday turn into a friendship.
MARY GLUNT … Artist & Encourager of Teens
Mary Glunt taught drama at a junior high school … so she was used to teenagers. And she genuinely enjoyed them. (As a teen myself, I could tell.) But Mary was also an artist who had the gift of hospitality.
I remember more than one potluck at her lavish home in an elite area of San Francisco. She also held a weekly painting class in her basement, which looked out on a beautifully landscaped backyard. (Mary knew how much I loved art and encouraged me to pursue that as a career.)
Years later, at an exhibit featuring her work, I saw comments from students of hers, talking about what a difference she’d made in their lives – how she’d encouraged and inspired them.
CHERIE WOODWARD … Tech Writer & Mentor Extraordinaire
Cherie Woodward was someone I met soon after I decided to dive into technical writing as a new career in early 2000. In order to prepare me for interviews, she had me write a list of instructions on programming a VCR. It taught me how to break things down into basic steps, helping me pay attention to details I would probably have overlooked before.
She continued being a resource and mentor to me for over a decade, even after I transitioned from a full-time tech writing position to writing content for websites as a freelancer.
MARIANNE FOSCARINI … Christian Copywriter & Coach
Marianne Foscarini was someone I met at a 3-day “Web Writing Intensive” in San Diego almost exactly 13 years ago. Both of us were embarking on copywriting careers, although she was farther along in that than I was. While walking along the Mission Beach Boardwalk on the last day of the conference, she told me that her ultimate goal was to become a coach.
A couple of hours later, we both headed home in different directions. (She lived near Toronto in Ontario, Canada.)
We stayed in touch, and eight years later, when I decided to pursue a career in freelance copywriting more seriously, she became my coach. (I always considered her as more of a mentor than a coach, though. One of the most valuable tasks she assigned to me was creating a dream board – aka “vision board.” I still have that dream board hanging on a bulletin board above my desk.)
(Sadly, Marianne passed away in December 2022. Her friendship … and the guidance she gave me as a mentor … are things I will always cherish. I’m glad she was around long enough to see me moving forward in my transition to a new career as “creative virtual assistant.” )
BELINDA SANDOR … Virtual Assistant / Superb Coach / Author
Belinda Sandor is the fourth mentor on my list. A little over eight years after starting my job as assistant editor for a travel magazine in September 2013, I knew I’d need to find a new source of income … since I knew the publisher wouldn’t be able to keep the magazine going much longer.
So in December 2021, I decided to head in a new direction … as a virtual assistant (VA). I finished the certification process for becoming a VA about a month after my editing job ended in March 2022, and got my first client within a week after that. My second client came along 3 months later.
Unfortunately, my client base never grew beyond those first two steady clients … and I didn’t have a clue on how to find more!
It wasn’t until I met Belinda in November of that year (through a free 5-day workshop she offers) that I discovered a whole new way of doing my VA business!
The “sprinkling” she talks about (vs. “marketing”) taught me the importance of staying in touch with my newsletter subscribers. I also learned the importance of other things in my business … things I wasn’t aware of while pursuing a career in content writing and copywriting a decade earlier.
Thanks to her, I’m no longer “clueless” on how to reach out to potential new clients. I’ve also learned not to limit myself in how I describe what I do and the services I offer.
