{"id":13691,"date":"2018-09-12T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=13691"},"modified":"2019-03-05T15:47:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T21:47:45","slug":"mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an accountant who work with small businesses, as well as a small business owner myself, I have seen the amazing impact mentoring can have on the success of an individual and their business. I have been fortunate enough to have amazing mentors who have influenced my path, helped me find purpose and design a balanced life but as I mentee I\u2019ve learned that, even with great mentors, your success is still in your hands; you only get out of your mentor-mentee relationship what you put into it. Here are the lessons I\u2019ve learned for how to develop a mentoring relationship with a purpose.<\/p>\n

Be Present and Find Your Purpose: <\/strong>Connect and enjoy every interaction with your mentor, and your client\/mentee.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>My mentors helped me discover, shape and enjoy my true purpose in life. I remember that uncomfortable question from my family at a really young age, \u201cWhat are you going to be when you grow up?\u201d and not having an answer for them. When I was 12, my dad, an accountant, started bringing me to his office on the weekends to help him organize paperwork and count receipts. My dad is one of the most passionate accountants I\u2019ve ever encountered. He would transform in an office full of paper (back then). He was always happy to be there and effortlessly enjoyed every moment of it \u2013 good or stressful. I loved watching him work and transmit his happiness and passion to me and his clients. Everyone had a good time in my dad\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Take Advantage of all Learning Channels: <\/strong>Use all the tools at your fingertips to help you succeed, and help your clients find those that will help them move forward.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In high school, I decided to start taking accounting courses to learn more about the subject. I told my accounting teacher that my dad had already introduced me to the basics and I wanted a real challenge, so she went the extra mile with me. As a result, I completed seven accounting courses in high school, and was the only student to have ever completed the seventh in that school district. The teacher knew I was taking advantage of everything she threw my way, so she helped me find an after-school part-time job so I could start practicing my new skills. I will never forget her dedication to teaching.<\/p>\n

Make Fear a Friend, not a Foe: <\/strong>Confront your fear, and you will find that it is a valuable tool; it can drive you forward.<\/p>\n

So, I started practicing my skills in the real world at the age of 16. My boss knew I was hungry for more, and he knew of many of the challenges that were ahead. As a great mentor, he wanted me to be better than him, so he gave me all the tools he wished he had at my age to be fearless and take bigger risks. I learned how to live comfortably, fearless and effortlessly by doing what I loved the most. He put me through some real-life accounting challenges so I could learn to express myself, and know my boundaries and limits. Risk never felt so good by his side because he was always there to guide me and help me evaluate the situation and decide what I needed to do to overcome any obstacles.<\/p>\n

Trust Yourself: <\/strong>This is the key to becoming a true success in life. It requires strength and courage.<\/p>\n

Next, I started my bachelor\u2019s degree in accountancy. While at ASU, my dad guided me to start my own business<\/a> from home, preparing tax returns for friends and family. When I received my degree in 2012, I opened my office and started accepting small businesses as my clients. Much more responsibility came with opening a business, including the pressure of creating true value for clients and employees to stay competitive, becoming financially independent as a business owner, and dealing with all the consequences of my actions. Being my own boss has been the most challenging thing in my life, but it has fulfilled my purpose and allowed me to do what I\u2019m good at; it keeps me going. Every day is an adventure!<\/p>\n

Give Back: <\/strong>Do what you love to do, and people will immediately become attracted to you. And because you illuminate the room with your experiences, mentoring is done very effortlessly.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>My mentors did a great job connecting with me and giving me all their focused presence to help me succeed in my career. I want to do the same with all my business clients and my employees. It is very important to connect with them in order to make a difference. My job allows me to not only handle their books and taxes, but also share ideas and experiences, set goals, and see them transform by doing what they love to do.<\/p>\n

I hope you can take some of these lessons I\u2019ve learned back to your own mentor\/mentee relationships and put them into practice. Leave a comment below if you have any of your own tips to share!<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0<\/strong>Read the other articles in the Tax Pro Center\u2019s\u00a0mentorship series<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hear from Alejandra Matias about how to approach mentorship with a purpose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144590946,"featured_media":6970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rkv_browse_by_id":0,"rkv_cta_id":0,"rkv_optimize_for_pagespeed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"useModifiedDate":false,"customPublishDate":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[116807],"tags":[646041685],"intuit_collection":[],"intuit_series":[],"coauthors":[646041691],"class_list":["post-13691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice-management","tag-mentorship-series"],"header_image":"","yoast_head":"\nMentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hear from Alejandra Matias about how to approach mentorship with a purpose.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"397\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alejandra Matias Ortega\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@IntuitAccts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IntuitAccts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alejandra Matias Ortega\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alejandra Matias Ortega\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed99043f68faf730b52d715a633294e7\"},\"headline\":\"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":875,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"mentorship series\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Practice Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":397},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"description\":\"Tax Pro Center\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp\",\"width\":872,\"height\":160,\"caption\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/IntuitAccountants\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/IntuitAccts\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/intuitaccountants\\\/?hl=en\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/intuit-accountants\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed99043f68faf730b52d715a633294e7\",\"name\":\"Alejandra Matias Ortega\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alejandra Matias Ortega\"},\"description\":\"Alejandra Matias is the owner of Taxes United LLC in Phoenix and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She graduated from Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business with a Masters in Taxation. Alejandra has prepared more than 6,000 individual and business tax returns since 2012 using Intuit ProConnect Tax Online. She specializes in start-ups, Schedule C (self-employed), partnerships and S-corporations. Her practice provides knowledgeable tax service with cloud-based\\\/mobile-based professional tax software to facilitate clients' bookkeeping, income taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and tax representation\\\/resolution needs.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/author\\\/alejandramatias\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","og_description":"Hear from Alejandra Matias about how to approach mentorship with a purpose.","og_url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/","og_site_name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants","article_published_time":"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":397,"url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alejandra Matias Ortega","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@IntuitAccts","twitter_site":"@IntuitAccts","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alejandra Matias Ortega","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/"},"author":{"name":"Alejandra Matias Ortega","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/person\/ed99043f68faf730b52d715a633294e7"},"headline":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner","datePublished":"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/"},"wordCount":875,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","keywords":["mentorship series"],"articleSection":["Practice Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/","name":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","datePublished":"2018-09-12T13:00:05+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-05T21:47:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","width":700,"height":397},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/mentoring-with-purpose-5-lessons-i-learned-as-a-small-business-owner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mentoring with Purpose: 5 Lessons I Learned as a Small Business Owner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/","name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","description":"Tax Pro Center","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization","name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp","width":872,"height":160,"caption":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants","https:\/\/x.com\/IntuitAccts","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/intuitaccountants\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/intuit-accountants\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/person\/ed99043f68faf730b52d715a633294e7","name":"Alejandra Matias Ortega","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/94460f577896d3887c466d682672e32064ab178fd2492289c54e2bf0629f3e58?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Alejandra Matias Ortega"},"description":"Alejandra Matias is the owner of Taxes United LLC in Phoenix and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She graduated from Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business with a Masters in Taxation. Alejandra has prepared more than 6,000 individual and business tax returns since 2012 using Intuit ProConnect Tax Online. She specializes in start-ups, Schedule C (self-employed), partnerships and S-corporations. Her practice provides knowledgeable tax service with cloud-based\/mobile-based professional tax software to facilitate clients' bookkeeping, income taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and tax representation\/resolution needs.","url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/author\/alejandramatias\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/alejandra-matias-e1508458504379.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pazjGh-3yP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17839,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentorship-guidance-you-can-use-in-your-tax-practice\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":0},"title":"Mentorship Guidance You Can Use in Your Tax Practice","author":"Scott Cytron","date":"October 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Learn more about mentoring staff in your tax practice and how to help other mentors achieve success.","rel":"","context":"In "Practice Management"","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"mentor and mentee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12909,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentorship-matters-how-to-get-the-most-from-your-mentor\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":1},"title":"Mentorship Matters: How to Get the Most From Your Mentor","author":"Robbie Randall","date":"June 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Find out how tax pros and accountants can get the most from their professional and personal mentors.","rel":"","context":"In "Practice Management"","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tax practice","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/workplace-e1535553031749.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/workplace-e1535553031749.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/workplace-e1535553031749.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13492,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/how-to-empower-yourself-through-mentorship\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":2},"title":"How to Empower Yourself Through Mentorship","author":"Kiara Urbina","date":"August 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Learn how Intuit employee Kiara empowered herself through mentoring, and get tips on how to find a mentor of your own.","rel":"","context":"In "Practice Management"","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"mentor and mentee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mentor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11972,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/mentoring-millennials-how-to-handle-the-technology-generation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":3},"title":"Mentoring Millennials: How to Handle the Technology Generation","author":"Dawn Brolin, CPA, CFE","date":"March 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Get best practices from Dawn Brolin, CPA, CFE, a tax and accounting firm owner, on how to work with millennial staff.","rel":"","context":"In "Practice Management"","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"millennials in a tax and accounting firm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/millennials-e1535552180648.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":596,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/client-relationships\/joe-woodards-secret-sauce-to-great-client-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":4},"title":"Joe Woodard’s Secret Sauce to Great Client Service","author":"Joe Woodard","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost all small business consultants want to provide the highest quality services to their clients. Woodard Consulting is no exception. However, the desire to do that, alone, won\u2019t get you to the goal. You need something more \u2026 a secret sauce that will give your practice a cutting edge and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Client Relationships"","block_context":{"text":"Client Relationships","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/client-relationships\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"S Corporation tax status","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/secret-sauce-e1508452637841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/secret-sauce-e1508452637841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/secret-sauce-e1508452637841.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/secret-sauce-e1508452637841.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59445,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/unretirement-purpose-and-growth-in-cloud-accounting\/","url_meta":{"origin":13691,"position":5},"title":"Unretirement: Purpose and growth in cloud accounting","author":"Julie Nilsen","date":"March 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"More firms are seeing the experience and wisdom retirees bring to the table; at the same time, unretirement is good for the older worker in many ways.","rel":"","context":"In "Practice Management"","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Unretirement: Purpose and growth in cloud accounting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Unretirement-Purpose-and-growth-in-cloud-accounting-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Unretirement-Purpose-and-growth-in-cloud-accounting-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Unretirement-Purpose-and-growth-in-cloud-accounting-copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Unretirement-Purpose-and-growth-in-cloud-accounting-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144590946"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13691"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15391,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13691\/revisions\/15391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13691"},{"taxonomy":"intuit_collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/intuit_collection?post=13691"},{"taxonomy":"intuit_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/intuit_series?post=13691"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}