My mentors have changed over my last 20 years in business, but if I have to highlight just one of them it has to be Alex Mandossian (www. alexmandossian. com).

Interestingly, we have never met in person. He is based in California and we connect by email and phone.

While Alex is well-regarded in the crucial field of internet marketing, what I really value in his mentorship are his transparency and his approach to creating "raving fans" of our clients and customers, as Ken Blanchard describes them, or as I describe them, "brand ambassadors" for our business.

No question is too trivial for him and he is completely open about which strategies in his business have worked and which have not. He provides me with very specific advice to support me in my professional and personal growth.

His philosophy and approach to working with his mentee's and the people he teaches on his group programmes have fundamentally shaped the vision and strategy for my business and the way I deliver my programme to my own clients.

You might hear of people "thinking big"; Alex plays big. He has managed over the past six years to build a highly successful business with a completely outsourced team. He provides great inspiration and leadership to them. He has been able to change what in 2001, in his first year as a solopreneur, was an annual income of $63,000, to an hourly compensation in 2006 of $63,000, all through the power of distance learning, serving clients right across the globe.

At the same time he has been able to work fewer hours and enjoy more time with family and friends, all through playing to his strengths and passions.

I think that is what many of us are striving for . . . not just to increase our income but to build our futures and our businesses doing what we are have a talent for and enjoy. Can there be a better way of earning a living?

Krishna De guides professional services companies in how to generate new streams of revenue for their practice and build distinctive corporate, employer and personal brands so they realise more profit and greater success with less stress.