There are lots of formal (and informal) organizations for women seeking mentors. However, if one in particular sounds interesting to you and you are a man, call or write to the organization for information about other groups in the same area or whether they also offer their services to men‹you¹d be surprised how many do.

Why are there so many of these organizations? Although there are many small businesses operating in the U.S. today, only a small percentage of them are run by women. That percentage is growing quickly, however, thanks to what may be a new "old girl's network." Women business owners seem very interested in helping other women get their business started. Women often refer business to each other and offer free services to each other to support this fast-growing economic power-group. Discriminatory? Some would say so, but others say it¹s just a way of balancing out a long-standing inequality between women and men in the business world.

If you¹re a woman entrepreneur, check out this list of organizations that offer mentoring resources:

American Business Women International
4829 Corrales Road Corrales, NM 87048
(800) 606-ABWI
ABWI supports women at all levels of business who are interested in international trade issues. The organization was founded in 1995, and has offices in California, New Mexico and Illinois.

American Woman¹s Economic Development Corporation
71 Vanderbilt Avenue, Suite 320
New York, NY 10169
(212) 692-9100
From one-on-one mentoring to training, this agency offers myriad services to women developing their business. Although the organization is based in New York, it has offices in Southern California, Washington DC and Connecticut.

Ann Arbor Community Development Corporation Women's Initiative for Self Employment (WISE)
2008 Hogback Road, Suite 2A
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(313) 677-1400

Asian Women in Business
1 West 34th Street, Suite 200
New York, NY 10001
(212) 868-1368
AWIB was founded in 1995, and supports Asian women entrepreneurs through "information, education and networking opportunities."

Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
36 Water Street, PO Box 268
Wiscasset, ME 04578
(207) 882-7552
Along with the mentoring services Coastal Enterprises, Inc. provides to all Maine residents, the organization has a Women¹s Business Development Program targeted specifically at low-income women and women business owners.

Denver Business Women¹s Network
P.O Box 211284
Denver CO 80221
(303) 448-4948
This organization supports businesswomen in the Denver, Colorado, area. The site includes a list of member businesses, which is helpful if you¹re trying to find someone in a similar business to talk to or ask for mentoring.

EMPOWER Pyramid Career Services
2400 Cleveland Ave., NW
Canton, OH 44709
(216) 453-3767
This organization works one-on-one with start-up women business owners.

Florida Women¹s Business Development Center
EAS 2611, University Park
Miami, FL 33199
(305) 348-3951, x, 3903
This center offers a mentoring program and additional educational and networking programs for women entrepreneurs.

Forum for Women Entrepreneurs
2600 Campus Drive, Suite 200
San Mateo, CA 94403
(650) 357-0333
This is one of the best mentoring organizations for women who want to break into the high-tech world. FWE, which also has offices in Los Angeles and Seattle, has more than 850 members, most of who are referred to the organization by other members or women involved in technology.

Reach4It.com
Online mentoring is available through this website, which charges no fees for its services.

Although E-Mentoring on AskThe Employer.com. primarily provides career-mentoring services, it can be helpful for self-employed entrepreneurs. Select the area of business in which you are in and the state in which you live, and the database will provide a list of volunteers who have agreed to mentor by email.