That’s a really good question. Part of the problem, of course, is that the game is rigged: consider how difficult it is to buy food that doesn’t feed the Nestle war chest.

As a society, I think there are moves in the right direction - I just stumbled across something called Community Wealth Building, which is very cool, for example.

But as a private individual? That’s harder. I’d love it if there were an Amazon equivalent out there that sourced exclusively from worker owned co-ops, or at least unionized businesses, but as it is, I’m coming up dry…

Broadly speaking, yes, having a mentor is a good idea. However, finding a mentor, a good one, is pretty challenging.

I feel like the pragmatic solution is just to try and find a good team. A good team will provide a learning environment for all of the best practices and technical skills.

There are a few mentor sites, but honestly, I’ve had pretty hit or miss results with them. You’d likely have to do some trial and error before finding the right fit.