MENTORS Magazine: Issue 1

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The Role of a Mentor By Neil Ball Launching or running a business is exciting. You get to claim your independence. You can finally make the rules. But the details can bog you down. When you don’t have experience, you can get overwhelmed by questions about what to do to ensure success or how to make business decisions that are specific to your industry. Mentors have been through it and can give you their support and share their wisdom with you. Approximately 50 percent of small businesses don’t last five years. However, 70 percent of small business owners make it past that hump when they work with advisors to build their leadership skills as they learn and grow. Those who want to be on the successful side of those statistics need to make sure that they create a solid relationship with some type of guide or teacher who helps them reach their full potential. Mentors need to understand their roles so that they provide valuable insight and create confident trailblazers that have the determination to run a thriving business. 16 | <strong>MENTORS</strong> MAGAZINE | EDITION 1
Serve as a Guide According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a mentor is a “trusted counsellor or guide.” The secondary definition is “tutor, coach.” Most experts agree that someone in a mentoring position plays a different role than a coach would. Coaches typically help businesses set and meet goals. They focus on helping entrepreneurs, business owners and managers come up with the most efficient ways to achieve their objectives. A good coach doesn’t tell someone what to do. Instead, coaches help draw out someone’s inherent wisdom through structured tasks, exercises and questions. For this reason, a business coach doesn’t need experience in an individual’s industry to help them develop the skills that are necessary for a productive, efficient business. They are advisers. They are teachers. They are leaders, examples and guides. A mentor can help an individual create a map to steer through the stumbling blocks that come with starting, managing or running a business. Create Structure When someone is launching a business, mentoring can help them create a business plan and structure the business. A colleague in this position can offer advice for setting up the foundation of the company. The relationship usually goes on for a longterm period. Mentoring advisers continue to work with individuals when they have questions about the intricacies of the business, including understanding the cost structure, setting up marketing strategies, making hiring decisions and allocating resources. They are advisers. They are teachers. They are leaders, examples and guides. A mentor, on the other hand, usually has direct experience in the same field as the mentee. Those in mentorship positions help entrepreneurs and business owners learn how to work industriously, make assessments and set priorities. But their guidance doesn’t stop there. They have been through the same challenges that their mentees are undergoing. They can explain how they navigated certain obstacles so that their protégés can identify their options and understand what works without having to experiment themselves. When difficult decisions have to be made, people in mentorship positions can help their mentees look at the pros and cons of the available options. In many cases, the mentor has been through a similar situation. Mentoring can offer specific advice from a personal perspective when the business owner otherwise has access to only general recommendations. Give Advice and Feedback A relationship of this kind gives individuals a chance to get advice and feedback when they need it. Mentees can look to their advisers to provide an objective outlook. <strong>MENTORS</strong> MAGAZINE | EDITION 1 | 17
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Page 5 and 6: Contributing Writers DR. Steven Hym
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Page 33 and 34: 4 Steps To Leadership Nirvana BY DR
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Page 45 and 46: three main elements: • Expenses
Page 47 and 48: Ryan Boykin has over 15 years of ex
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Page 55 and 56: longer be just about getting young
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lessed with great weather, outstand
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We also faced a world in which pote
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Neil: Can tell us more about your b
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usiness plan, create your vision bo
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ing force to me to do whatever I ne
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he wrote the miracle morning, and h
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Neil: Did you have any doubts that
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does not work unless you recognise
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year in my business and my purpose
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asically this idea, that there are
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ness she has built is able to go an
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MENTORS Magazine: Issue 1

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