How finding a business mentor can help you succeed

How finding a business mentor can help you succeed

When you’re starting up a business, you could benefit from having a mentor that will guide you with major business decisions.

The ideal candidate for your mentor would be someone that started their own business and is a successful businessperson. Also, if you can get someone who is a family member or friend, that’s best because they have a personal interest in seeing you succeed. But if you don’t know anyone personally who could mentor you, don’t worry, you’ll be able to see below how to find a mentor.

Generally, mentors don’t get paid, because it’s often someone known to the person. But you could meet for coffee or lunch or breakfast and pay for their meal as thanks. If you find a mentor that you don’t know and they ask you to pay, weigh up the benefits you will receive versus what they want to get paid. If you think their input will be valuable, it may be worth paying for. But remember to draw up a contract and decide upfront what you want their deliverables to be. 

Here’s what to expect from a mentor-mentee relationship:

• Trust
• Active listening
• Questioning and probing e.g. Why would you do that, what would you do in this situation?
• Constructive criticism
• Objective advice e.g. In your situation, this is what I would do…
• Accountability – even though you’re getting advice, it’s your responsibility to make the right choices and decisions
• Responsibility – your mentor is very busy, the last thing they need is for you to waste their time. Be sure to drive the meetings and follow ups.

Factors to consider when choosing a mentor include:

1. Industry: Is the work in your industry quite specific? If so, find a mentor that has experience in your industry.
2. Personality: Do you respect your mentor and can you get on with them? If not, it’s not going to be easy taking advice from them. But don’t try and find someone like you, they have to be better than you for you to learn something from them.
3. Track record: Does your mentor have a good solid track record? You don’t want to get mixed up with people whom others might associate with dirty business. Remember, it’s not fame you’re looking for, it’s success.

But how do you find a mentor?

The best place to find a business mentor is to look at other entrepreneurs that run their own businesses which are similar to yours but not in competition to you. For example, if you want to start an IT business, you could look for someone in the printer or computer sales businesses.

Approach them and tell them you’re going to be starting your own business and could they help you when you need some advice. Then invite them for lunch one day and ask them your first lot of questions. Nurture the relationship and find a way to work with them.

But check them out first on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter and Google to make sure they’re above board in terms of business practice and that they are successful.

A mentor can help you achieve your goals faster than if you had to navigate your new role on your own and they can stick with you for a long stretch of your career if things go well.