The Importance of Business Mentoring

A close mentoring relationship is important for any young entrepreneur.  It’s like having a close friend or older sibling that can help to guide you as you start on your new venture.  They know the ropes and have a large network that can be of extreme value.  Before you start any new business, it’s important to have someone to guide you through the start-up process and give you advice as you grow with your idea.  Mentors can point you in the right direction and give you referrals.  They can relish in your success and be there through the difficult times as well as be the voice of reason and provide an outsider’s opinion.  Most importantly, you can bounce ideas off of them.

If you look at any successful person, they usually have a mentor.  Nearly all those that thrive in business have someone who they can confide in and learn from when times are tough.  Having someone to look up to is key.  They could very well get you to where they are; to where you want to be.  Most people underestimate the power of having a mentor and that’s one of the biggest reasons for failure in business.  

Encouragement.  A mentor can encourage you when you are feeling hesitant about the direction your business is taking or if you are having doubts about the potential success of your idea.  “The word encouragement literally means "to give courage," and a good mentor will provide just that.”  There are many people in an entrepreneur’s life that one can turn to for advice – family, friends, co-workers, etc. – but when it comes from someone who knows and understands your business, it means a lot more.  A good mentor can motivate you with simple tips that let you know you are on the right track even if you are getting down on yourself.  They’ve been there before so they have the right advice and wisdom to provide you with.

A mentor can also help you reduce mistakes.  You can make your own mistakes and fail or you can learn from them.  A mentor has already made the mistakes for you, so you don’t have to do it all over again.  In essence, experience is the best teacher even if it’s not your own experience.  If you want to figure out everything all alone, failure could potentially follow.  But you might not have time to make all those mistakes and so a mentor can help prevent them.

Mentors can also help you eliminate weaknesses.  You might not always agree with or like what your mentor has to say if you are stuck in your ways but open yourself up to their advice.  “Their primary role is to be your mentor and their secondary role is to be your friend.”  This is helpful as it’s often easier to accept help from those you see as equals.  While a friend might see you for who you are, a mentor sees you for who you can become.  They might just understand the challenges you face better than you do yourself.  

Mentors can help bring out your strengths.  It takes the right person to bring out the talent and ability of underdeveloped people.  True talent can’t be taught but it can be helped along.  Without good coaching, pure talent is useless.  “A good mentor will help bring out the best in you when you don’t necessarily see the qualities you possess.”

Possibly, and most importantly, a mentor will tell you the honest truth – whether or not you want to hear it.  They do so because their primary objective is to make sure you’re successful.  A friend might tell you what you want to hear whereas a family member might tell you the plain truth as would a mentor.  If you can get past your own ego and take your mentor’s advice, you’ll likely have success.  “A good mentor understands that a day of tension is better than a lifetime of regret and, as such, will always tell you the truth rather than let you believe you have arrived at your destination.”

In typical corporate jobs, you have bosses and co-workers to turn to for advice but when you’re out there on your own, you don’t so a mentor is very important when starting up a new venture.  In corporate America, you have a job description laid out for you and expected goals set.  While you can set those for yourself as an entrepreneur, you might need a little help and mentoring is often a good route to take.

As I’ve discussed, a mentor should guide you and give you constructive criticism to help lead you onto the path to success. While they can make you feel good about yourself, they will also give you the honest truth and help you see other ways of doing things.  Mentors help you become more focused and productive.  They challenge you and expand your belief in what is possible.  They increase your business knowledge and experience.  They support you to help you achieve your objectives.  They understand you and help you improve your relationship with others.  And they support you with a wide range of business challenges.  Take these ideas about mentoring to heart and you might just have a leg up in business.

Here are some articles you might want to check out about business mentoring:

“How Business Mentors Work”: http://money.howstuffworks.com/business/professional-development/business-mentors4.htm

“Learning from Others Will Help Your Business Grow”: http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/findresourcesandsupport/a/findamentor.htm

“The Value of a Business Mentor”; http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/businessmentoring/a/valueofamentor.htm

“How Can a Business Mentor Help You and Your Business?”: http://makinithappen.co.uk/Articles/How-Can-A-Business-Mentor-Help-You-And-Your-Business.html

Until next time…