The role of a business mentor is to help and offer guidance to their mentees, to help them manage and grow their business, and to encourage them to develop the skills they need to succeed. The advice comes from the mentor's own knowledge and experience, which are extremely valuable. As is often the case, the experience and knowledge of a mentor can help shorten an apprentice's learning curve. Over the past year, I've been fortunate to have the mentoring of a leader who owns more than 15 companies in several countries, including Singapore, Cambodia, South Korea, and Myanmar.
Through this experience, I have seen firsthand that mentors allow mentees to see for themselves and get information, as well as understand what they want out of life. Mentors motivate you through guidance and practical resources. For example, you can go to a mentor to help you with your financial statements. A good mentor will not only provide your experiences, but will also provide you with templates and a referral to an accountant for the next steps.
The biggest benefit of having a business mentor is having someone you can ask questions and get advice from. As a new business owner, you're likely to get more advice than you ask for from people like family, friends, and the owners of the store next door. While some of their advice may be accurate, your mentor can help you decide which ones you should follow and, at the same time, will advise you on more complicated business issues that your friends or family won't know how to resolve. Your chances of success in life and in business can be amplified if you have the right mentor.
The valuable connections, the timely advice, the occasional checks, along with the spiritual and moral guidance you'll gain from having a mentor, will literally help you achieve success. This isn't as effective as working hard to get a mentor to guide you as you run your company, but it's better than nothing. These are the reasons why I believe that all business owners need a mentor, regardless of their current achievements and successes. According to the SBA, 30 percent of new businesses may not survive beyond the first 24 months and 50 percent of them may not survive more than five years.
After being in business for more than seven years, I've realized the importance of having a business mentor. Finding and obtaining support in the early stages of your business is often limited by financial considerations. In addition, after a survey of 200 small businesses, the financial technology company Kabbage reported that 92% of small businesses say that mentors directly influence the growth and survival of their companies. Knowing that you have a credible mentor to turn to can give you confidence when dealing with difficult business situations.
Be honest about the positive and negative aspects of your company, your flaws and capabilities, and your fears. A small UPS customer survey revealed that 88% of business owners who reported having a mentor found it invaluable. Future owners of successful companies need the help of others who have a thorough understanding of how businesses work. On the other hand, we can also find mentors from business schools who provide more technical knowledge and who can focus on a specific business area (marketing, finance, products, international expansion, fundraising, legal issues, etc.
From my point of view, their companies might not be where they are today without the mentoring they received). For example, your business mentor might introduce you to another of his mentees, an award-winning recent college graduate seeking an entry-level position in web design. From online publications to colleagues, friends, and family, advice abounds on how to start and run a business.
