A Business Mentor is very important. While establishing and running a business on your own is a trailblazing achievement, there will come a time when you need a helping hand to keep everything in place. As your business grows, your focus and control will also slowly disperse across your organisation. That is why having a mentor to remind you exactly what you should be doing in when times you’re feeling lost is critically important.
This not only applies to you as the owner, but to all the people within your organisation as well. In today’s hypercompetitive business environment, employees are also expected to contribute more to their company. With this constant pressure to perform and produce an outstanding result, ensuring that every employee has an assigned mentor can key to your organisation’s success.
Here are 7 benefits of having a mentor.
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Gain New Knowledge and Skills.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin. Many start-up business owners often have little to no idea of what running a business entails, including making a business plan, budgeting, managing daily operations, or running a marketing campaign.
By having a mentor to guide you from the start, you will be able to tap into a wealth of new knowledge and skills, thus speeding up your business launching and shortening the lengthy learning curve. For employees, the new knowledge and skills they’ll learn from a mentor will ensure that all the efforts they contribute are of value and will drive the business towards success.
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Provide Constructive Criticism
If a new idea suddenly hits you and you want to know whether it can help hone your business or improve your product and service, then having valuable insights from a mentor should really come handy. Having a mentor to talk to during or after a brainstorming session can help you see which ideas have potential and which ones are better left alone.
They can also help you plan and organize how to put your idea into action and make them a reality. With their vast knowledge and experience also comes a prying eye that can see the potential pitfalls and opportunities. This could prevent you from pursuing a business idea that had no potential at all.
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Hold You Accountable for Your Goals
It’s true that motivation is something that cannot be easily manufactured, especially if you’re operating in a very intimidating and challenging business environment. But if you have a mentor with whom you can share your goals you have someone to hold you accountable to these goals. This means you are more likely to take action and will therefore see results much quicker.
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Give You a Different Perspective
When facing difficulties in business, having the support from our family and friends can surely reduce our stress. But feeling a little less stressed will not solve the problem. Having a mentor can give you an entirely different perspective from anyone who knows you personally.
They can give you impartial advice from a professional point of view, allowing you to see solutions and hindrances which you yourself could not recognise. This allows you to solve problems much faster and save a valuable amount of time and money.
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Teaches You Self-Motivation and Self-Discipline
Being your own boss can give you both the most exciting and dullest moment in your life. As a beginner, you have a lot of wild business ideas you think can topple your competitors, and there is a strong urge deep inside of you that compels you to try everything and disregard the consequences. Then there are days that you just feel tired and just want to lay in your bed for the whole day while binge-watching Game of Thrones.
That said, having a mentor is like having a parent that will teach you good work habits and help you set boundaries that you cannot set for yourself. Their help will solidify your work ethic, hone your focus, and clarify priorities.
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Can Expand Your Network
A good mentor will not only act as your teacher, they will also act as a connector that will provide access to people within your industry that are willing to invest in your business. Their skills and expertise can also help you find the best talents that can fuel your business, or even help introduce you to various key influencers who you can work with to get closer to your target audience. Mentors can take you to various events and make introductions which can lead to a lot of opportunities that you would not have otherwise had.
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Their Experiences Can Prevent you from Making the Same Mistakes
The best thing about having a mentor is that you’re almost “hacking” your journey from the very beginning of your business. A seasoned mentor has been there, right where you are, and has made every possible mistake and can now use as a basis for helping business owners like you.
One of the secrets to being a successful entrepreneur is to work smarter, not harder. If you have a mentor that can share with you all their experiences and past mistakes, you will be able to learn the lessons they’ve learned but minus the pain and lost resources that come from making those mistakes.
In conclusion, having a mentor through your career or business endeavors is a great way to learn the ins and outs of your industry more effectively. It is not a sign of incompetence; it only shows that you are wise enough to know that you cannot achieve your goals without the help from the right person.
Would you find it helpful if I was to offer you a free 30 minute conversation to help to help your business. Call me at 00353 1 5349454 or email me joe@jdc.ie.