As a small business person or entrepreneur, your main resource is yourself. While that leaves a lot in your own control and can feel very powerful, it also leaves you somewhat short in terms of new perspectives, thoughts and ideas. It also means that the only person to whom you are accountable – apart possibly from any investors – is yourself, and sometimes this can feel like a burden in itself. Continue reading
As a small business becoming a larger business, you’re going to face some challenges on the road ahead. Finding a mentor to support you through the tough but exciting process of expanding your business can make the difference between ease and success or difficulty and disaster. That’s not to say that you can’t do it alone, but having a mentor at your side as you make the move into a bigger business can help you unlock the answers you have within you and make the transition easier to manage. Continue reading
While networking is useful for most people at some point in their life or career, it’s vital for entrepreneurs. Finding and keeping key contacts is the way that connections are made and business is won, and without this an entrepreneur is just a person with an idea.
The traditional idea of a mentor is of someone who can make introductions and open doors, but as with most things in life things are never that straightforward. However, a mentor can help you understand the need for networking, find the kind of audience you’re seeking and make the most of networking opportunities to expand your list of contacts and your opportunities to make connections with the right kind of people. Continue reading
Once your business has been established and is ticking over comfortably, it’s tempting to let things run without pushing for change or development. However, while it may seem that allowing your business to tick over is sufficient, any company that isn’t growing and changing is in reality decaying and it’s only a matter of time before you end up going backwards.
While support for business set-up is fairly widely available, ongoing support and challenge for businesspeople and entrepreneurs is less popular. This isn’t to say that it’s not worthwhile, though. The UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills found that growing enterprises are more likely to be those that use a mentor. Growth and expectations of growth are higher in those companies that use mentoring. Continue reading
Once you’ve got yourself on the business map and have a company to call your own, you might think that you can sit back for a while and reap the rewards of your early labours. In reality, quite the opposite is true and you’ll need to work harder than ever in your first six months if you want your new business to stay afloat, thrive and consolidate its position in the marketplace.
To guide you through the difficult first six months it’s helpful to secure the services of a mentor who can give you the support and challenge you need to stay focused on what you want to achieve and keep moving forward at a sustainable pace. Continue reading
Setting up your own business for the first time is an exciting experience. Even if it’s not your first business venture, any new enterprise brings with it a whole world of opportunity just waiting for the taking.
However, there in the background to temper the heady excitement is the nervousness of doing something completely different. This is only amplified if you’re striking out in a new direction or are inexperienced with small business. Having the support of a mentor can help to get you over those first hurdles of establishment and running in your first through months of operation. Continue reading
The pace of change in workplaces has picked up to breakneck speed and shows no sign of slowing down in the foreseeable future. As organisations flex to meet the rapidly changing climate that most of us face, leaders and managers face a whole host of challenges as they try to do more with less.
Having a mentor at your side as you work through some of the problems that arise in response to the changes that need to be made can help enormously with managing and leading effectively. With experience and skills to support you, a mentor can turn a challenging time into one that offers opportunities for growth. Continue reading
As a small business owner, there is much to get to grips with as you establish yourself in your chosen field. Having started a business often for the love of the type of service you’re providing, it’s easy to become quickly swamped in the business of running the business.
In order to establish a strong base and grow your operation, it helps to have guidance from a knowledgeable and skilled person who can help you find your feet while still keeping your eye on what brought you into business in the first place. This is where finding a mentor can come in very handy. Continue reading
With organisations in all sectors being squeezed in the current economic climate, those in the voluntary sectors are facing particular challenges. Increasingly called upon to plug the gaps left by thinly-spread statutory services, revenue from donations and sponsorship are harder to come by than ever. In order to get through, voluntary organisations and the people who work within them have to find increasingly innovative ways to meet the growing demands on their services.
Finding a mentor in the voluntary sector can open up a whole host of possibilities for changing your perspective on your life and work. Here are just a few things that you can learn from the best in the charity business. Continue reading
In order to get the most from each of your mentoring sessions, it pays to prepare. On average, a mentoring session takes about an hour and while that might not seem long if you go in prepared it’s amazing what you can achieve in that short time.
But how should I prepare for my session, you ask. Take a few of our handy hints and make sure you get the best from each of your sessions to get you motoring on the road to improvement. Continue reading