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The Value of a Business Mentor
From Scott Allen,
Your Guide to Entrepreneurs.
Why every entrepreneur should have one
"Your friends and family, the Web, periodicals, and even casual acquaintances can provide you with a steady daily flow of information regarding news, industry developments, and opportunities. Industry analysts, consultants, employees, and good networking contacts can share their expert knowledge with you regarding particular situations and needs you may encounter. But only a mentor can truly share wisdom with you on an ongoing basis.
A mentor is someone with more entrepreneurial business experience than you who serves as a trusted confidante over an extended period of time.
And a true mentoring relationship also works in both directions—they learn about new ideas from you just as you learn timeless wisdom from them.
But whatever the benefits to the mentor, the benefits to you, the entrepreneur, are even greater:
Where else are you going to turn? There's no boss any more to turn to for advice or direction—maybe not even any employees yet. You're flying solo. But you don't have to. Everybody needs a good reliable sounding board, second opinion, and sometimes just emotional support.
They've "been there, done that". Learn from others' mistakes and successes. They don't have to have experience in your particular industry. They don't have to be up on the latest trends or technology—you've got other sources for that. Their role is to share with you lessons from their experience in the hopes that you can learn them a bit more quickly and easily.
Expand your social network. Your mentor, being an experienced businessperson, is likely to have an extensive network, and can offer you access to far more senior decision-makers than you currently have. And they will be far more willing to open that network up to you than some casual acquaintance from a networking meeting."
Business Mentoring
by Matthew Tibble
"Many people, when they begin their business venture, can feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Finding customers, managing the bills, promoting the business - it can all add up to a feeling that you can't cope with the demands on your time and energy.
Then someone asks you if you have a mentor. You stop for a moment, and realize that you don't know what a mentor is, let alone have one.
A business mentor is someone that can provide you with advice, coaching and support as you tread the path to the success you plan to achieve. In many ways, they act like a coach. A word of warning here, some encouragement, and help with clarifying your thoughts makes the world of difference when you are just starting out.
Starting and running a business does not and should not be a lonely path to travel. Others have gone before you, made mistakes and had successes that you can benefit from by learning what they did and didn't do."