HAVING A MENTOR CAN BOOST YOUR BUSINESS

You might be starting a business for the first time, or you may have been into the business for a long time. Whether you are into any of these, it is important that you have good mentors who can help you, this is because they are always there to help advise you whenever you need help. Since finding a problem is quite difficult, you need someone else to look at your business from an external point of view to help you know what the problem is.Those who succeed on their own terms often cite the value of good mentors as one of the most important factors behind their success. 

While an independent spirit, confidence and a thick skin are essential components of any successful entrepreneur, having the humility to recognise when you need help and looking to your peers for support can be equally important for any small business owner. Failure to recognise this could be damaging to your business.The value of a good mentor does not just apply to young people in the early days of their entrepreneurial careers. 

Mentors help you to determine if you are spending your marketing budget effectively, if you should still be doing those tasks yourself or is it time to get an assistant, where else you should be saving money. Nobody can be expert in all these or give them their full attention all the time so it’s vital to take advantage of whatever help is on offer; from friends or colleagues, trade groups or even their suppliers

Mentoring is also a great way of providing accountability for entrepreneurs, a group of people generally not accountable to anyone except themselves. Regular meetings over coffee or lunch create structure, ensuring that a lot of those big picture tasks that you struggle with are actually written down and completed on time.

Now that you know this, finding the right mentor is the next step you should take. While finding that person, think of how you ensure that you find ways of making your relationship strong and reliable. The structure and accountability that mentors provide give entrepreneurs a chance to refocus on the things that really matter to their business, but in order to maintain a good relationship it is vital that both sides understand the boundaries that should exist between the two. Always remember that mentors are not there to do all your work for you, they are only your adviser on general issues.

While you are making a mentor for yourself, know that you can also be a mentor to your fellow entrepreneur.