The Benefits Of Having A Business Mentor
As a small business owner, you cannot do everything alone. It’s extremely valuable to have a mentor or adviser to help you manage your establishment.
A mentor is essentially a guide who is able to help you navigate the changing business environment, and future challenges that might arise. He or she will help you make sure that you are addressing the right issues, and finding solutions to grow your business. Develop a long and friendly relationship with a mentor, who can provide you with a wealth of knowledge and help that will help you grow your business.
Mentors Give Great Advice
A mentor can provide advice that will be beneficial, since he’s already gone through starting a small business and making it a success. He’ll give you advice on customer supplier issues, your long term goals, financing, tax issues, hiring and more. In a video from AICPA, it’s recommended to have someone on your team who is “a knowledgeable, trusted adviser who is committed to generating positive outcomes for your business.”
Mentors Can Help You Improve Your Skills
Improving your skills is another area where a mentor can help, pointing out to you things like better communication, how to better manage your employees or time, and where to hire a professional, such as a CPA to deal with taxes. He or she may even recommend someone for the job. If so, you just made your second networking contact.
Mentors Can Help You Network
Your mentor will have already cultivated a large network of people who can be beneficial to your business. Accountants, lawyers, as well as various other fields that you might need to come into contact with.
Networking can be very helpful in building and growing your business to the level of success that you want. Simple things, such as swapping business cards with someone, can give you a network of various people from various backgrounds, such as plumbing, law, marketing, and others that you may need in the future.
photo by photoSteve101 via Flickr
Mentors Offer Perspective
Another benefit is that mentors can help provide perspective to situations and problems in another way than you yourself haven’t considered. Examples of this include: how do your customers or an investor view your business? How do your employees see you as a boss? What type of marketing will give you the most for your money and help your business be seen in a way that brings people to you.
Mentors Can Develop Strategies and Methods
As you build your business, you will need to develop strategies and methods to deal with a multitude of things; from inventory to dealing with employees, customers, suppliers and other issues. Your mentor will be able to help with methods to make sure your workers are happy with the work they’re doing, how to deal with irate customers, financial situations, how much inventory should you store and more. These are all important aspects of your business.
Mentors Provide Encouragement
You mentor will be able to encourage you and keep you on the right track with advice, important skills, strategies, networking, and perspective, which will help your confidence grow. As your confidence grows, your business will benefit from it. If you haven’t already, it’s time to enlist someone you trust to start mentoring you.
Become a Mentor Yourself
After you have grown your business, and you have the experience, you may decide that becoming a mentor is for you, which can provide you with new networking contacts, new ideas, and sharpen your own skills.
[…] your industry: It will be beneficial to seek the aid of a business mentor or an industry professional so that you can learn all there is to know about the sector you are […]