5 Reasons why YOU need a Mentor

With all the buzz about business mentoring in the media and on television with shows like The Mentor and Shark Tank, one could be forgiven to think that getting a business mentor on your team is the latest “trend” in business.

Truth is, as long as businesses have existed, some owners were fortunate enough to have people “in-the-know” in their network, their go-to confidant to help them set goals, strategies and actions to guide the business to success.

With the rise of small business as a major contributor to the Australian economy, organisations like the Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) were formed to help people easily find people with hands-on business experience to assist business owners savvy enough to take advantage of the intelligence of others willing to share their experience, successes and failures.

 Here are 5 reasons why you need a business mentor for your business.

 1.  All successful people have mentors

 “Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor.” — Denzel Washington

 Countless successful people have been quotes saying that one of the keys to their success was having a good mentor. Part of the challenge is finding the right person with the right experience willing to help you. This is where SBMS can help, with over 170 mentors and 25 years in operation, finding the right mentor(s) for you is guaranteed.

2. You don’t know what you don’t know

 “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” — John Crosby

 No matter how long you have been in business, assuming you know everything these is to know is… well… not wise. There is no denying that someone with solid business acumen can provide value for any business, at the very least by:

• Providing a bouncing board for ideas and strategies
• Validating your ideas
• Broaden your perspective for ideas an opportunities you may have not considered
• Being an accountability partner that’s helps you focus on working ON your business and less IN your business.

 3. Big business thinking

“Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. Put a ding in the universe.” – Steve Jobs

 Large organisations engage experts and consults to help them make wise strategic business decisions. Sadly, the vast majority of small business owners feel that they have to battle it out on their own, possibly with the input of a spouse, or occasional visit to the accountant. My goal is to inspire all small business owners out there to think like big business, and get the right people on their team.

 4. It’s all about you

 “What I think the mentor gets is the great satisfaction of helping somebody along, helping somebody take advantage of an opportunity that maybe he or she did not have.” — Clint Eastwood

 Business mentors LOVE to help business owners, and there is no denying the value of one-on-one consultation with an experience person, that wants to help you with exactly what you need help with, even if you don’t know what that is yet. Courses are great to up-skill yourself and fill in any knowledge gaps, but engaging a mentor for a one-on-one session is worth its weight in gold.

 5. Light at the end of the tunnel

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor

 Business is TOUGH! The to-do list is endless. The should-do list is even longer. Financial challenging can be crippling, and even if finances are not an issue for you, every business has its hurdles, it is overwhelming! Business mentors can help with all that - separate the urgent from the important, get you focused and make you accountable. Nothing is more satisfied to a mentor than seeing a client walk (or fly) away from the meeting elevated, motivated, and inspired.

 Business mentors don’t have the silver bullet to fix all the problems in your business, but they sure can help you define the strategies to help your business be the best it can be.

Points to remember:

-You can see one, or multiple mentors with different specialities.

-Totally confidential and independent (think doctor/patient type relationship)

-Help with ANYTHING in your business – marketing, finance, digital, merchandising, business strategies, branding, growth, succession planning, accounting, time management, human resources, staff training, pricing, inventory management, the list goes on.

-We are not here to tell you how to run your business, just help you work through whatever is on your mind

SBMS is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through DEDJTR and Small Business Victoria.

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