What is a business coach or a business mentor?
A business coach or a business mentor is essentially someone who is willing to spend time with you to pass on their knowledge and experience to help you grow and develop your business. Mentors typically work at a distance from your business and will meet with you on a regular basis and/or be available on the phone or via email. Most look to build an ongoing long-term relationship although some coaches and mentors operate as short-term problem solvers.
What to expect from a coach or mentor
Mentors:
- may suggest new ideas you haven’t thought about
- may question your decisions
- will help you shape your future strategy
- will support and congratulate you when things go right
- may at times disagree with you
- will be on hand to help you review the situation when things go wrong
The value they bring to your business is huge, and by having an experienced and impartial ear to use as a confidential sounding board you can greatly enhance both your own personal development and the growth and development of your business.
The benefits of having a coach or mentor
- Confidence and emotional support
Small business owners often work alone and sometimes it’s hard to recognise your achievements or to generate ideas and solutions to take the business forward. Having a mentor brings an external perspective that provides balance to your thoughts and ideas as well as a ‘pick me up’ when you doubt your own abilities or judgement.
The personal support a mentor provides will encourage you to get out there and realise that ‘ordinary’ people can achieve extraordinary things – if you don’t do it someone else will take that space.
Sometimes it’s hard to ask yourself a question even if you know the answer, especially if the answer is not one you want to hear. Having a mentor will stop you putting off these harder questions so you can start to address whatever it is you’re avoiding.
There’s nothing like a review meeting coming up to make you focus on the actions from the previous meeting and get them done. Scheduling regular meetings with your mentor will give you that focus and create a natural momentum to help keep pushing your business forward. It also forces you to take time out of running your busy business to reflect and plan on its current position and future direction.
- Impartial and confidential
The only objective a mentor has is to help get the most out of you. So you never have to worry about discussing any issues you have that are hampering your business. All your discussions are confidential and because mentors are physically and emotionally removed from your business it’s easier for them to see things you may have missed.
- Help you recognise your strengths and weaknesses
The power to work to your strengths and supplement your weaknesses is often difficult. A mentor will help you acknowledge how your strengths and weaknesses are affecting your business and will give suggestions on how you can better manage doing more of what you’re good at and finding other ways or people to so the things you’re not so good at.
Where to find a business mentor
If you know someone whose business judgement you respect or whose achievements you admire you could consider approaching them to ask if they are prepared to mentor you. Most successful business people are only too willing to pass on their knowledge and experience and they may be flattered that you have asked, although do give them a way to decline gracefully. If you are considering this route be prepared with an idea of what you would like them to do and how much of their time you will take. Above all, don't take their time for granted - after all, they have their own business to run.
If you don't have any contacts you could ask, or if you want your mentor to be entirely impartial, ask your local BusinessLink or enterprise agency if they run a business mentoring scheme or can recommend anyone. These services are usually chargeable so make sure you agree the charges before you use any of their time.
If you live in Hertfordshire you can contact local Enterprise Agency, Enterprise Hertfordshire, which provides a business coaching and mentoring service as part of its support for developing businesses across the region.
Contact Enterprise Hertfordshire on 0845 078 0600 for more information.
What is a business coach or a business mentor?
A business coach or a business mentor is essentially someone who is willing to spend time with you to pass on their knowledge and experience to help you grow and develop your business. Mentors typically work at a distance from your business and will meet with you on a regular basis and/or be available on the phone or via email. Most look to build an ongoing long-term relationship although some coaches and mentors operate as short-term problem solvers.
What to expect from a coach or mentor
Mentors:
- may suggest new ideas you haven’t thought about
- may question your decisions
- will help you shape your future strategy
- will support and congratulate you when things go right
- may at times disagree with you
- will be on hand to help you review the situation when things go wrong
The value they bring to your business is huge, and by having an experienced and impartial ear to use as a confidential sounding board you can greatly enhance both your own personal development and the growth and development of your business.
The benefits of having a coach or mentor
- Confidence and emotional support
Small business owners often work alone and sometimes it’s hard to recognise your achievements or to generate ideas and solutions to take the business forward. Having a mentor brings an external perspective that provides balance to your thoughts and ideas as well as a ‘pick me up’ when you doubt your own abilities or judgement.
The personal support a mentor provides will encourage you to get out there and realise that ‘ordinary’ people can achieve extraordinary things – if you don’t do it someone else will take that space.
Sometimes it’s hard to ask yourself a question even if you know the answer, especially if the answer is not one you want to hear. Having a mentor will stop you putting off these harder questions so you can start to address whatever it is you’re avoiding.
There’s nothing like a review meeting coming up to make you focus on the actions from the previous meeting and get them done. Scheduling regular meetings with your mentor will give you that focus and create a natural momentum to help keep pushing your business forward. It also forces you to take time out of running your busy business to reflect and plan on its current position and future direction.
- Impartial and confidential
The only objective a mentor has is to help get the most out of you. So you never have to worry about discussing any issues you have that are hampering your business. All your discussions are confidential and because mentors are physically and emotionally removed from your business it’s easier for them to see things you may have missed.
- Help you recognise your strengths and weaknesses
The power to work to your strengths and supplement your weaknesses is often difficult. A mentor will help you acknowledge how your strengths and weaknesses are affecting your business and will give suggestions on how you can better manage doing more of what you’re good at and finding other ways or people to so the things you’re not so good at.
Where to find a business mentor
If you know someone whose business judgement you respect or whose achievements you admire you could consider approaching them to ask if they are prepared to mentor you. Most successful business people are only too willing to pass on their knowledge and experience and they may be flattered that you have asked, although do give them a way to decline gracefully. If you are considering this route be prepared with an idea of what you would like them to do and how much of their time you will take. Above all, don't take their time for granted - after all, they have their own business to run.
If you don't have any contacts you could ask, or if you want your mentor to be entirely impartial, ask your local BusinessLink or enterprise agency if they run a business mentoring scheme or can recommend anyone. These services are usually chargeable so make sure you agree the charges before you use any of their time.
If you live in Hertfordshire you can contact local Enterprise Agency, Enterprise Hertfordshire, which provides a business coaching and mentoring service as part of its support for developing businesses across the region.
Contact Enterprise Hertfordshire on 0845 078 0600 for more information.