Getting Business Advice from a Mentor

The economy has given businesses a rough ride for the last year or so.  It might be a good idea for you to find a mentor that has more experience in the business world to help you weather this economic storm.  It has never been more important to businesses to cut unnecessary spending.  If you have a wise mentor they have probably gone through tough times in their business life so they will have invaluable advice to give you.  Should you not know a mentor, you could ask a trusted business associate for a name or use your network of colleagues to find one.

The definition of a mentor is someone with more experience or wisdom that will share their knowledge with a younger less experienced individual.  If you have a great idea but lack the entrepreneurial skills to bring it to fruition, seeking the help of a mentor is something you should do.  They can guide you so that the business has a good chance of being successful and profitable.

You can find many instances of mentoring in action if you look at successful people.  Most of the time, they are more than willing to give credit to a mentor that helped them get started.  A case in point is the billionaire, Richard Branson; he made his fortune in the airline and entertainment industry.  Freddie Laker, a British entrepreneur was his mentor to success.

A mentor isn’t an employee although they can work very closely with you in the beginning.  The mentor will be there to offer guidance when a big decision needs to made, you need support from someone whose judgement you trust, or your business needs to be improved.  All of these things are ways in which a mentor can help you.
In many instances you can find a mentor that has retired from the same industry that you are getting into.  These people are ripe for mentoring because they can bring you a vast array of knowledge.  They not only have the skills; they are experts and have years of experience.  Every business can use the information that a mentor can bring to the table.

The amount of mentoring you have will depend on your approach to mentoring.  Some mentors will meet once a week, others will converse daily.  You could have an arrangement that you will only contact your mentor if a problem arises that you want their help with.  You could have a meeting with the mentor, use an email for contact, phone each other or use all of the techniques.

If you aren’t familiar with your mentor you may wish to use a more formal approach.  You could set goals, discuss issues or any agenda that applies with a monthly meeting.  You may know the mentor very well and prefer an informal approach so you could meet for lunch or dinner to discuss matters.  Even if you don’t think of someone as a mentor you may be surprised to find out that they have been one any way.