10 Reasons Why A Mentor is Essential to New Business Owners
Why is having a mentor essential to new business owners?To help you best appreciate the value of mentors to new business owners, we asked successful entrepreneurs and business owners this question for their best insights. From gaining trusted perspectives for decision-making to learning the best ways to deal with risks and challenges, there are several reasons offered to encourage new business owners to work with a mentor in developing and growing their business.
Here are 10 reasons these leaders offered for why a mentor is essential for their business:
- Gain Trusted Perspectives for Your Decision-Making
- Learn From Their Mistakes
- Get Guidance to Help Build Self-Confidence
- Practice Accountability and be Helped in Refocusing Your Goals
- Learn to Set Goals and Manage Successes
- Develop Your Emotional Intelligence Faster
- Get Better Advantage in Building Your Professional Network
- Draw From a Rich Source of Ideas and Proven Strategies
- Be Driven to Reach Your Full Potential
- Learn the Best Ways to Deal With Risks and Challenges
Gain Trusted Perspectives for Your Decision-Making
New business owners have to be bold. Unfortunately, sometimes that boldness can lead down paths best avoided. In the early days of a business venture, it’s not uncommon for new owners to be a bit lost. They may make non-practical decisions, based on less than scientific methods. You may like UPS better than FedEx because you’ve had better personal experiences with it, but does that mean it’s the better choice for your deliveries?
Having a mentor can mean having a trusted opinion, not specifically for business advice, but to help give a new business owner some perspective about their thought process. That perspective, among other things, could be what helps a business owner identify a bias or habit that could negatively impact their business. A wide-ranging perspective is a boon to a business owner, and something a good mentor can help new business owners cultivate for their futures.
Boye Fajinmi, Co-Founder and President, TheFutureParty
Learn From Their Mistakes
New business owners will often look to a mentor who has the experience to guide them through the intricacies of their responsibilities, but perhaps what is the most essential asset of these relationships is that mentors have already made their mistakes. We can read every resource we can get our hands on, and watch presentations by the “experts”, but there are some parts of business that you can only learn from doing, or better yet, having access to someone who has already done it.
Having a mentor provides the advantage of someone who has already made their errors, and can now impart the wisdom of their experience onto you, saving you the trouble, stress, time, and the expense of getting bogged down with these mistakes in the future. Having a mentor as a new business owner does not only allow you the advantage of knowing how to get things right but to avoid the pitfalls of getting them wrong.
Adelle Archer, CEO & Co-Founder, Eterneva
Get Guidance to Help Build Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is one of the hardest things to build when you’re a budding entrepreneur, surrounded by business owners with piles of success or decades of industry experience. A lack of confidence can become a real roadblock, making it hard to trust your decisions – the only surefire route to failure is indecision. Mentors provide some practical wisdom to help guide your decisions, and, more importantly, they help you build that self-assurance so you’ll be more confident in your choices and allow them to step away slowly.
Ruben Gamez, Founder & CEO, SignWell
Practice Accountability and be Helped in Refocusing Your Goals
One reason a mentor is crucial to new business owners is the fact they create accountability. When an entrepreneur starts out, the concept of being one’s own boss often leaves individuals without accountability. This is where mentors step in and help new business owners re-focus on the task at hand. If an area of the business is slipping and not meeting standards, the mentor takes notice and encourages the protégé to get back on track and meet their goals once more.
Kevin Callahan, Co-Founder & CEO, Flatline Van Co.
Learn to Set Goals and Manage Successes
One major benefit of having a mentor is that they help their mentees initiate goal-setting, and celebrate important milestones. This support from a trusted advisor helps a mentee stay engaged and enthusiastic, promoting productivity and a motivated mindset. Starting a business is a daunting endeavor with many challenges and moving parts involved. Having a mentor is essential for new business owners to seek council and support from a reliable source, and reaffirm their successes as they progress towards their goals.
Alex Wang, CEO, Ember Fund
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence Faster
Mentors help new business owners grow their EQ, or emotional intelligence, faster than they would on their own. Young entrepreneurs are passionate but inexperienced, and many haven’t yet learned how to control and utilize their emotions to their fullest in the realm of business. Leaders need to be able to make educated decisions that aren’t clouded by strong emotional reactions. A mentor can guide you to the best solution based on their knowledge, and in turn help you build up a stronger EQ, so you can make better smart decisive judgements in the future without their help.
Fernando Lopez, Marketing Director, Circuit
Get Better Advantage in Building Your Professional Network
Having a mentor is beneficial for new business owners, especially in terms of networking. The right mentor will help you to develop and expand your professional network. They will have access to their own extensive collection of useful contacts and can use this to your advantage. A mentor can offer introductions to people who can help with particular problems and provide inside information on the best way to approach certain people in your industry.
Being a business owner can be lonely, especially if you are a solopreneur. Building a strong network helps to alleviate this, and a mentor can be an integral part of this process. They can guide you to the right choices for seeking support, forging alliances, and opening up opportunities. Being able to skillfully manage business relationships is a vital aspect of networking and business ownership. A mentor will help you to positively navigate this process and maximize your potential.
Mario Cacciottolo, PR & Branding Manager, SBO
Draw From a Rich Source of Ideas and Proven Strategies
Mentors can provide new business owners with a library of strategies and ideas that they can use throughout their careers as business owners. In addition to providing counsel and helping you improve your skills and business acumen, mentors offer years of experience to pull from to relate to the challenges of their mentees. Thus, mentors have a keen understanding of what strategies and methods work in business and can offer a wellspring of fruitful, actionable advice to their pupils as they start new businesses.
Natalia Morozova, Partner, Cohen, Tucker & Ades P.C.
Be Driven to Reach Your Full Potential
Mentors are essential for new business owners because they push you to do more than you ever thought possible, and help you navigate the challenging world of business ownership. They make you do more than you ever thought possible and encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone.
I can attest to the importance of having a mentor. Without a mentor, I would not be where I am today. She never let me settle for less and removed every last bit of complacency in me. Mentors push you to reach your full potential and help you to see the possibilities that lie ahead. If you have the opportunity to work with a mentor, take it. It could be the best decision you ever make.
Marc J. Shuman, Founder, Shuman Legal
Learn the Best Ways to Deal With Risks and Challenges
Mentors can help you navigate countless challenges in your business, but they are most valuable for helping you to see the risks and challenges that you don’t know are coming. As a new business owner, you may think you know what to expect, but chances are that you’re only thinking about maybe 20% of the challenges you’ll face. A mentor can help you see those challenges before they creep up on you and are emergencies… and they can help you navigate those challenges in the best way possible for your business.
Bobby Klinck, Founder
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