Benefits of having a mentor and how to get one

Our last webinar brought the subject of mentoring. Mentoring is an invaluable tool for any business regardless of the stage of its development.

A presentation delivered by Andrew Cripps, entrepreneur director of Bridging the Gap, Brunel University programme for young businesses, quickly showed us why having a mentor can boost an entrepreneur’s business potential. He asked simple yet powerful questions: ''Would you be a customer of your own business? If yes, why? If not, why? Don't guess, think or feel.’’ Andy talked about customer experience and encouraged us to put ourselves in our customers' shoes, observe, ask questions and collect real information. This may sound obvious but the hard truth is that businesses fail to go through this straightforward and important exercise. ''All businesses need customers. Without customers, you just have a hobby, and hobbies are expensive”, summed up Andy.

Adina Luca, director of Profitable Insights, gave three reasons why a business  needs a mentor:

1. It is important to verbalise your questions and thoughts. The way you talk about your business is important;
2. You need neutrality and an objective opinion  from someone who is not emotionally involved in your business;
3. You  need someone who understands what goes through your head.

Adina, now running a successful financial management consultancy firm, talked about her experience and how a mentor helped her at the early stages of her business. She said that a mentor can help when a business owner runs out of steam, which is inevitable at some stage. 

Bridging the Gap can help with that. Its free programme offers mentoring, skills training, collaborative projects and many more. To qualify for the programme the business must be led by a woman, registered with HMRC or Companies House and in its first year. 

If you fulfil the criteria, apply and let the mentor help you change your business in the way you never dreamed possible.