As all business owners know, running a company is time-consuming. It is a never-ending list of things to do, problems to solve and decisions to be made that will all if done correctly, accelerate you to meet the goals you have set for yourself and your company. There are a lot of uncertainties and challenges in developing a business, a lot of which falls on the owner to answer for. Most business owners are in new territory when it comes to navigating a growing business. And while there is no textbook to give you the correct answers in running a company, one of the best resources for business growth that many entrepreneurs are now seeking out is a mentor who has experience within a similar market. A mentor helps not only to develop you as a leader and professional but have also proven to accelerate the growth of the business itself.
Here are five ways that having a mentor helps develop your company.
Experience Is The Best Educator
One of the best tools you have to learn from is experience, and while as a new business owner you may not have much experience to pull from, a mentor has most likely gone through many similar situations and can share their experiences with you. By sharing in the decisions your mentor made in similar situations and the results or actions from that, it can help to guide your next move in the company. Mentors have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom ready to be shared when such advice is needed. Much like an older sibling, mentors learned what worked and didn’t the hard way and can use that experience to make your path a little bit easier.
Networking
Ever heard the saying it’s not what you know, it’s who you know? Well, having spent many years in the industry, mentors tend to know a few people. As a new entrepreneur, your network is often minimal. A mentor can strategically connect you with various partners, vendors, even potential new clients that you may not have been able to establish on your own. Mentors want to open new doors for you, and by introducing you to new people and growing your own connections, it will do just that.
Outside Perspective
Being faced with tough decisions is a day in the life of a business owner. Oftentimes navigating the process of making challenging choices can be stressful and nearly impossible. A mentor can provide you with outside, but knowledgeable perspective that can help guide you through making a difficult decision, and eliminating some of the worry and fear that come along with it. A mentor’s perspective is extremely valuable because their opinion is fueled only by knowledge and experience, whereas when you own the company, there are a lot of emotions and other details that may be clouding your judgment. A mentor is invested in you as an entrepreneur, rather than being invested in the business and they provide their perspective with the intentions of helping you to help propel the business forward.
Action And Accountability
When you own a company, your focus is pulled in many different directions making it difficult to determine where your attention is most valuable and needed. Mentors are there to help guide you in determining what your objectives should be. You work together to identify market opportunities and deficits and establish goals related to the growth of the company. Once you have an action plan in motion, your mentor holds you accountable for achieving your goals, and further working to develop you as a leader along the way.
Somebody’s In Your Corner
Running a company isn’t all successes and smiles, there are many pitfalls, disappointments, and struggles along the way. It can be lonely and difficult for others to understand. By having a mentor, it provides you with someone you can relate to and understands your frustrations. A mentor is invested in helping you to lead your company to success. Having a mentor can foster a self-confidence as well as a higher emotional intelligence, which is so important as an entrepreneur.
A mentor’s work is mostly behind the scenes working directly with you the owner, and developing you as a business professional and leader. But, with their support in reaching your goals, and a mentor’s expertise in problem solving, leadership, planning and productivity, it has shown to improve overall company performance and ultimately accelerate business growth.
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