Starting off with a business today is way easier than it was a decade ago. We have all the information we need to get started – there are podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, and even books. All you need is an idea to get going with your business. Well, not really!
Starting a business is not as easy as it seems, and you really need to get beyond advice off the internet or books. You need to have a business mentor, someone who will guide you from the very start of your journey, and be by your side with their rock-solid advice through the highs and lows.
Who Exactly is a Business Mentor?
No, it need not be a person who has decades of experience behind him and is in his sixties. That’s usually what comes to our mind when we mention the word “mentor,” right? But in reality, anyone can be a mentor. Anyone with ample knowledge, experience, and wisdom about your industry can easily mentor you to be a successful business person.
But, of course, this person should be willing to impart all his knowledge to you and take you under their steady wings, till you are ready to fly on your own too!
Is a Business Mentor the Same as a Consultant?
Not at all! Consultants are experts who perform specific tasks in alignment with the goals of your business. Typically, consultants are hired for short-term or long-term projects and restrict their services to that particular period only.
However, when it comes to mentors, they will give you an overall perspective about your business. They will help you identify the areas where you can work and give you solutions based on their past experiences. Mentors are stable and ongoing. There’s no time duration for the assistance they offer.
Now let’s run you through some of the reasons why you need to get yourself a business mentor right away.
How Exactly Can a Mentor Help You?
Mentors Come With Experience.
The main job of a mentor is to ensure you don’t go through something they did on their business journey. The fact they already have a lot of experience in the fieldwork and other aspects of the business you wish to pursue saves you a lot of time and effort – as you won’t have to go through the same thing again.
If you look for other sources of information, they will have a fixed set of advice based on their experiences. But only a mentor can help you with curated advice, depending on the changing situations of your business. A mentor may not tell you all their experiences but will have the right direction to help you sail through situations.
A Mentor Improves Your Chances of Succeeding.
Ask any established businessperson with a thriving business, and they’ll tell you how much their mentors have helped them to get where they are today. And numbers back this too – around 80% of CEOs in an executive coaching survey said that their mentors helped them learn the tricks of the trade.
A Mentor Will Help You Build Contacts.
Let’s be honest. Building a network is not a cakewalk at all. It takes years to build a good, credible network that would help you boost your business. But here’s the better way out – you choose a mentor and select all the contacts he brings.
A Mentor Will Help You With Your EQ.
It’s not rare to come across young, brash entrepreneurs who don’t think about anything other than their business and its growth. While this is fine, having emotional balance is very important – in fact, it is one of the essential traits in every entrepreneur.
A mentor would help you realize this, as they are more mature and have already been through this rush of emotions. A mentor would help you understand the importance of staying calm, as decisions taken in the heat of the moment do no good either to you or your business.
A Mentor Means a Sense of Reassurance.
The life of an entrepreneur is full of doubts. What if this doesn’t work out? What if the new strategy doesn’t make it through? What if I cannot see the results of my efforts? The what-ifs are way too many! And it’s not that this is a passing phase. You would have these ‘what ifs’ throughout. In such situations, it’s very reassuring to have someone by your side to motivate you and get your confidence back.
You can freely talk to a mentor about all your worries without worrying about how they would take them. The mentor will lend a listening ear and help you get past all your questions and doubts with ease.
Perennial Encouragement and Support
A mentor will not make business decisions for you. Instead, their task is to be there when you falter. They will give you the confidence to make decisions all by yourself and then help you analyze what went wrong and what was absolutely right.
When your decisions don’t show expected results, that’s where the demotivation creeps in – and here is where the role of a mentor begins. With the encouragement and support from a mentor, you can get back with a bang all over again.
Who can be a Good Mentor?
Look within your network – even if you may not have people willing to mentor you, they can always assist you with contacts who would take up the role. Until you find the right one, you can connect with everyone from whom you can learn.
Summing Up
We hope we’ve given you enough reasons to convince you to get yourself a mentor right away. Finding the right one may not be easy, but it will be totally worth it when you do find one.
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