How Small Business Mentors or Business Coaches Can Help Your Business

Business mentors or business coaches can provide small business owners with support, advice and opinions. Mentors are typically people who are experienced, skilled, knowledgeable, and who have great communication skills, along with a willingness to share. Coaches are very similar to mentors; perhaps they bring a stronger training orientation to their work.

To build your own one-to-one business network with your mentor, you'll need to commit to the process in terms of both time and effort. You'll need to meet on a frequent and regular basis. You'll need to follow the advice of your mentor.

The mentor business is similar to the life coach business: the goal is for your mentor to become a business coach to you, helping you grow, change and succeed.

Coaches can provide you with unequaled, unbiased feedback and advice. This feedback will help you develop your business skills.

Coaching and/or Mentoring Activities:

• Focus on setting goals at each meeting.

• Set near-term (next meeting), short-term (next 12 months), and long-term goals (up to 5 years).

• Review progress against the goals at the each meeting. Talk about the actions you took to meet your goals.

• Start your relationship with short meetings: 45 minutes to one hour.

  Once you get comfortable with the process, make those meetings 1 ½ hours every two weeks – don’t spread out more than 2 weeks if possible – it’s hard to keep the continuity otherwise.

• Understand clearly what you want out of this business relationship and verbalize it – make sure your business coach understands what you want and need.

• Accept your coach's advice and act upon it – otherwise you are wasting your time and effort, and theirs.

Business coaches or mentors are only one part of a successful network. Other elements of a successful business network or community include joining and participating in the right type of association (your industry or trade association); building a strong internal committee; and working with the appropriate government agencies.

Effective business mentors will help you manage your business: consider the relationship you have with your mentor as a personal training program. And consider your mentor as your personal trainer.

Return from Business Mentors to Community.

Or Return From Business Mentors to More-For-Small-Business.