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Starting your own business can be really rewarding with exciting challenges. One of the biggest challenges is knowing exactly where to start and what to tackle first.
Finding a business mentor to guide and help with direction is a great first step. It can be especially useful to ask any business owner, especially new ones, whether they had areas they needed help in when they first began their venture.
There are often things that new business owners haven’t thought of because they don’t have the right information, especially when juggling day to day commitments such as jobs, studies and/or a social life.
A mentor can help you achieve your business goals, even some of the most successful businesses attribute much of their success to their mentors.
They could be an expert in your sector or might have experience starting a business themselves. If they’ve been through the process before, they’ll have an idea of what works and what doesn’t. Here’s how to find the right one for you and tips on how to get the best out of the mentoring relationship.
How do I find a suitable mentor?
Approaching a potential mentor with a particular focus or problem can determine the support and expertise you need – this’ll give you a common goal to work towards. Ask yourself these questions:
Once you’ve established what support you need, you might already know someone you can approach who has set up a successful business, or you may need to research potential mentors which you can do through mentor-matching services available online for free.
To help decide whether the mentor you choose will be a good fit, ask yourself:
The top five areas to get mentor support?
These five areas can really help to nail the conversations you have with your mentor:
Making the most of your mentoring relationship
So you’ve agreed your mentoring sessions, take a look at these tips for some ways on how to get the most value out of the relationship for you and your business idea:
Looking to develop your business idea further? The LifeSkills Business start-up planner and handbook could help.
And to explore more themes connected to setting up a business and enterprise visit BBC Bitesize