Being an entrepreneur isn’t a one-day’s job, it involves so many responsibilities, and only people who have the strength to bear risks involved in a business, as well as business experience, are likely to take up the challenge of being an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible for the success of your business or organization, and starting up isn’t often easy, having a great idea for a startup coupled with sourcing for financial cash is often the main issue with starting up as an entrepreneur and having a startup cash makes a real positive difference coupled with knowledge of the business you are getting into, other issues like office space or land and management is also very important, but there is the most powerful weapon an entrepreneur can have and that is having a good mentor.
I cannot emphasize it enough how much difference having a mentor is in starting up a business, you leverage on the mentors experience and ideas in order to better your business, as they say experience is the best teacher so there you go, a mentor shares his highs and lows in business in order to encourage you and guide you through in your business. A good mentor in every business is totally indispensable because there are so many opportunities he could make you see you are not taking advantage of and therefor boost your income sales, what about during troubles in business? A good mentor navigates you out of troubled waters.
My grandfather was an entrepreneur was the earliest mentor to me that I can remember, he sold natural Shea butter and when my brother and I got of age and wanted to start our small business, you cannot imagine the wealth of wisdom we got from him, from sourcing funds to secret of handling customers, handling our accounts and all of that, with his help we developed the right marketing strategy and as you can imagine we succeeded.
We had a mentor who was an instrument to our success in business years ago, he had the skills and knowledge to keep us focused in business and we trusted him because he cared deeply about us. He helps us to attain greater heights by spurring us to more entrepreneurial goals. He really helped us to build our confidence in business and to realize what it’s like to work for ourselves, all these happened long time ago but I still remember his advice and hopes of encouragement when we are making or planning decisions.
In business there is nothing better than having confidence in your work, service or product that you provide because that spurs you on to interact better with customers and attain greater heights because if you don’t believe in yourself, who will? However, some entrepreneurs aren’t lucky enough to get a mentor among their family but it is possible to find one or two mentors for you. Here are some important tips to getting the right mentor or a group of mentors that would make and a difference for you as an entrepreneur:
1. Realize your needs as an entrepreneur.
Determining your needs is an important step in getting that mentor you desire, what are the mentoring needs you need in your business? Do you have trouble with your numbers, operations or market strategy? This will determine the exact kind of mentor you want now but bear in mind that mentoring needs tend to shift as you start and build your business. Create a wish list for your mentor as related to the support and skills you need to take the next step in your business.
2. Networking is important
Networking is important not only in sourcing for clients but also in getting the kind of mentor you want. You have to find the right mentor that fits the description qualities you want, do you want someone who’s knowledgeable about the market operations and can guide you in the right direction or someone who sits in his office connecting through the business community through magazines he reads? The choice is yours.
3. Always talk less and listen more.
This is an old age advice that has never failed, most times due to some entrepreneurs youthful exuberance, staying silent might be a hard task, however to get that mentor you desire it is wise to talk less and listen more, you will end up learning a lot when you pay attention and you will also be able to get the right mentor by just listening.
4. Act like a person who needs a mentor
When you think you know everything and act like that, it is going to be difficult to get a mentor because most people who definitely back away. In order to learn, you must listen and consider ideas that may not match your own opinions.
5. Be flexible
Despite having a mentor, you may also gain good advice and benefit from people who provide some insightful ideas, also if you are in the company of someone who is rarely available, use that opportunity to gather a lot of information as much as possible and gain knowledge. Also your mentor might be skilled in one particular area so be open to good suggestions.
6. Nontraditional mentors are also useful
Don’t overlook nontraditional mentors as they can help you through their seminars, books, videos, TV programs, internet and their speeches. There are so many nontraditional mentors that provide mentorship to millions of people around the world without ever meeting them; Richard Branson is one good example of such mentors.
7. Appreciate your mentors
It is always good manners to thank people who help you with or without their knowledge. The satisfaction of a mentor is the fact that they helped another person grow and attain greater heights in business, think of what you can do to show your appreciation to them.
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8. Become a mentor to others
The beauty of learning is so that you can also teach others because you may never be able to pay your mentors back so becoming a mentor to others is a good way of passing on the knowledge you have learnt to support other people with the same goals and dream as yours.
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