When you own a business, you want it to succeed. Yet 18% of businesses fail in the first year, 50% fail after five years, and 65% are gone by year 10, according to Bankrate’s 2022 Small Business Statistics.
So, what can you do to make sure your business continues to thrive and grow? Find a good mentor who can provide advice, guidance, resources, motivation, and emotional support to help you grow your business and avoid mistakes.
Already have the skills to scale and manage a successful business? How about using them to help others grow their business while you live our first core value of Give First. Be a mentor!
Top Traits of a Good Mentor
- Has relevant experience, and access to resources, in their field or industry.
- Empathy. Has the EI and EQ to understand and relate to the mentee’s challenges, struggles and goals. A good mentor should be able to put themselves into the mentee’s shoes and offer guidance from their perspective. See below for more on EI/EQ.
- Committed, not casual. ‘All In’ relative to the development of their mentee, including making enough time to assist in skills development and goal description and achievement.
- Non-judgmental. Puts their ego aside to let the mentee find their own path rather than having them duplicate your own – and provides encouragement, support and celebration.
- Positive attitude. Able to motivate and inspire, while also being supporting and encouraging.
- Able to maintain confidentiality and build trust in a safe space to encourage open and honest communication.
See our related post: Developing Trust in Business Relationships
How Can You Be a Good Business Mentor?
Being a good mentor involves a combination of skills, experience, and personality traits. Here are some ways you can become an effective business mentor:
- Be a good listener. Listening is a critical skill for a mentor. You need to be able to hear and understand the challenges and goals of the person you are mentoring before you can offer advice and guidance.
- Provide honest feedback. Give both positive and negative feedback and encourage your mentee to learn from their mistakes and improve their skills.
- Set realistic goals. Help your mentee set goals that are achievable, measurable and relevant to their business. Provide guidance on how to achieve those goals and hold them accountable for their progress.
- Share your own experience. If you’d had successes and failures, share them. This can help your mentee avoid common mistakes and gain insights into how to succeed in business.
- Be supportive. They need to know you’re on their side.
Mentors vs. Sponsors
Sometimes people confuse the terms mentor and sponsor. Although both can play an important role in career development, a mentor is someone who provides guidance, advice, and support to help a mentee develop their skills and knowledge. They may offer career advice, help navigate organizational politics and provide feedback. This relationship is informal and based on mutual trust and respect.
A sponsor actively advocates for a person’s career advancement. They may use their own influence to help their mentee gain access to opportunities, secure promotions and develop a higher profile either inside an organization or within their own industry. This relationship is often formal and structured, with specific goals and objectives.
The Difference Between EI and EQ
EI and EQ are related concepts yet with subtle differences. EI, or Emotional Intelligence, refers to the ability to identify, understand and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. This helps to guide thought and behavior. EQ stands for Emotional Quotient, a measure of someone’s Emotional Intelligence. It is a numerical value assigned to a person’s ability to manage emotions and is often used in the same way as IQ (Intelligence Quotient) to evaluable a person’s overall intelligence.
Being a good mentor requires not only the ability to impart knowledge, resources and skills, but also the ability to connect with and understand the needs of the person being mentored. Developing EI and EQ can lead to improved communication, better decision-making skills and increased motivation.
Defined Plans Help a Mentee Grow Personally and Professionally
A good mentor doesn’t just explore, they help their mentee develop a planned outcome. A mentee gets the most from their mentor when they work together on a plan of action. What are they trying to accomplish? What are the best steps to take to get there? How do you know when you’re done; is the relationship endless, or will you pass the mentee onto someone else? Here are some ways to define an effective plan:
- Set goals that are clear, realistic and achievable within a reasonable timeframe.
- Provide guidance and feedback on performance; for the mentee identify areas for improvement; for the mentor on additional ways to support the mentee.
- Mentors share your own experiences and insights to provide new perspectives.
- Encourage mentees to continue their skill development and become active learners. Recommendations for courses or books, introductions to new ideas or concepts, and information on helpful conferences or events are all welcome.
- Build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect within a safe space.
- Offer emotional and practical support. Listen when mentees need to vent and provide encouragement and motivation when they are struggling.
- Celebrate successes and milestones along the way to boost confidence and motivation to continue to grow and develop.
Mentoring is another good reason to join the AEG Community
The Association for Enterprise Growth (AEG) as a membership organization, provides members the opportunity to learn from each other and to make themselves available to be mentors through our connections with local Centers of Influence (COIs). These COIs are a key component in AEG’s vision of building resilient middle market economies, both in our local communities and across the entire country.
To learn more, visit our website, or contact us at info@enterprisegrowth.org.