Friday, October 25, 2013

Business Mentoring - Adding To The Growth Of Your Business

By Casie D. Leavens


Just like every sports team has a coach on the sideline, analysing the game, changing players and tactics, motivating and guiding, every business needs a mentor for similar reasons.Business mentoring - every business needs an outside support to help analyse the business, guide their general direction and provide outside knowledge and motivation.A recent study found that only 2% of people are capable of working without supervision so most business owners need somebody to help guide them.

An outside perspective - 'can't see the wood for the trees' is an old expression which sums up why business owners need a mentor. When we're in the business every day doing the work it's difficult to step back and take the helicopter view of how things are going. A business mentor can come in and analyse the business as they are not involved every day. They can spot things that the owners cannot see (a bit like never being able to see the salt that's right in front of you on the dinner table).

Be careful with personal recommendations; your friend with the hair salon will need drastically different advice to your accountancy firm. A good business mentor for hair and beauty might see instant results in a salon, but you need to have the advice catered to your specific sector.When concerning Google and web based searches, you have to be on the lookout for fraudulent or lower quality service. The internet is a very ease platform with little barrier to entry, so you have to maintain a vigilance when looking for paid services online.

Business mentoring programmes will ensure that you are matched to a perfect mentor meeting all your needs and requirements. These mentoring programmes are tailor made for either individual requirements or even for groups. Working with a business mentor is a

A second opinion - quite often business owners know what to do or have a good idea of the next step but they are not 100% convinced that it's the way to go, so they don't proceed. Discussing it with a mentor often helps them realise that it's the right move and it gives them the confidence to go ahead. Being in business can be a lonely place and it may be difficult to discuss things with staff or a partner or friends.especially in tough economic times, it can be difficult sometimes to keep motivated. Part of the role of a mentor is to encourage the owner, highlight the positives and reassure them that they have a great business. This can be invaluable support for any business owner.

All good business mentors will be happy to meet with you to talk through your business and mentoring needs. The meeting helps both parties find out if you can work together and create a mutually beneficial outcome. After the meetings go back to your criteria and ask yourself which of the people you have met would help you the most. Ultimately you need to assess this before you look at their costs and timeframes, mentors who charge less likely do so for a reason.

If you randomly decide when you will and won't work, you'll likely spend too much time behind your computer and find that family is suffering or you are not putting in enough time. Keep track of the hours you contribute toward money generating activities in your business and hold yourself accountable. Do this because that's what a home business coach/leader does. You are not in the business of convincing your business partner to stay in the business if they are not putting forth the effort. That's not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is that most home based business owners do not get adequate support and you, as a home business mentor, will be their breath of fresh air. Remind them of their dreams and their why. Let them know they are not alone in their business and encourage them to reach out to the online community and establish new relationships with like-minded people. Do this because that's what a home business coach/leader does.Don't be afraid to make them work. Do not do the work for them, but certainly it's OK to show them some things and point them to information or resources where they can master what they need to learn. People want confident instructions, good ideas and resources.Let them see you work. Let them see your fresh new content being placed online on a consistent basis. Leading by example has been defined as the best thing you can do as a leader. When they can see you placing ads, participating in the social media platforms, putting up videos, attending seminars, doing webinars, they can see you practice what you preach.




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