Business Mentors

[recruitment]

Hi Guys

Any one hear use a business mentor or coach, as I have a small business and Im considering using a mentor. Has anyone used one and if so what did they get out of it.

Thanks for any feedback.

[515]

Yes. Best thing I ever did. Make sure you select the right mentor, who will push you and question you and challenge you.

[bacon?]

where do you find them? is it a free service?

[conolan]

Business mentor can be a friend, former colleague not absolutely neccessary to be 'professional'. Most important is the issue raised above by 515.

[515]

Originally Posted by bacon?

where do you find them? is it a free service?

Enterprise Boards or Enterprise Ireland can provide one for a limited number of visits... you only need one visit every month or two anyway. After that you can either pay or ask the board/EI to extend it. Or you could give the mentor some shares or get him/her onto your board.

[pog it]

Hm.. 515- were you on Dragon's Den by any chance? 'Levitat' rings a bell for me!

[515]

Originally Posted by pog it

Hm.. 515- were you on Dragon's Den by any chance? 'Levitat' rings a bell for me!

Nope.

[patftrears]

I've had 5 mentors from EI.
If you are inexperienced it can be good to chat with them, overall I got very little from them.

Mentors are a bit out of touch and some take the mentoring role to seriously and expect you to hang on their every word.

Set a clear objective that you want to achieve with the mentor.
Set a goal and agenda for each meeting.
They work for you, if they are not delivering value, bin them.

I did get great help talking to people who run their own businesses and are more experienced with what is happening on the ground.

[Spinnaker]

@ recruitment, stating the obvious perhaps but as in recruitment test your mentor for those two key ingredients; relevant experience and bundles of enthusiasm..