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When most of us think of mentors, we think of someone who will provide career guidance. However, if you are an entrepreneur who is planning to start a business, you may benefit from working with a mentor as well. Here are seven tips for finding a small business mentor.
Seek Entrepreneurial Experience
Look for a mentor who has been an entrepreneur and/or has successfully run a small business. If he is familiar with your industry, that's even better, but not critical, since many aspects of starting a small business are similar whatever the industry.
Look for Rapport
Find a mentor that you are comfortable with. Having a mentor that you respect and with whom you can communicate easily is essential. If you partner with a mentor and then discover that he isn't a good fit, don't waste time trying to make it work. Instead move on and look for someone more in sync with your personality and style.
Use Multiple Mentors
You don't have to limit yourself to one mentor. In fact, once you establish your business and face new challenges as it grows, you may want to seek out additional or new mentors with different backgrounds or expertise.
Search Far and Wide
You probably have a range of options for finding a mentor. Start with your network, including friends or family members, since you already may know other entrepreneurs who would be happy to help to guide your start-up. Another possibility is a trade association or local small business group, which may have regular meetings where you can meet other entrepreneurs or even have formal mentoring programs.
Personalize the Relationship
Once you find a mentor, discuss how to structure your relationship. Some mentors prefer a regular meeting schedule, while other like a more casual arrangement. Whatever you choose, always prepare ahead of a meeting with your mentor so that you use the time productively. Also, traditionally, a mentor is a sounding board who will offer feedback but allow (or even expect) you to make your own decisions. However, this is another area where you and your mentor can decide together how much direct guidance your mentor will provide.
Reach Out to Other Entrepreneurs
Reach out to other small business owners in your community. If you are having trouble finding a mentor, another option is to reach out to small business owners in your community. For example, if you know of small businesses that have opened in recent years and seem to be thriving, approach one or more of the owners and ask if you could spend a half hour with them getting their advice on starting a business. You may find that they are flattered to be asked and more than willing to help. If you take this approach, limit the amount of time you request and be well prepared so that you use the time most productively.
Utilize Other Resources
Supplement your mentor's advice with other resources. For example, check with local colleges, which may have resources for entrepreneurs. Also, the Small Business Administration provides support to entrepreneurs in a number of ways, including through SCORE (www.score.com), which, among other things, provides free counseling, mentoring and advice to entrepreneurs, and through small business development centers, which are partnerships, usually with financial institutions.
Source:
http://www.sba.gov/content/steps-finding-mentor, Steps to Finding a Mentor/SBA.gov
http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-development-centers-sbdcs, Small Business Development Centers/SBA.gov
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