Can you hear the hum? That’s the sound of your business growing. But as you listen more closely, there may be occasional creaks and crackles that you have not noticed before. It may be business processes that have gone astray or growth strategies that you’re not familiar with.
In our new ebook, we offer a comprehensive list of suggestions and tools that will help you gain control over your business and continue to grow.
For all the great technical tools (Asana and QuickBooks, to name a few), you may also benefit from a real helping hand. Cue the mentor.
Consider the mentor your bedrock of experience, someone who has successfully built businesses and whose expertise could make you thrive.The mentor may be:
- Someone you know. Perhaps your circle of friends and acquaintances includes an exceptional entrepreneur whose advice you’d trust.
- Someone in your business network. Think of people you’ve met at network events and trade shows. Are there any hidden gems among your LinkedIn contacts? If they’re not part of your competition, don’t hesitate to reach out.
- Someone who mentors for a living: They are not free but countless companies offer business consulting services. As comforting as it may be to chat business with an old friend, sometimes you may prefer the upfront advise of a professional mentor.
With a credible mentor―or mentors―on your side, you should feel more at ease making difficult decisions, gain confidence, and improve your business skills. Here’s someone who can objectively evaluate the strength and shortcomings of your management style and help you sort through well-intended advice from friends and colleagues.
Although you may mainly look to your mentor for advice, he or she may also be someone you lean on at times when the frustration of growing your business gets to you. The mentor could help you resist the urge to vent with customers or employees, replacing a difficult situation with a productive solution.
Other benefits of a mentor include:
- Provide big-picture perspective: How does your business look to investors, customers, or government officials? You mentor is there to provide an honest take on situations that you’re struggling with or would not have thought of.
- Open up new opportunities: As a driven entrepreneur, your mentor has likely established an impressive network of contacts that you could take advantage of. The more people you add to your own Rolodex, the better chance you have of finding skilled employees to fill openings or potential partners to do business with.
In the end, every business-growing decision is yours, but it doesn’t hurt when someone has your back. For more practical advice on how to manage business growth, download our ebook.
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