How can you mentor someone who wants to start a business?

Mentoring someone is not just the mechanics and approach. Other aspects such as the chemistry, character, Mindset and attitude are critical too. So I would put these into consideration and qualification before accepting mentorship with the mentee for success. Guiding and setting the right expectations of the Mentee having the following prerequisites: 1. Clarity of the reason and purpose of starting a business 2. Commitment of time and deliverables involved in mentorship 3. Defined goals 4. Responsibility and effort to achieve set goals 5. Humility and open-mindedness to accept mistakes and recalibrate To start a business, an entrepreneur needs the above qualities. Else, mentorship also cannot help in achieving the success. Agree? ??

I feel that before mentoring someone you 1st need to understand your clients needs. Then it's important to understand their skills set, their passion, their personality and their core values. When any business is aligned with your core values you can create beautiful impact. We also need to consider what all resources are available to them, what all opportunities are available and so on and so forth.

I've learned that success in business has little to do with 'the perfect plan' and everything to do with your vision + mindset. With my business coaching clients, that's where I start. We deep dive into what they want from their business, exactly who they want to help and how, before creating the right business model + marketing plan. Throughout we work on their mindset. This is really important. Doubts are natural when starting a business. There is so much to learn + figure out - and there is no guarantee things will work. Helping new business owners learn to manage these so these doubts ensures they don't stand in the way of their progress + impact.

Es importante ante todo, entender ?para qué desea emprender?. Antes de este punto agregaría un paso previo que es, hacer una reunión de diagnóstico, ?Soy yo la persona que puedo aportar valor? ?El emprendedor esta alineado a mi propósito como mentor? Yo no trabajo con emprendedores que buscan capital de riesgo, muchas veces mi valor consiste en vincularlos con mentores que si lo hacen. Logrado este compatibilidad luego queda la planificación de trabajo.

Mentoring an aspiring business owner involves nurturing their passion while equipping them with the tools for realistic planning and execution. Begin by helping them refine their business idea, emphasizing the importance of understanding their target market and the problem their business solves.It's also essential to highlight the importance of resilience and adaptability, as the entrepreneurial journey is often unpredictable. Provide support in networking, connecting them with relevant contacts and resources. It's equally important to foster their entrepreneurial mindset, helping them stay motivated and resilient in the face of challenges.

As someone who mentors business owners on a regular basis, it is important to give quality feedback and guidance. The mentor should not just give the what but also the why in the feedback. This will arm the mentee with the information to make sound decisions when forming their business. The mentor should offer sound guidance that includes sharing their lived experiences so that the mentee can work smarter, not harder, on their business.

In my experience of running large scale mentoring programs, I've realized that mentor provides the critical nudge to the mentee when mentee is grappling with a problem. This is usually based on Mentor's own experience of handling similar situations in past. Even when Mentor experiences have been different from mentee they can still act as a sounding board by encouraging mentees to explore new ways of thinking and challenging current assumptions all of which are extremely valuable to someone making a new start.

In my experience, if someone is recognizing what you’re doing well in business on a consistent basis, they just want to learn how you’re accomplishing your goals while looking for your guidance to inspire them to innovate, what is already being done. I believe most mentorships are led by example as the mentee is bought-in to your process, and wants to learn your process, and receive your guidance.

As a mentor within a specific sector (in my case, the arts) it is invaluable to share knowledge and where they can access resources, opportunities and time savers. This is essential at the beginning when everything feels like another mountain to climb!

In a pure coaching space, the coach doesn’t give advice, but asks open-ended empowering questions to draw out the wisdom of the client. But most of my business coaching clients also need me to fill in knowledge gaps for them. So I intentionally offer a natural mix of coaching and consulting in the 1:1 space. (My training at iPEC Coaching taught me these important differences). Understanding which you’re offering, and communicating that effectively can streamline your client interactions when you’re looking to mentor someone who wants to start a business.

In my experience as a coach and mentor it’s important to enable people to learn and make decisions for themselves whenever possible and, in most cases, to avoid simply telling them things. Mentors need to be able to coach and vice versa. They also need to know which role they are in. An exception is the technical expertise you need to run a successful business, one key example being how to market effectively. Good mentoring can be a massive help in this area. This is an aspect where people often want to be told what works best in their sector. A skilful mentor can help new businesses set off in the right direction with a marketing strategy that is likely to have impact - after that they can begin to find things out for themselves.

Always always always support (their) learning and growth and not your own. Solving problems is a good thing, but when guiding someone in a new area you want to empower them to guide the ship. No doubt will your knowledge and expertise be able to assist here and there. But they ultimately are still in control. Pushing them a bit to stretch and get beyond their comfort zone is a must! Lastly, the importance of accountability can't be over stated here!

Early founders often don't know what they don't know (surprise!) - some of the most powerful impacts you can play as a coach or mentor is to help identify gaps in their knowledge, education, or understanding and guide them to valuable resources so that they can grow their skills, vision, and professional goals.

A concept like "Provide Value First and Often" in mentorship revolves around the mentor's proactive approach to sharing knowledge, insights, and expertise generously. This method establishes a foundation of trust and keeps the mentee engaged and invested in the relationship. In this way, the mentees know they can rely on their mentor for honest, helpful guidance. Here are some examples: 1- Start-Up Mentorship: Sharing experiences about securing funding, pitching to investors, etc. 2- Career Advancement: Providing insights on effective leadership, soft skills, personal branding, etc. 3- Skills Development: providing resources, recommending online courses, giving hands-on training sessions, etc. Good Luck!

Reviews are ultimately the only way to improve. Seeing where you came from and where you want to go is critical. I recommend always performing some review on a scheduled basis. This could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or all of the above. Having a system to evaluate and review will help you stay consistent and progress.

Today it's very easy to start a business, but very challenging to make it profitable. Critically assess your marketplace. What is it that you want to sell ? Is there a sufficient demand for it, irrespective of competition ? For me, demand is the first and most important factor.

Starting a business for the first time, especially if someone has been gainfully employed for all of their career, requires a monumental mindset shift that affects not just their professional aspirations, but virtually all aspects of their lives. Providing guidance and support is paramount, but so is being able to equip them with tools and practical business advice that will enable them to create a plan to launch a business that is set for sustainable growth.

Ask them to define their WHY? This will then become the leverage you can fall back on to lift their motivation whenever they hit an unexpected obstacle or difficulty on their journey.

At the end of the day, it's about being honest about your own journey and not expect a reward. You should sincerely want him or her to succeed. To be a good mentor, it's really about giving and seeing your mentee's growth. His success becomes your success.