THE BENEFITS OF NETWORKING SERIES - PEER TO PEER MENTORING VIA YOUR NETWORK

When you’re the business owner of a SME, you are looked to by your team to provide all the answers, but sometimes you don’t have them!?That’s why having a mentor in business, is essential to your personal growth and business development. In fact, mentoring is so important to business that 92% of Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs**. ?A ‘traditional’ mentor, who is at a different level of knowledge and experience than you, has been proven time and again to be of significant benefit in keeping business owners accountable, but could there be an even better way??

When you are part of a network community of like-minded business owners, forming mastermind groups and round-table discussions that focus on Peer-to-Peer mentoring may be just what you need to enhance your business learning, leadership and acumen to scale your business to the next level.

So, what is Peer-to-Peer mentoring?

Peer Mentoring is when people of similar business experience and knowledge work together to support, inspire and guide each other, while focussing on building relationships with respect and trust.

Unlike traditional mentoring, where one person is generally more experienced, Peer-to-Peer mentoring encourages a sharing of knowledge. The relationship is less formal, and participants should feel they are gaining something valuable from the relationships they build.

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring as part of your network community, is about forming strong relationships with like-minded business owners, to support each other with previous ‘lived’ experience, wisdom and knowledge.?It’s not just about having one mentor with limited experience in certain areas.?Whatever your traditional mentor’s business knowledge, they are still just ‘one person’ with their singular experience.?In a Peer-to-Peer network, you have the extensive wisdom of multiple people; a collective wealth of experience and viewpoints from a large number of people, all willing to support your endeavours because of the relationships nurtured within the community.

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring can feel like a friendly chat between business owners building relationships, but it can be more formalised. ?We recommended you define the nature of your relationship with a clearly outlined purpose and goal of what you want to achieve. You can create a structure for how the peer-to-peer mentoring will work, how often you’ll meet and the topics to be discussed. You can even evaluate performance and results based on the mentoring sessions. ?Having a desired outcome and goals, will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the mastermind peer mentor group. ?District32 does this on behalf of our Members through structured forums.

Peer-to-Peer mentoring is a two-way street, where all participants share their experience and knowledge in a way that can support and assist other group members with business growth and suggestions for complex business decisions.

It is not a relationship where:

• One person in the group is expected to give all the advice
• Any one of the participants expect to get all the answers that could help to ‘save’ their business
• One or more of the participants is co-dependent and wants others to act as a therapist.

Being part of an already well-established, structured and outcome-driven network community, such as District32, will increase the likelihood of achieving your set goals from your peer-to-peer mentoring network.?Because the group already has an established culture on how to support each other, an ingrained understanding on what is expected of peer members in the discussions, and a non-judgemental and non-competitive approach, exponential results can be achieved.

So, what are the benefits of Peer-to-Peer Mentoring in your networking community, and how can these benefits help and support you in your business?

1.??????Be a resource for inspiration and new opportunities

We all know that talking out ideas can lead to bigger ideas, as well as finding what lights you up. As part of a peer-to-peer mentor group, you are developing long-term relationships with other business owners, who have similar experience in business.?As relationships grow and you know, like and trust your other members, the possibilities for creating inspirational new ideas for your business also increase. New opportunities can open up because your peers can see the value in what you have to offer and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. And remember it’s a two-way-street; you can provide valuable advice and inspiration, as well as receive it.?

2.??????Accountability

Often as business owners, we spend far too much time working ‘in’ the business and not ‘on’ the business.?But business growth requires a sustained approach to improving systems and processes, as well implementing new business strategies.?Having a peer-to-peer mentor relationships within your network will support you with accountability and implementation, without you feeling like you’re being ‘told what to do’ by a traditional mentor.?Conversely, you can provide support and accountability too. We all get more things done when we are accountable.

3.??????Collaborative Learning

In a Peer-to-Peer relationship environment, business owners can discuss and share strategies that have worked for them in the past.?Every business is unique, and most of what is learnt in business is from ‘lived’ experience, not from a book.?One of your peers may be going through a stressful time trying to work out how to export goods overseas, for example.?If you already have knowledge in that area, you can save them a lot of time and stress by showing them how you do it.?Even what may seem like minor suggestions for using resources and tools to make life easier in business, with apps and platforms popping up all the time, allows participants to learn and collaborate in unexpected ways.?What may seem like a small thing in the processes of your business, could make a huge difference to another business owner.

So, when you’re considering a mentor for your business, which is inevitable as your business grows and scales to the point where you are working ‘on’ your business, rather than it, why not consider Peer-to-Peer mentoring with an established and supportive networking community??It’s a win-win situation, as you are not only supported in business, but your valuable knowledge can support others.

Networking and sharing knowledge with other businesses in your community, opens up endless possibilities for business growth and uncapped opportunities.?Never underestimate the positive impact that peer-to-peer mentoring within your network community can have on your organisation. Business owners who actively engage in problem-solving activities with their peers, inevitably reduce mistakes by gaining critical insights and foresight, improving overall business performance and increasing their leadership confidence.

At District32, our business community of over 400 businesses operating in a huge variety of industries across Perth, is passionate about supporting and uplifting one another.?If you are looking for peer-to-peer mentoring and don’t know where to start, reach out to me at any time, when you need any support or have questions. Remember, your network is your net worth – it’s not what you know but who you know.?We ensure you’re in the right room with the right people, with access to the right conversations and the right opportunities. Through highly structured events and mastermind forums with business leaders who are your peers, District32 fast-tracks your business relationships, allowing you to develop a reliable and trusted business network, in turn leading to more referrals, more leads and exponential growth.

Reach out at any time. [email protected]. You are welcome to attend any of our business growth events - we have platforms for all sized businesses.

?[**]https://www.mentorcliq.com/blog/mentoring-stats