Navigating Frustration and Finding Success: The Power of Mentorship in Business

"To be honest i don't know if this Federal Arena is for me. I am so frustrated. I have been sending out proposal after proposal and have been getting no traction. No awards…Nothing! Frustrated and disappointed in the whole thing."

This was an email sent earlier this week from a subscriber. And I certainly I know the feeling. I remember first getting started in the federal arena and it felt like I was in a corn maze. I was never quite sure if I was headed in the right direction.

I went to meeting after meeting, event after event, conference after conference. After much drudgery, years of lessons and lots of failed efforts, it finally all came together.??

That is why I believe in the power of mentorship. There is not a single entrepreneur book that I’ve read yet that does not stress or emphasize getting a mentor early on in your business journey.

Inc Magazine article - 10 Reasons why a mentor is a must is a good read for up and coming entrepreneurs.?

Most of us would never attempt trying to learn how to swim or cook without taking instructions from someone first. So why in the world would we dare want to take on the single greatest challenge in our lives (starting a business) without first seeking out wise counsel.

Here are a few takeaways from the Inc magazine article on the value of mentorship.

• Mentorship provide information and knowledge.
• Mentors can see where we need to improve
• Mentors can find ways to stimulate our personal and professional growth
• Mentors offer encouragement and help keep us going
• Mentors are disciplinarians that create necessary boundaries that we cannot set for ourselves
• Mentors are sounding boards so we can bounce ideas off them for an unfiltered opinion
• Mentors are trusted advisors
• Mentors can be connectors
• Mentors have the experience you can learn from to prevent making the same beginners mistake
• Mentors are free, which makes them priceless in more ways than one
• I was fortunate to have a mentor early on to help guide me through this process. This made it easier for me to launch my business and also have the confidence I needed to believe in myself.

No matter what field you choose. Having a mentor is invaluable to your success. You can do it alone but why waste valuable time on unnecessary steps, multiple efforts and needless mistakes. There will be plenty of room for trial and error, but if you can eliminate 10, 20, or even 30% of the failed experiments that will increase your success rate by that pace.

Go out today and find someone who is where you want to be and shadow them. Even if you have never met them before like in a history book, you can trace their steps and follow their path.

- Eric Coffie