The Value of Mentorships

Recently, I had the honor of judging the 2021 Goizueta IMPACT Showcase. It’s the culmination of a semester-long project for the students at my alma mater, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. The students work with clients on issues such as operations, monetization and strategic management and then present their recommendations to judges. It was an impressive group of students who learned so much from the experience, as did the clients, I’m sure. The entire experience had me reflecting on something I passionately believe is so important for small business owners - mentorships.

One thing I’ve learned during my time running a business is that it’s nearly impossible to get anything done in a bubble. We need teams. We need outside perspectives. That ideology can take on many forms, both internal and external. It can be internal - at Essnova, we prioritize procuring talent for our team with a wide range of experiences and areas of expertise to help us continue to innovate. It can also be external - part of the reason we’re so successful in helping our commercial and government clients is because we bring a unique, outside perspective and ask the tough questions in order to move a project forward and excel.

But perhaps the most overlooked and important way outside perspectives help is through mentorships. I’ve been fortunate enough to have impactful mentors of my own and have been honored to serve as a mentor to others in turn. When people ask me why I’m so passionate about mentorships, I immediately point to my own company. Essnova is the business it is today in large part because of the advice and guidance of mentors. For the first 10 years I ran this company, we were narrowly focused on a tiny segment of work. We reached a saturation point, and several of my mentors advised me to consider exploring doing business with the federal government. That advice led to a pivot that defines Essnova today. We expanded and diversified our service offerings across multiple disciplines, and we continue to grow in our relationships with a broad spectrum of federal agencies. The diversification has been fundamental to our growth.

During the formative years, mentorships provide an invaluable push. Many small businesses can stagnate, which causes immense challenge to breaking through to the next level in revenue and growth. It is for this reason that mentors are critical in facilitating the ‘push’ for business owners to transition from the lifestyle, owner/operator mode to growth mode. As a business owner, it can be difficult to release the inclination to take on any and all corporate responsibility that arises. Trying to grow your business without giving yourself time to focus on the big picture and what changes it will take to get you to the next level is impossible. If you’re running a company that has not, or has no intention of, raising capital - mentorship plays an even bigger role in the progression of the company.

Many mentors have been there themselves, and the perspective they offer, born from their experience, can be an immensely valuable resource in helping you to change your mindset and think bigger. Small business owners sacrifice a great deal of their time and money to grow their company, and it can be a lonely place at times. For me, as a first-generation entrepreneur, the decision-making didn’t always come easily. Someone else who has gone through those hardships is an invaluable resource. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have several incredibly impactful mentors in my life, including my high school headmaster, business school professors at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and Emory University Goizueta Business School, classmates along the way and other business owners and small business specialists. I think, as a business owner, you need different mentors at different points in your life and business journey. The mentors who help take you from A to B are not always the right mentors to take you from C to D.

That’s why now, I never hesitate to serve as a mentor myself. I know firsthand how important it has been in my own journey. I believe strongly in having honest conversations and providing advice beyond the clichés and headlines to produce a tangible impact. When mentoring students, one of my favorite methodologies is the Socratic method. The idea is to ask

a series of questions to help me really understand where somebody is, where they would like to go and, most importantly, their reasons why.

Judging the Goizueta IMPACT Showcase was incredibly gratifying for me. These energetic graduates are ripe with ideas and are often on the cutting edge. Judging and providing them feedback and guidance was as beneficial to me as I hope it was to them, because I strongly believe in continuous learning throughout life. As a business owner, both sides of a mentor and mentee relationship are a great way to continue to learn.