Why you need a mentor (and how to find one)

2. You're more likely to survive

Life can be precarious for a new business, but recruiting great mentors is one of the simplest strategies start-ups can use to ensure they’re not just another statistic.

Having mentors has been shown to increase a company’s chances of survival, success and business expansion.

A recent survey from US group MicroMentor, opens in new window, shows 83 per cent of mentored businesses survived past the average survival period for a new business compared to 74 per cent of non-mentored. And, according to a survey by US organisation the UPS Score, 70 per cent of small businesses that receive mentoring survive more than five years - double the survival rate of non-mentored businesses. SMEs acknowledge the benefits of mentoring too, with 93 per cent saying mentoring can help them to succeed according to research from the Sage Group.

3. It opens you up to new ways of thinking

When you’re immersed in the many pressures of starting and building a business, it’s a challenge to find time to step outside the daily to-do list and barrage of details and focus on thinking. A mentor can be a vital asset for bouncing ideas off and opening your mind to new ways of looking at things. Whether it's business advice or business plans, a good mentor will help bring clarity to your thinking by asking questions, giving feedback and suggesting pathways of opportunity you may not have considered.

4. You'll stress less

Deciding to back yourself and launch your own business can spark some stressful times, and doubts may creep in. How to start a successful business? What are good entrepreneur ideas? Will my strategy work? A trusted mentor who has already experienced what you’re going through, fallen in a few holes themselves and pulled themselves out, can provide assurance you’re on the right track or, if you’re losing your way, help you avoid mistakes. Having that guidance can reduce stress and restore vital self-confidence when it begins to falter.

How to find the right mentor for you

The good news is that finding mentors is easier than ever before. In the digital age, people can communicate easily even when they’re in a different city or country.

The Australian Government offers advice and also provides links to several mentoring services for businesses and programs around Australia that can help you find the right mentor. 

Being part of an industry association can be invaluable in building new networks and finding mentoring opportunities. Ask entrepreneurs or business leaders if they’d be prepared to mentor you. You’ll be heartened by how open the business community is to supporting other business operators, using their experience to encourage success.

And why stop at one? There’s no reason you can’t gather several mentors – sometimes referred to as your own 'personal board of directors, opens in new window' - and learn from a variety of people. you can look beyond the traditional idea of a mentor as only someone who's older and wiser. 

While some mentor relationships may be for life, others can provide help at a particular stage in your business’s growth. The kind of mentors you seek out are likely to change as your business develops, too. Building a strategy for mentorship into your business plan could be, as others have found, one of the biggest factors in your success.