Business Mentoring


Small and mid-sized businesses are under more and more pressure to compete. With advances in technology, the changing job market, and the volatile economy, the business world expects more from you today than it ever has. Workshops, management training sessions, and advice from colleagues can only go so far to address your individual needs and the focus of your company. Too often, solutions offered at outside events, while well-meaning, are too simplified for effective application in your workplace. Sometimes, general advice from industry experts does not take into account your particular staffing needs or local market trends. For these reasons, and many more, business mentoring is increasingly popular as a solution to a myriad of challenges.

Business mentoring from a source outside your company and industry may be the best thing you do to guarantee your success. The advantages to this relationship are endless. By choosing a professional, experienced business mentor, or coach, you are gaining an invaluable asset. Consider your current resources and you will most likely find that you do not have anyone in your immediate circle of influence with whom you can be completely candid about all areas of your life, business and otherwise. You may have respected colleagues or mentors in your professional life, but these people still require a certain amount of decorum and discretion that a business coach would not. You personal friends and family members do not have the objectivity to provide you with the kind of effective feedback you need. Nor do any of these people have the ability to motivate you toward your highest potential. If they did, they already would have, right?

A business mentor provides the following advantages:

  • A confidante with whom you can be completely candid. You do not need to keep any secrets or maintain any confidences with a business mentor. Everything you say is reflected back to you by your coach as an objective observer and facilitator rather than a participant in situations or relationships. A coach is an outside individual; you cannot hurt their feelings by sharing your opinions nor can you damage your reputation by revealing your fears. With friends, colleagues, or other business mentors, you may not find this to be true.

  • An advisor who comes to you with new perspectives and experiences. Your business coach operates completely outside of your sphere of knowledge and influence, bringing to the table a fresh perspective and exposure to other environments. Sometimes, a differing viewpoint is exactly the right ingredient to resolve a previously stale matter. If you have exhausted all your options and are feeling like there are no other solutions to your challenges, a business mentor can bring you to a new beginning.

  • A sounding board where you can bounce your ideas and opinions off someone without fear of reprisals. To have someone who will reflect back to you how your thoughts and actions are impacting your environment is priceless. Without this perspective, you may never move beyond your present circumstances, nor can you effectively lead others beyond their existing limitations.

  • A motivator that will not only give you feedback but will ensure that you come to a new action plan. Your business coach is there to challenge you, to provoke you when necessary, and to see that you generate decisions.
  • A lasting support that will remain with you as long as necessary to help you work through new decisions and adjust to changing circumstances. Your business coach will be with you as long as you need her, offering further advice, motivation, and unconditional support.

For further details, call Julie-Ann on +44(0)1594-564133 or email me