7 Reasons Why You Need a Business Mentor—And How to Land One
One way to get strategic with your business trajectory is to land a trusted adviser in the form of a mentor. Mentoring can take many forms, such as a one-on-one relationship or a mentoring circle within an organization. The best mentor-mentee relationships involve two-way learning and reciprocation.
Mentors help professionals feel more engaged, derive more meaning from their careers, and grow their businesses. According to the Small Business Administration, small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and increased growth.
Need more of a push? Here are seven reasons why you need a mentor this year:
1. A good mentor will help you identify blind spots
Blind spots are a funny thing because they exist for everyone—even the most successful leader. But when blind spots are our own, we are oblivious to them. While you yourself may not easily recognize where your weaknesses lie, a mentor can help you improve self-awareness. Think of this aspect of mentoring as a healthy reality check.
2. Give you access to a sphere of influence
A mentor can offer a large network of connections that you might not otherwise have had access to. Would your business benefit from introductions to more distributors, potential customers, or new vendors? Your sphere of influence facilitates these key interconnections.
3. Allow you to benefit from a free resource
How many small business resources can you name that cost $0? Not that many. And you can’t put a price on a mentorship, except for time spent. Both parties should agree to meeting parameters, times, dates, and agenda items so you can meet as efficiently as possible. When you enter a mentor-mentee relationship in an organized way, it will be time well spent for both parties.
4. Cheer you on through ups and downs
We could all use a cheerleader in our corner, especially when it comes to the trials and tribulations of running a successful small business. When you are paired with the right mentor, they genuinely want you to succeed. Your mentor will encourage you during your lows and be one of the first to celebrate your highs.
5. Challenge you in positive ways
Short-term and long-term goals aside, a great mentor will also challenge you to think outside the box. In an article in Inc., John Brandon explains one of his own techniques for mentoring: “One strategy I’ve used with those I’m mentoring is to assign a fairly difficult task to complete—something that will require my involvement. I don’t see mentoring as just a weekly chat. It’s an ongoing relationship and one that should always be moving toward a specific goal. It has to be intentional and specific, not vague and by the seat of your pants. Keep track of the task together and use it as a teaching aid.”
6. Share what they’ve learned from their own experience
Learning from others’ mistakes can be priceless. Who wouldn’t want to shorten the learning curve when it comes to building your small business? In most scenarios, a mentor is older, wiser, with years more business experience. With that experience comes tales of far reaching success, and also brutal failures. Honest, vulnerable conversations with your mentor will help shape your future business decisions.
7. Help you overcome your complacency
Have you ever felt stagnant in your business? A good mentor will help you establish realistic goals, hold you accountable to the tasks that help you achieve those goals, and push you when you feel like giving up.
How to find a business mentor
Once you have decided that you would like to have a mentor, how do you go about locating the right one for you?
Look at your current network. Is there another small business owner whose company’s growth is something you’d like to emulate within your own business? Take stock of your LinkedIn connections to see who is open to mentor-mentee opportunities.
Check for local SCORE opportunities. SCORE was founded in 1964 as a nonprofit resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SCORE network includes 10,000+ expert volunteers offering business mentoring and workshops at 300 SCORE offices across the country. Visit the SCORE website to find the closest local office; your local SCORE chapter will help pair you with a suitable mentor.
Investigate contacts within your specific industry. You might think this suggestion is counterintuitive for competitive reasons. However, seasoned professionals who are passionate about their field often offer mentorship services to other small business owners in their own industry.
Research. See if there are private organizations in your area, such as the
Pink Mentor Network, a mentorship community for women in Charlotte, North Carolina. Also discover state-funded mentorship communities such as
Business Mentor NY.
Finding someone you admire should be a top priority. Make a short list of potential candidates and see where your personalities align. You can feel them out by having informal meetings where you discuss your goals and trajectory before officially asking them to be your mentor.
When asking a person to become your mentor, you want to be direct. Try something like, “I can see you’re a great team leader and I’m managing a team for the first time. Would you be able to work with me over the next year to become a great team leader?”
Once you have committed to the process, good luck. And if years from now you find yourself being asked by someone to be their mentor, draw on this experience and pay it forward!
Keep America Beautiful – How to keep your community litter-free
“Ours is a blessed and beautiful land. But much of it has been tarnished. What can you do? Look around you: at the littered roadside; at the polluted stream; the decayed city center. We need urgently to restore the beauty of our land.”
– Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States of America
Keep America Beautiful is the largest community improvement organization in the United States. Founded in 1953, the organization has more than 600 state and community-based affiliate organizations and more than 1,200 partner organizations. Litter removal is as important today as it was in 1965 when Lady Bird Johnson joined Keep America Beautiful in promoting highway beautification.
Over the years, the Keep America Beautiful organization has launched iconic campaigns including a mascot partnership with canine TV star Lassie and the “Crying Indian” PSA campaign which symbolized environmental responsibility and remains one of the most successful PSA’s in history. But their mission continues today to inspire and educate people to take everyday action in local communities.
Did You Know?
Litter cleanup costs more than $11.5 billion each year. The indirect costs of litter are also considerable. For example, the presence of litter in a community decreases property values by 7 percent.
Today, there are more than 50 billion pieces of litter on our nation’s roadways with 4.6 billion pieces larger than four inches in size. Tobacco products continue to be the most prevalent aggregate litter item, comprising more than 35 percent of all litter. Following the landmark 2009 “Litter in America” study, Keep America Beautiful embarked on a new path to address the issue of blight.
A Passion for Litter-Free Communities
Litter removal is a passion of ours, which is why we wanted to highlight the amazing efforts of the Keep America Beautiful organization. Here are some 2019 highlights which feature impressive statistics:
- -66M pounds of litter and recyclables collected
- -8k miles of rivers, lakes, shorelines, and wetlands cleaned and improved
- -60k miles of streets, roads, and highways cleaned, improved, or beautified
- -12M volunteer hours logged
How to be a good neighbor
Keep America Beautiful publishes a comprehensive guide to reducing and managing litter. In it you’ll learn about littering laws, discover best practices, and get ideas about how you can make an impact at work and at home.
Volunteerism is at the heart of Keep America Beautiful. Interested in a litter cleanup at a local beach or park? You can join the movement by entering your zip code to find the affiliate nearest to you. Encourage your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to do the same.
Looking for other ways you can help?
- -Follow the conversation on social. Important hashtags include #DoBeautifulThings #EndLittering #Trashtag
- -Check out special events including the Great American Cleanup (March 20,2020 – June 20, 2020)
- -Invite others to participate
- –Donate
- -Consider a career in litter clean-up. If you have ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit, you can launch a successful parking lot litter removal service, just like I did. Parking lot litter removal is an essential service benefitting the commercial businesses in your area while providing a lucrative opportunity for you to earn a good living working for yourself. Parking lots are often the first thing people see when they visit a business. Clean parking lots improve a business’ reputation and results in less garbage potentially clogging storm drains and polluting waterways. It may be surprising to some but launching a parking lot litter removal business is very simple and can be very lucrative.
Together we can take responsibility for our environment and ensure our community is a clean, green and beautiful space to live.
Move over 401(k), ‘side hustles’ are becoming key retirement issue – StarTribune.com
Retirement side jobs are increasingly becoming part of a long term financial plan along with Social Security, a 401(k) or pension and personal savings. Working part time can also provide a creative outlet for many retirees. Side hustles can provide a routine, purpose, community and extra money.
Will you seek a part time job or start a side business in retirement? Start by testing some options for turning your work experience or hobbies into income. Don’t wait until you’re retired from working full time to start this process.
Do you enjoy being outdoors and going for walks? Parking lot litter removal might be the right opportunity for you. It’s almost as easy as going for a walk! Property management companies need people to maintain their retail, office and industrial properties litter-free. All you need to provide this service are inexpensive hand tools and your vehicle to get you around. You simply walk up to a piece of litter and sweep it into your collection bag. The work only takes the time to walk the sidewalks, parking lot and any surrounding landscape of a commercial property. You can seek part time employment or start your own profitable side business.
This work provides flexible hours as it needs to be performed before businesses open in the morning. Get your work done then spend the day as you please. There’s nothing like an early morning walk to stay in shape. Get paid to do it!
I have over 35 years experience in the parking lot litter removal business. I can show you how to make extra money performing an important service to the environment in your community. Check out my story.
Chris Farrell provides key insights as to why side businesses are becoming a key retirement issue. Check out his article.
The gig economy is largely associated with Uber and Lyft, the drive sharing services, Airbnb, renting out rooms in your home to visitors, and similar companies. You use your car, your home or your skills to make some money on the side. Read more…
