Today, the world demands instant gratification, so growing your company slowly and organically with the help of a business mentor may feel old fashioned, but many entrepreneurs fail due to a lack of proper advice and guidance. Despite the wealth of instant information online, reading about what others have gone through is no substitute for discussing your personal business challenges with an accomplished mentor with wisdom and experience.
Why you need a mentor for your business success
Most mentors have experienced the highs and lows of business. Almost all successful business people have had a mentor in one form or another. For example, Warren Buffet was mentored by Benjamin Graham, widely acclaimed as the founding father of Value Investing.
As another example, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has often spoken of the immense help he got from his mentor Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates regards Warren Buffet as his mentor, saying that he taught him how to deal with challenging situations and the importance of viewing things long-term.
Mentors often play a crucial role in a business’ success, including some of the world’s largest corporations. According to a Stanford Executive Coaching Survey, while 66% of CEOs said they didn’t receive any advice from outside consultants or coaches, 80% did receive some advice from inside sources such as directors and other mentors.
A mentor can give you trustworthy advice when you need it most and, unlike other types of business advisors, mentors can use their own experience to put themselves in your shoes. Some studies suggest that the most successful startups owe their success to good mentors who guided the founders in the initial years of business.
A mentor’s wisdom and advice can help avoid many painful mistakes that most founders, CEOs, and managers will make at one point or another. You might be surprised by the vast number of successful entrepreneurs, executives, and founders who are ready to share their experiences and offer you some valuable advice – all you have to do is ask.
Who can be a mentor?
Most successful business people are busy and probably won’t agree to be an on-call, full-time consultant. Some of the best mentor-protégé relationships are informal without any fixed working arrangement in place.
A mentor can be anyone who has experience in your type of business who is willing to offer advice. If you ask someone to read a book written by you and provide an honest review, not many people will agree, as reading a whole book will mean that they must spend several days. On the other hand, if you need some specific advice that will only take a few minutes to give, people will usually find time to help.
Conclusion
Business success is often directly correlated to the type of advice you receive. If you have a good mentor who can draw from their own experience and offer you sound advice, then you are already ahead of most of your competitors. Some of the most notable business people in the world owe their success to mentors. Jumpstart your own business success by finding a good, experienced mentor who is willing to share the secrets of business with you.
