Mark Lyttleton is a business mentor and angel investor who helps founders and small business owners to overcome the challenges associated with building and scaling a successful business. This article will look at the many benefits of mentorship for small business owners, helping them to recognise and capitalise on untapped market opportunities and ultimately make their business a success. The attached infographic contains some interesting UK business statistics.
For small business owners, the benefits of mentorship can be significant, providing a sounding board for ideas, feedback and advice, and support on various different aspects of running and growing a business, including business strategy, finance, marketing, operations and leadership. The attached PDF delves deeper into the topic of business leadership, providing an overview of key competencies for effective business leaders in 2024.
A business mentor can provide valuable insights and best practices learned through their own successes and failures. They can also help business owners to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan to improve on any aspects where they fall short. In addition, a business mentor can connect business owners with resources, opportunities and networks in their industry and niche. Business mentors challenge business owners to think outside of the box while establishing realistic but ambitious goals, as well as helping them to overcome their fears and business obstacles. In addition to all this, mentors help business owners to be accountable, maintain focus and feel confident in their vision and values.
According to statistics shared by ABC Finance Limited, 92% of small business owners agree that mentorship had a direct impact on business growth in the formative years of their enterprise. In addition, 9 out of 10 small business entrepreneurs without a mentor said they wished they had one, while over 60% of small business owners subsequently go on to mentor other business owners themselves.
A business mentor can provide an entrepreneur with invaluable support throughout the first critical steps of their journey by offering honest, unbiased guidance and a different perspective or viewpoint. Mentors can help small businesses to create a roadmap, marking off important milestones and making valuable introductions to potential supply chain partners or investors. Business mentors also offer established experience to help counterbalance any tunnel-visioned obsession with innovation.
For an entrepreneur, establishing a new start-up can be a lonely and perilous journey. Nevertheless, the right mentor can help them to stay on the right track, enabling the founder to recognise potential pitfalls and opportunities. The attached video provides more information about business mentorship in the UK today.