In business, there is no blueprint. For experienced and new business owners alike, there is room for personal and professional growth. Regardless of the phase you find yourself in, it’s wise to consider mentoring. A mentor can be a wise friend, ready to lend an ear and offer a fresh perspective.
Whether you're a CEO wanting to improve key performance issues in your business, or a hopeful startup founder with ideas you’re unsure about, you’re likely experiencing a few common difficulties, such as:
- An inability to move beyond your current comfort zone
- Discouragement, or a lack of direction
- A lack of answers to complex, difficult business questions
Do you recognise yourself in any of the above? If so, take heart. By taking stock of your weaknesses in businesses, you will uncover prime opportunities for growth through mentoring.
In this blog, we’ll explore common hurdles in business, and why a mentor can be a great help.
Gain confidence in your business ideas
Every business starts with an idea. However, the idea has to be a valid, workable one. This is a dilemma faced by anyone hoping to launch a startup.
Being stuck on a business-related idea, whether it’s your core entrepreneurial mission or a vision for a new product offering, is a natural yet difficult problem. The idea might seem to be good in your head, but if it remains untested and unscrutinized, you might soon find yourself unable to move forward.
Without knowing if your business idea is viable, and what weaknesses exist in your plans, you will not know whether to pivot away or make a few key improvements. And a lack of honest, valuable input and personalised feedback makes the next move hard to determine.
Receive detailed guidance
You might vaguely see what business goals you want to achieve. But the execution is a different story. With no guidance, it's hard to grasp what to do, step by step.
Imagine this scenario: you wake up, excited to put in a full day’s work on your new venture. As you fire up the computer and plan out your next few hours, you have a strong sense of what you want to do, and whom you want to serve.
However, slowly but surely, doubts start to creep in:
- How do I know this business can last?
- How do I budget so I’ll have enough money to keep going?
- How do I choose the right people to hire?
- What legal issues should I know about?
- How do I manage my time? There’s already too much to handle!
Suddenly, those doubts cloud your thoughts and take your mind off the business tasks at hand. With nobody to turn to for answers, you feel overwhelmed, even though you still hope to press on.
See the clear path ahead
With all of those unanswered questions on your mind, you might be completely at a loss when it comes to the next step.
Your first instinct might be to look up answers on the internet. This quickly turns into frustration, however, because the answers cannot even be found online. Or, the solutions you come across are fully out of step with your goals, values, and vision.
Without a partner in the process who knows how to move the needle in sales, development, marketing, management, and other key aspects of business, it’s easy to become stagnant, unable to take your venture to the next level.
Do you really need a mentor? Only you can answer. But many business owners and startup founders have said YES.
Whether you’re a long-time entrepreneur struggling to grow your company, or you’re an aspiring business owner with ideas but no outside input or validation, you stand in shoes that many others have before. And, quite a few of your peers have found success with a mentor’s help.
Regardless of your specific issues, a mentor can help fill in crucial gaps as you move along your business journey. If you identify with the struggles of having an unproven idea, not understanding the finer points involved in running a company, or not seeing a step-by-step path to success, mentoring could be the answer for you.
At Business Mentors New Zealand, we specialise in creating the perfect one-to-one matches between veteran, volunteer mentors and business owners ready to learn and grow.
You don’t have to be alone. As you build your business and face new challenges, we can connect you with a mentor who will suit your unique needs, become a trusted advisor, and help you win. Contact Business Mentors today to discover the benefits of business mentoring.
