At one time, they were in the same position that anyone starts in: unsure of how to tackle the obstacles they face, looking up to someone who has been where they want to be.
These people who have “been there and done that” offer one of the most humbly beneficial resources for entrepreneurs: mentorship.
A good mentor can help you avoid common mistakes early on, solve pesky problems, provide valuable connections, secure funding, and offer guidance and advice while helping you reach your full potential. What is a business mentor?
A mentor is someone who has invaluable experience that you don’t have yet, has made all the necessary mistakes on the path to success, learned from them, and is willing to pass those lessons on to you. How much does a business mentor cost?
The cost of a professional mentor varies. You can find a free mentor through social media. Or you can sign up for a mentorship program that may range from $30 to $500 per month. How to find a business mentor: 10 places to search Start by looking within your personal network Use cold outreach to find a mentor Meet experienced entrepreneurs at in-person meetings Join a Clairty call Explore forums and online communities Reach out to potential mentors on LinkedIn Look for mentors on Twitter Form a mastermind group Find a volunteer mentor at SCORE Explore your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
1. Start by looking within your professional network
Begin your search by reaching out to people you are already connected with. They have seen your work and have a better idea of areas you can improve.
However, you may need to broaden your horizons a bit if you have a small network. Consider anyone from family to local small businesses. Try to attend local networking events or be more active in your field on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. This can help you build relationships before you start your search.
2. Use cold outreach to find a mentor
Cold emailing or messaging is a good way to connect, establish partnerships, and grow your business. But it’s also a good method for seeking advice from experienced strangers.
Here’s a template you can adapt based on cold emails that have worked for me (seeking career advice) and for others (people asking me for professional advice). Hi [First Name]!
I stumbled upon your profile on [where you found them] while researching [what you want to do]. I really admired [the great work they did].
I’m looking for [your goals and what you are currently doing to achieve them] and would love to learn more about how to [what they did].
If you have some time this week, even if it’s just 15 minutes over a Zoom or phone call, I would love to meet you.
Wishing you a fantastic week!
At best, you’ll want to get some time with a potential mentor – whether that’s in person or over Zoom – so you can establish a better connection with them and show that you’re serious about success.
Remember that these people, due to their own success, have a mailbox full of people asking them for things. So try to be as accommodating as possible.
Here are some tips to enter your initial conversation with a potential mentor:
– Prepare a list of specific questions about their story and work. – Start by telling them about yourself so they have context around your endeavors and challenges. – Be mindful of their time and express your gratitude to them (if you’re meeting in person, offer to pay for coffee, drinks, or food). – At the end of the conversation, ask if it would be possible to stay in touch or if you can reach out with questions if you have any at any time.
But
First and foremost, get a sense of how comfortable you can be around your potential mentor. Good, lasting mentorship is built on a strong foundation of friendship, openness, and mutual interest in a particular field.
3. Connect with experienced entrepreneurs at in-person meetings
The internet has done a great job of bringing enthusiastic people with common interests together at online networking events and more.
You can find these events on sites like Meetup or Eventbrite and sign up for those that interest you. Be sure to read these networking tips before attending.
4. Make a Clairty call
Although Clairty is not a mentoring platform (you have to pay to speak with these mentors), it does offer instant consulting calls with experienced professionals and entrepreneurs.
It categorizes experts into specific business areas (like business development or pitching to investors) for focused phone calls that cost anywhere from $1 to $10 per minute.
There’s also a place where you can post your questions and get answers from specialized entrepreneurs, such as Quora.
5. Explore online forums and communities
There are many online communities for both experienced and new entrepreneurs to discuss their businesses. These forums are a good place to look for mentors directly, as long as your post demonstrates your promise as an entrepreneur and you put yourself in the right setting.
Reddit is home to all sorts of subreddits where you can search for mentors, including r/entrepreneur or r/smallbusiness. Search for “mentor” in these subreddits to find examples of how others have asked about mentorship opportunities in the past.
If you’re a Shopify store owner, there are many Facebook groups you can join to ask for feedback or casual mentoring, including:
– Shopify Entrepreneurs – Ecom Strategy – Unofficial Shopify Podcast – Insiders Club
Be cautious of any offers you find through these channels. Sometimes they are consultants who only want to sell you paid services. Other times they may not be as experienced as they like to appear.
But I’ve seen successful mentoring relationships arise from asking questions or seeking feedback in these places.
6. Reach out to potential mentors on LinkedIn
LinkedIn should be a clear route for connecting with potential mentors. With over 850 million members in more than 200 countries and territories, you’re likely to find a potential business mentor.
LinkedIn profiles allow you to search for specific skills or experiences you want in a mentor. If you find someone you like, you can reach out to them directly by sending a connection request, even if you don’t have their email.
Try searching for mentors using hashtags such as:
– #OfferHelp – #Careeradvice – #Mentorship
These hashtags will keep you updated on mentorship opportunities. You can even follow the hashtag to stay informed about recent posts and inspirational quotes from groups and individuals.
7. Find mentors on Twitter
Similar to LinkedIn, you can find potential mentors on Twitter. The social media platform has half the number of users as LinkedIn, around 300 million users, but it’s still a great place to start conversations with industry leaders.
If you already have a Twitter profile, first look at the people you follow. Who is your role model? Who do you want to learn from? Send them a direct message in their inbox and ask if they would be interested in mentoring you.
Don’t have a profile yet? Don’t worry. You can also browse hashtags like #MentoringMonday, #mentors, or #mentorshipmatters to find mentorship opportunities.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time entrepreneur or a store owner; you can find a good mentor on Twitter.
8.
Form a Mastermind Group
Entrepreneurship can be a solitary adventure of lifelong learning, but it shouldn’t be with a mastermind group.
A mastermind group is a form of peer mentoring. It’s a continuous support group for like-minded individuals working on their own projects, helping each other, sharing experiences and practical skills, and staying on track through regular meetings.
9. Find a Volunteer Mentor on SCORE
SCORE matches you with an experienced small business mentor for free advice either in-person or online. Many SCORE mentors are successful entrepreneurs in their own right, openly sharing their real-world experiences and knowledge to help you grow.
10. Explore Your Local Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
There are over 1,000 Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) across the United States. These centers are funded by Congress through partnerships with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) at public and private institutions.
SBDC programs offer free business consulting and training for entrepreneurs. They also provide proven business tools to support starting or expanding your business.
You can get help with: – Building a business plan – Obtaining business funding – Understanding financing – Marketing and sales support – Stimulating motivation and innovation – Public speaking tips and skills
Find your local SBDC by entering your business’s zip code. Why does every entrepreneur need a business mentor?
A mentor doesn’t just have a solid understanding of the specific knowledge you need to succeed, such as how to create better Facebook ads or how to launch a product. They also possess a developed intuition from years of doing what you hope to do, and their insights can help you affirm or reconsider some of your own business instincts.
An experienced mentor helps you find the best version of yourself faster than time alone would allow.
Mentorship happens naturally in almost every industry. But in the business world, in particular, you’ll struggle to find a success story that didn’t involve a trusted advisor along the way: – Warren Buffett credits Benjamin Graham for helping shape him into a smart investor. – Richard Branson says his uncle Jim taught him how to leverage his eccentricity in entrepreneurial ventures. – Oprah Winfrey acknowledges the impact poet Maya Angelou had on her, not only through her writings but as a friend and mentor.
In fact, according to a survey by UPS of more than 180 business owners, 70% of entrepreneurs who received mentorship had businesses that lasted five years or more.
This is double the rate of businesses that didn’t have the advantage of a mentor. According to data compiled by the National Mentoring Partnership, 55% of businesses also feel that mentoring positively affects their profits.
Perhaps most importantly, a mentor is not an advisor. They won’t impose consultancy fees on you. And they won’t do your work for you.
A mentor ideally becomes a valued friend. They see you as a good investment of their time because they value you as a person, and vice versa.
Anyone who has achieved some success in life is likely to reflect on their journey and wish they had known then what they know now. And while time travel isn’t possible, sharing those experiences and lessons with the next generation is a beautiful alternative.
What Qualifications Does a Good Mentor Need?
Relationships between mentors and learners take shape in various ways – there’s no one way to proceed.
However, a mentor should ideally be someone whose work or career you truly admire. Ultimately, the mentor-learner relationship should be based on mutual respect.
Mentors
Expert Insights:
– They have a visual and verifiable track record of success in the field you wish to grow in. – They are open and friendly and value curiosity. – They are passionate about their field and craft (this translates into a desire to educate). – They have a great work-life balance and can dedicate time to talk with you regularly. – They think and care and do not provide definitive answers to questions just to show they know. – They have been mentored in the past and understand the value of mentoring for someone just starting out.
Many mentor-mentee relationships develop organically, starting as friends, colleagues, or teachers. Sometimes the mentor sees potential and promise in the mentee and believes it is beneficial to nurture it by offering advice or a platform for their ideas. Other times, the mentee must actively seek out the mentor’s experience and advice.
However, these relationships can also be formed from scratch through networking and cold outreach. Tips for finding the right mentor: 1. Look for the right qualities
When searching for the ideal mentor for your startup or to achieve specific career goals, there are certain qualities to consider. – They are good listeners. A trusted advisor should be good at listening. It will be challenging to guide you without understanding your entrepreneurial challenges. Good mentors know the balance between listening and providing appropriate advice during mentoring sessions. – They ask questions about everything. My mentor, Steve, constantly challenged me with questions about my thoughts and data. It was frustrating at times. But I didn’t realize he was showing me the right way to think outside the box and become a good learner. – They are willing to share skills and experiences. A good mentor-mentee relationship should be transparent and open. Look for a mentor who treats the relationship as a two-way street, sharing knowledge, experiences, and skill sets. – They care about your professional and personal development. A good mentor doesn’t need to know everything about your personal life, but they should help you set life goals and connect them to your career.
“Everyone needs a mentor in their career just as you want friends who inspire and support you in your daily life,” says Trilisi Geron, an e-commerce entrepreneur. “Most people think they should follow a mentor’s footsteps, and that’s not true. Your path is your own. ‘Look for a mentor who is consistent in your life and can provide you advice on the things you aren’t good at,’ she adds. ‘I’m bad at managing business and finances, so I found a mentor who guides me through these topics weekly.’
2. Understand why you want a mentor
Before you seek out a mentor, you need to understand what you hope to gain from mentorship. Create a list of goals you have for your relationship with the mentor to help you understand who might be the right person.
Some things to consider are: – What you hope to learn – What tasks you have been told you can improve on – What projects you may need help with
Once you have details about your goals and the type of professional or developmental tasks you are looking for, you will have a better idea of who might be suitable for you as a mentor.
3. Prepare a list of potential mentors
Once you know the professional areas you want mentorship in, create a list of people you would like to collaborate with. Include some ideal and realistic mentors you are already connected with.
Rank them from most likely to least likely to agree to be your mentors. From there, pick a few names from the top of the list to start reaching out to.
4.
Maintain Your Relationship with Your Mentor
One common belief about mentoring is that the structure of the relationship between the mentor and the learner is akin to that of the teacher and the student (think of Yoda and Luke Skywalker or Batman and Robin).
However, this places the responsibility on the teacher.
Instead, look for mentoring opportunities that can exist in friendship, honesty, and mutual respect with a significant gap in experience between you and your mentor.
According to Wazell Zachary, author of “The Learner’s Guide”:
“We’ve come a long way from the sage mentor on the stage. Instead, the mentor acts as a guide on the side who poses questions that take people deeper into insight. It’s a dance, it’s a partnership, and the mentor should not be giving answers; rather, they should be asking questions and helping learners search for answers to their own questions.”
Do not expect your mentor to do anything for you or even show you how to do something (there’s Google for that). Instead, rely on your mentor to check your own matters, review your work, and learn how to think through your problems.
When you learn, it doesn’t need to look good. Be vulnerable and be curious. Mentoring is about asking questions.
Often, the stupidest thing about “stupid questions” is not asking them.
It can be difficult to gauge the level of commitment you’ll get from a potential mentor. Some may offer you a more structured relationship where you meet regularly to check on how you’re both progressing. Others may provide you with casual advice when you ask for it or assist you through Google Chat when you’re stuck.
Regardless of the case, the relationship should be based on friendship and shared passion. Don’t ask too much from your mentor, but if you’re looking for some additional structure, ask in an empathetic way that respects their time: “I get a lot of value from these conversations. What do you think about making this something regular – maybe once a month?”
The opportunity to watch you grow and develop and achieve your ambitions is the primary reason that your mentor will give their time to you. However, you should also try to give them something in return – whether that’s contributing one of your skills to their project or just spreading the word about their latest project. Even a thank-you card or email is a nice token of appreciation.
Mentorship: A Cycle of Learning and Giving Back
There are no shortcuts when it comes to becoming an entrepreneur. You need to throw yourself into your issues and figure things out as you go. But you can speed up your growth by finding a friend in a mentor, gaining access to the free expertise they’ve already paid for with their time and effort.
You also don’t need to rely on just one mentor. As long as you’re curious and putting yourself in the right situations, you can learn from people with different experiences than you’ve had so far.
Those who benefit from mentoring are often bound to give back. I’ve found this to be especially true in the Shopify community. You may find that too. And thus the cycle continues, with today’s entrepreneurs helping others see their own version of success.
Illustration by Mikyung Lee
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Frequently Asked Questions about Business Mentors
What does a business mentor provide?
Mentors offer guidance and support to small business owners and entrepreneurs, with tips and tricks they’ve gathered from their own experiences. A business mentor can teach you anything from budgeting tactics to day-to-day operations, whether you are in the early stages or building a nonprofit organization.
What are the four types of mentors?
A mentor
Professional – Life Coach – Peer Mentor – Reverse Mentor
What should mentors not do?
Mentors should not set unrealistic expectations for learners. From the outset, both parties should define their commitment and set goals. The business mentor should also provide constructive feedback (not criticism) and listen to learners to understand their issues and share valuable solutions.
What is the difference between a mentor and a coach?
Mentors share their knowledge, skills, and experiences with others to help them grow. Coaches assist clients in achieving their goals and help them reach their full potential through guidance.
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