09/18/2017

Why Mentors Are So Important

How to find the right "fit" for your educational, personal growth

Mentorship is becoming more and more accessible and recognized within the entrepreneurial circle these days and that’s because, at last, we understand the importance and impact a mentor can have on young aspiring entrepreneurs. Starting up is a long process full of highs and lows. Ninety percent of businesses fail. I have failed many times in business, and each failure taught me a valuable lesson and allowed me to hone my knowledge and learn from my mistakes. They set me on the right path and gave me the grounding I needed to succeed. The most important thing now, is to share those lessons of failure with entrepreneurs and SMEs in order to try and steer them away from the same pitfalls and that’s why I’m always championing mentorship.

Sharing my own journey and explaining how as my mentor, my father helped sculpt my future success is always a great, rewarding experience so last week I attended an event where I spoke to would-be entrepreneurs about what really makes the perfect mentor.

Firstly, I advise anybody seeking a mentor to look for somebody who can really understand what you’re going through – there’s no point starting off by speaking to someone twice your age with 20 years corporate experience because they won’t be able to immediately recognize your struggles. Instead, look for someone of a similar age who has taken a similar path and can help you avoid the mistakes they made. Remember, finding someone you actually relate to and who shares your same passions is essential, without these similarities you’re just wasting each other’s time.

Please click here to read the complete blog entry on LinkedIn.