Are you starting a business venture, or have an already up and running small business and want to grow it and improve profitability and efficiency?
Starting and growing a business can be daunting. What do you work on first? What are the priorities? Got a business up and running but need to hone the marketing to increase sales? Got a good plan in place to grow? Are you clearly aware of the “SWOT” elements (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) that would pertain to your business?
These are some of the areas for which the support and engagement of a mentor can be a very valuable asset to you as an entrepreneur. One source of mentoring support is via the national volunteer SCORE organization. Here in Central Oregon, our SCORE chapter has 50 volunteer mentors on our team. They all have extensive business experience as either owners of businesses or operating in a high-level management capacity. They can “overlay” their experience onto your business situation and use that to assist you, along with the many mentoring and educational tools that are part of the SCORE program. Our team of mentors includes both men and women. Some are fully retired; others are semi-retired; and some are still active in business. The common thread among all is the interest and desire to share their knowledge and help entrepreneurs.
A rough estimate is that the collective business knowledge of the SCORE team in our area probably exceeds 1,000 years of experience. That has value to you in helping you with your business pursuits. Mentors help point you in the right direction, asking pertinent questions and steering you to the best resources to help you move forward. Unlike a “consultant”, a mentor won’t tell you what decisions to make, but present the facts as they are and guide you to come to your own conclusions.
Chances are, you have friends and/or family who have ideas and input regarding your business. While that can be useful, the difference with a mentor is there can be much more “objectivity,” and that can be very helpful. Mentors working with SCORE are also bound by a strict code of ethics that includes complete confidentiality. Besides all that, SCORE mentoring is always completely free of charge.
In the last year, our local chapter has fulfilled well over 500 mentoring requests. Statistics show that aspiring or established entrepreneurs that work with SCORE mentors start businesses, create jobs and increase revenue.
Here is some feedback from a few recent clients:
“Our mentor made us both feel comfortable and help identify actionable steps to keep moving forward. Having lists helps in improving and having an end goal in mind.”
“She listened to my needs, gave tangible action-oriented advice, was very personable and knowledgeable, and was just generally enjoyable to connect with.”
“My mentor’s experience and advice are exactly what I need to help keep this business going and eventually expand it. I look forward to a continuing working relationship with him.”
The local SCORE chapter is holding an open house “Meet a Mentor” event starting at 5:30pm on October 21 at the Deschutes Library downtown branch. There will be an opportunity to get a further overview of how mentoring works and learn more about the extensive free SCORE business education opportunities. Members of our mentor team will be there to meet with you personally and answer questions as well. See the ad in this edition of CBN to get registration information.
