Mentoring will usually involve these key features:

• The volunteer mentor acts as a critical friend asking those questions that persons starting and in the early stage of developing an enterprise do not always like to ask of themselves
• The mentor will help the persons mentored work out their own answers to their questions and in doing so help them make balanced decisions to take the enterprise forward
• The mentor is there as a quality sounding board for the business owner
• The mentor brings experience and independence to the client and is able to bring an external viewpoint to the business that might be more objective than that obtained from family and friends
• Mentoring is usually a longer term relationship
• Mentors and clients tend to meet regularly, perhaps every 4–6 weeks e.g by phone, or face to face meeting if practical and action plan at the end of a session
• Action plans are usually designed to provide a framework to move the early stage enterprise on at a sustainable pace. 

 

We continually hear from small enterprises who are or have been mentored that working with a volunteer mentor has, amongst other benefits, improved :

• Decision making in many areas of the business
• Confidence in aspects of running and developing the business
• A feeling that they are not totally alone in business situations and someone is there to discuss issues within a confidential, understanding and supportive framework
• Financial understanding 
• Keeping a cool business head when things don’t go to plan.
  
  

We work with  smaller early stage businesses who wish to develop their enterprise.

Most of the businesses we support would not normally be in a position to pay for these sorts of service to help them. Mentoring provided by volunteers is provided to client businesses at no charge to them. 

Clients must be located within the South West region and be early stage enterprises in most instances.