Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Business Mentor? Kind like Father, Great as a Professor, Inspire as a Prophet:

Moham Yarmohammadian

Author, International Advisor at WBIUS

Hafez Shirazi (1315-1390)

“Last night, I took my problem to the MENTOR

Who would solve any puzzles with hint of eyes”

Why every entrepreneur needs a business mentor? “Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable and wise person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person” (WIKIPEDIA). A mentor may share with a mentee (or protégé) knowledge and wisdom about his or her own career path, as well as provide guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling. Stamatia Dova a researcher at the center for Hellenic studies, Harvard University remind us Odyssey legend and root of mentorship from ancient time in Greece, that true mentor is “Kind like a Father”.

A business mentor is someone with more entrepreneurial business experience than you, who serves as a trusted confidante over an extended period of time, traditionally not certainly free of charge. Otherwise, business mentor is a person who sees more talent and ability in you, than you see in yourself, and helps you to bring it out.

In GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Mentor was the son of Alcimus, who appeared in the Homeric epic; “The Odyssey”. In old age, he was a close friend of Odysseus, who placed Mentor in responsibility of his son Telemachus, while the hero was away fighting at the Trojan War. The goddess of wisdom “Athena” took the form of Mentor when she appeared in front of Telemachus, in order to be unnoticeable from the numerous suitors of Penelope, Odysseus‘ wife. She then told the young man to stand up against the suitors, leave Ithaca and search for his lost father. She also took the form of Mentor after Odysseus‘ return to Ithaca.

According to B.R.J. O’DONNELL OCTOBER 13, 2017 “Homer’s The Odyssey chronicles Odysseus’s journey home in the years following the Trojan War. As he is making his way back, the goddess Athena appears to his son, Telemachus, in the form of an old family friend, Mentor, to offer him support and guidance in his father’s absence. Their interactions in The Odyssey represent one of the earliest antecedents of the word mentorship.”

In the Odyssey, Mentor was the son of Alcimus. In his old age, Mentor was a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War, he placed Mentor and Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus’ palace (Wikipedia).

Only a business mentor can truly share knowledge and wisdom with you on an ongoing basis, and in such manner that can have a direct, positive impact on the growth of your business over time. The generic business advice you’ll get from online publications will only go so far, and a good business mentor picks up right where that leaves off.

“I launched my small business while initially started my learning journey, I met my mentor and I was so nervous to approach him and what to talk but still I met him and introduced myself. Neither did he know much about me nor did I about him, he said to me- “Keep doing what you are doing”….I didn’t realize then as to why he said that but just trusted him and continued and I can’t thank him enough for those words then”. Memos from a business startup head.

World Business Institute at the United States (WBIUS) provides a strong platform for fulfilling your needs and expectations, academically and professionally. All you can do is just contact to the institute at www.wbius.com and get assistant from the institute.

According to University of Washington, the concept of mentoring is simple, but successful implementation can be challenging. Also the American Psychological Association (APA) lists characteristics of effective mentoring to include “the ability and willingness to

value the mentee as a person;
develop mutual trust and respect;
maintain confidentiality;
listen both to what is being said and how it is being said;
help the mentee solve his or her own problem, rather than give direction;
focus on the mentee’s development and resist the urge to produce a clone.”

“It’s my first time starting to move toward my business idea and staying away from my friends. So sometimes I feel lonely but it’s all a new experience and my mentor also had been in my spot when he came here and he has always understood me, motivated me and inspire me to do right things in effective manner”. Memos from a business startup head.

Mentoring and Coaching: Similar but Not the Same

JOHN REH written and updated his post on August 14, 2019, indicated that “the terms mentoring and coaching often get used interchangeably, which misleads the audience. While similar in their support of someone’s development, they involve very different disciplines in practice.

Mentoring consists of a long-term relationship focused on supporting the growth and development of the mentee. The mentor becomes a source of wisdom, teaching, and support, but not someone who observes and advises on specific actions or behavioral changes in daily work. Coaching typically involves a relationship of finite duration, with a focus on strengthening or eliminating specific behaviors in the here and now. Coaches help professionals correct behaviors that detract from their performance or strengthen those that support stronger performance around a given set of activities.

Both mentoring and coaching offer incredibly valuable developmental support. However, one offers high-level guidance for long-term development, while the other helps provide a more immediate improvement in targeted areas”.

He is a person who leads by example. He focuses on everyone and really tries to guide them which I feel is an incredible quality in a leader.

A good mentor possesses the following qualities: Willingness to share skills, knowledge, and expertise. He/she also is willing to teach what he/she knows and accept the mentee where they currently are in their professional development.

Nowadays there are at least five types of mentoring; 1) one to one mentoring, 2) group mentoring and 3) remote/ electronic mentoring, 4) hybrid mentoring and 5) matrix mentoring.

Usually successful mentoring compromises four steps: preparation, negotiating, enabling growth, and closure.

Sometimes some feminist groups apply term “FEMTOR” for female mentorship means mentoring of women by women to further their career and development prospects. But I don’t recommend to use this term instead of MENTOR which is neutral and not gender based concept.

Successful mentoring schemes are likely to include activities such as: programme monitoring, screening of mentors, matching, training, supervision, structured activities, parental support and involvement, frequent contact and ongoing relationships. Cambridge English Corpus

Mentorship is shortcut to success

There is evidence to suggest that mentoring programs might even have negative impacts on young people exhibiting personal vulnerabilities. Cambridge English Corpus

According to David Marquet Former Contributor in FORBES on Jan 23, 2017, here’s what to do instead of negative impacts or mentorship malpractice:

First, every leader should view themselves as having the responsibility to mentor each and every one of their direct reports equally. Second, companies should allow and encourage mentor-protégé relationships outside the organization, which cannot be seen as unfair or discriminatory.

Third, for internal company programs, the only appropriate mentors are those so low in the organization that they have no influence over the promotion process. In this case, the mentor has the responsibility to get the new employee up to speed quickly but then sets them free.

Fourth, a successful alternative to an internal mentoring program is to adopt a peer-to-peer relationship, self-organized, between two people who agree to check each other’s behavior and provide unvarnished feedback.

Concluding Remarks

A mentor can make a real difference in your career, business or company as well as your daily life. You just need to accept importance of learning journey in business and try to choose a true mentor. Also you should review mentor roles and responsibilities and estimate your realistic needs and expectations about your business, company or your life. There are few institutes, academies or companies which are trying to provide mentorship services to you or appoint your specific mentor to you according to your request. World Business Institute at the United States (WBIUS) provides a strong platform for fulfilling your needs and expectations, academically and professionally. All you can do is just contact to the institute at www.wbius.com and get assistant from the institute.