Starting a business can be a lonely job. The beginnings often mean few, if any, colleagues to bounce ideas off and having to put on multiple hats, learning about everything from types of funding to HR requirements.
One of the most beneficial actions business owners can take from the very beginning is to find a confidant they can look to for advice. These can range from family members and friends, to people they meet in the course of their professional life, such as lawyers, accountants, or even former colleagues and managers. The one key element is to pick someone who they can trust to give helpful advice and provide a different point of view.
A critical sounding board
Salvatore Minetti is the founder of Boardroom Excellence, a SaaS portal for small businesses, and is a non-executive director with a number of SMEs. He’s advised and mentored countless entrepreneurs and believes this kind of support is essential in business success.
“A good mentor gives an entrepreneur the ability to look beyond the here and now and better clarify their goals, to act as a critical sounding board and to offer independent and impartial advice and guidance,” he says. “One of my clients is a well-established technology firm. Their growth had been hampered due the centralisation of the decision-making processes: a founder not letting go is a common scenario.”
With Minetti’s assistance, the firm identified a few members of staff that would make up a management team. From there, they instigated a regular management meeting and a separate operations meeting.
The result was an immediate inflow of new ideas, better scrutiny of information and a more dynamic and involved team. And a 200% increase in revenue over two years.
Minetti recommends that entrepreneurs look for mentors with a similar ideology but a different strategy as it’s important they bring something new to the mix rather that just echoing your existing thoughts.
Chemistry is crucial, but it’s also important to acknowledge the possibility that the relationship could backfire. Make sure your mentor signs a non-disclosure agreement from the start and that both parties are clear on what’s expected.
Tap into their experience
Canny is a flavoured milk brand based in Newcastle. Founder Liam Watson agrees that it’s important for entrepreneurs to find mentors with a different point of view and a breadth of experience. He was lucky enough to meet Brendan Flattery, president of Europe at software company Sage, which is also based in Newcastle.
“Brendan has worked with different sized businesses in various industries, which makes him such a great resource for a startup of our size,” said Watson. “It works well because he tends to look more at the bigger picture, whereas normally I’m focusing on smaller day to day challenges.”
A non-judgemental perspective
A great business coach will not necessarily expect you to take all of their advice, but will help you to develop the tools to question your own initial opinions. Robert Miller, chairman of life sciences business Phynova, learned this when working with a Michael Worrall, who boasts more than 25 years of advising CEOs at a range of different companies.
“Michael is completely non-judgemental and helps me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, how to compensate for my shortcomings and how to use my strengths to work in a more effective way,” said Miller. “It’s easy to lose sight of what the medium and long term goals of the business are. Being encouraged to take the time to reflect and develop a clear vision of what my business and personal goals are has been tremendously helpful and uplifting.”
Another entrepreneur who has benefitted from a mentor’s extensive experience is Ian Wright, founder of Directors Online Network. His investor John Laithwaite has become a trusted advisor thanks to his knowledge of growing successful businesses, which first-time entrepreneurs don’t have.
“John’s long term vision and guidance brings something different to our board room – a benefit of hindsight,” said Wright. “He is a strong advocate of recruiting the best management team possible, which has allowed me to remove myself from the minutia and, nowadays, be almost completely removed as the business is run by a CEO.”
Look for knowledge of your industry
As well as experience in business, a knowledge of the industry and a familiar relationship can also be extremely beneficial in a mentor. When Sian Gaskell decided to open her own PR company Cuban Eight six years ago, she turned to her former boss Kristin Syltevik.
They had worked together for more than 10 years. First at a big company, then Gaskell was employed by Syltevik when she took the plunge and set up her own firm. At the time Gaskell didn’t realise she would end up following in her mentor’s footsteps. Syltevik no longer works in PR, but runs a new business and advises Gaskell on a regular basis.
“I’ve learnt a lot from Kristin as an individual. She gives [a] great outside perspective and, having experience in business, she’s really helped me manage the growth of the company. She helped me work out the importance of delegation to avoid burnout and giving over responsibility of certain things to other members of the team. She’s a real believer in people and that’s one of the biggest things she’s shown me,” says Gaskell.
Sometimes the people who know you best will give you the most trustworthy and valuable advice, even if they don’t always fully understand the business intricacies. Samantha Nicholson is the founder of Nicholson & Co, a Sheffield-based accountancy firm, which she started in 2011 while working full-time. Despite her partner losing his job just after she launched, she managed to keep the company running and was recently named accountant of the year by the IAB. She credits her success largely to the mentorship of her mother.
“My mum’s always been there for me and we’ve always had a close connection, which I love. She always tells me as it is, and doesn’t try and butter it up for me,” says Nicholson. She explains that the crucial element was the trust she had in her mother to provide genuine, honest opinions. What many effective business confidants have in common is providing a fresh perspective and helping the entrepreneur to step away from the day-to-day stresses of running a business and see the bigger picture.
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with Kia Fleet, sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
