Mentors are a vital source of knowledge and experience both in life and business. So why don’t more people have mentors? Where do you find mentors? Who should be your mentor?

Two things happened this week which brings me to write this article. First I was both a workshop presenter and panel member at the Walan Mayinygu Indigenous Entrepreneurs Pop Up Hub in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia. The role of mentors was a topic that resonated with those in the audience. Secondly, I have just begun as a mentor for a student at a local university here in Brisbane. This is the second year I have taken on the role as a student mentor. Mentoring is a part of Foley Business Management’s core value of ‘Legacy: To create a better world for our children’s children’.

What is a mentor?

First we need to understand what a mentor is. Mentors are often mistaken as sources of advice. While this is true to an extent, it is not the role of a mentor to come up with the answers. You first need to understand the difference between a mentor, a coach and a consultant. We are just going to focus on mentors for this article.

Mentors can be a source of

• Knowledge- They come with learning from their education be it learnt from books or life.
• Experience- They have already done what you are wanting to do. They bring an understanding of success and failure, right and wrong, the highs and the lows.
• Networks- They have connections with other people in and around their profession or business.
• Guidance- They can provide guidance on what to consider for your next steps towards realising your goals.
• Professional Development- They can give you awareness of what to consider to develop yourself personally in your career or your business.

Many mentors

You may have different mentors in your life for different reasons. In life you generally will have people you go and speak to about certain matters you are experiencing. For each different situation you may speak to different people based upon the situation. Likewise in our career or in business you should have certain people you go to speak with about certain matters as to others. So you should seek to have a number of mentors in different areas!

Experienced

For many a mentor is someone you may already know or you may seek out. You will have some level of confidence in them that you are receiving the right feedback from someone who has already been in your position or is aware of what is required.  Note I use the word ‘feedback’ and not advice. This is very important as Mentors are not consultants!

Sounding Boards

Mentors are firstly a sounding board. They’re someone you run something by to gain their feedback on the matter. For example,

A student may ask questions about what it’s like working in accounting? What type of work such as tax and audit? Should they apply to work in a Big 4 accounting firm, mid tier or small tier practice? Or should they work in commercial or as a company accountant? I can give my feedback on this based on my experience working in public practice and in commercial and what to expect working in the different tiers based on my discussions with other accountants.

From the business owner I may be asked about what are the pro’s and con’s of starting a business? Who should they talk to about a particular business matter? What have I learnt from starting a business? Should they start working in their business full time?

Finding the answer

Most of the time as a mentor I do not give a response to the question but ask a question that is relevant to the person based upon the question.

For example, if a mentee asked ‘should I go into business full time?’ My response might be ‘do you have the clients to go into full time business with?’ This is a question but with a specific focus around the person’s ability to earn money. The response question makes the mentee open and broaden their mind as part of learning in the mentee/mentor relationship.

A student may ask ‘should I go into public practice or commercial accounting?’. My response back might be. “They are different and have their pro’s and cons. Do you have a preference?” Again, the purpose of the response is to find out if the student has their own preferred choice of career path. This may also be followed with “Do you know what type of work you would do in public practice and in commercial accounting?” as in most cases the student will not.

Where do I find a mentor?

You may already know people who can be your mentor. For example, if you are thinking of starting a business, you may already know someone in business to ask questions from. If you don’t, you may want to go along to a Chamber of Commerce night with other business people.

If you’re wanting to speak to someone who has experience in your particular business area, then you might want to speak to people you know through your associations. For example, an electrician wanting to find out about starting a business in air conditioning installation may want to talk to a building industry association.

If you want to find someone very specific or niche, such as an Indigenous business owner, you can reach out to people online. This could be from emailing them directly from a search using Google or using Facebook or LinkedIn to connect. Please note I don’t accept unknown connections through LinkedIn unless we have already met and I know you. Or you have at least sent a message with your LinkedIn request explaining who you are and why you want to connect.

Who should be your mentor?

Sometimes people will reach out to people who are not necessarily going to be able to provide the time and knowledge that is needed. So if you’re starting out in business, don’t necessarily reach out to Richard Branson or Warren Buffett to become your mentor. Aim for people who are where you want to be in 5 to 10 years…. and be realistic!!!!! Ask someone who has ran their business for 5 years what their experience has been and what lessons they have learnt. Learn from both their success and failure.

Free or Pay?

Remember that some people you meet are professional coaches or consultants. So the line between mentor and these may overlap when it comes to feedback or advice. So if someone you approach is a professional, you want to clarify with them whether they charge for the service. You then have the choice of either accepting their fee or kindly declining. Don’t be offended if they ask for you to pay them. This is how they make a living to provide for their family- putting food on the table, a roof over their heads and paying their bills. Volunteer work and goodwill aren’t accepted by Woolworths or AGL as forms of payment for groceries and electricity bills.