For beginning and running a startup, an entrepreneur needs a positive mindset and a huge responsibility. The major problem of every entrepreneur is that they are inexperienced at the time when they starting a business. There is only one way to overcome the inexperience quickly. We can overcome that by engaging in an advisor program or mentorship.
Where can you find a mentor for your startup? There are so many places for finding a mentor. We will get someone else’s experience through mentorship. If you are humble and insightful enough, you will recognize the importance of being open to external feedback and asking for help. Mentors are the best option to achieve this. Also, an entrepreneur’s lack of future sight can be avoided by acquiring a mentorship.
There are so many important factors to the success of a business. It includes the cohesive force of your employees, the timing of the company, the strength of the idea, the cumulative experience of the team, entrepreneurial experience of the person in charge, etc. Mentors help to maintain focus on business problems. Also, they can provide alternative solutions to the problems.
Key traits of a perfect mentor
Some of the important traits for a perfect startup mentor are given below.
Problem solver
Entrepreneurs will face so many problems when starting and running a business. So it is important to find a mentor who is a problem solver. A quality startup mentor should be a problem solver. Also, they should be able to reduce the pool of difficulties. A mentor can help an entrepreneur to create a better business by overcoming the barriers. They help you to understand the different possible pain points of the startup.
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Knowledgeable
A perfect mentor should be aware about the industry the startup belongs. An entrepreneur can overcome all difficulties, if they are having a mentor who gives advice and generic ideas. So getting a mentor from the same industry is more suitable. They can help you to learn the different nature of the market, the intricacies of the business, the processes, and the novelty.
Strong networking
A good mentor should succeed in maintaining a strong network of appropriate people in the startup ecosystem. Being a mentor with good connections in the industry gives you the ability to work without interruption. For example, investors are more likely to invest in your startup if their inner circle of network mentions them. A smart mentor helps you to get customer trials, potential investors and customers, strategic engagements, etc.
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Entrepreneurship
A mentor, who goes through the same processes of creating a startup and leading it to the success, knows all the entrepreneurial activities required. They are validating your startup idea and leading the company into profitability. A mentor with an entrepreneurial background can help you to avoid barriers. Also, they can identify all the possible options to prevent the problems.
Where can you find a mentor?
Finding the right startup mentor is not an easy thing, but not impossible. A right mentor is the fundamental factor for having a successful startup. As an entrepreneur, mentorship is an important resource for the growth. Some of the places for finding a perfect mentor are given below.
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1. Online mentorship networks
There are so many online programs are dedicated to pairing potential mentors with professional. Find a Mentor is an online mentorship network. With typically a small or no cost, you can sign up, and find upcoming advisors in our area of expertise. Also, we can chat with them, and meet in person to start a partnership. Also, you can maintain a mentorship through online only.
2. Small business development centers
Small Business Development Centers are the independent organizations that offer advice, expertise and resources for emerging the entrepreneurs across the country. We can find free consultation from small business development centers by using state and local government funds, Small Business Administration, federal funds, and resources from the private sector.
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3. Volunteer events
Volunteer events are another good place for meeting peoples. We can meet like-minded professionals. They may be looking for ways to use their knowledge and experience. We can use the online platform named Volunteer Match to get volunteering opportunities in our city. According to our interest, we can find opportunities. Also, we can increase our contacts through attending volunteer events.
4. Industry meetups
Industry meetups are the best place for finding a mentorship in a specific industry sector. These events include networking events, conferences, speaking events, informal meetups and trade shows. It can be advertised through Meetup or classified ads.
5. SCORE
SCORE is an organization that works for helping the individuals to begin, run and grow their own businesses. Currently, there are more than 11,000 volunteers included in the program. Also, it has around 320 chapters across the country. An entrepreneur can request for a free face-to-face meeting with a mentor to discuss about the business idea. Also, they allow us to create a more lasting partnership with them.
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6. Social media
Social media is another good platform for finding perfect mentors for our startup. We can search for mentors through professional platforms like LinkedIn and public platforms like Twitter. We can find professionals according to our requirements, by using keywords for searching.
We can determine the reputation of a person and their willingness to talk with others by monitoring the engagement level and followers. Firstly, get to know our hoped-for mentor instead of going with an outright request. Also, try to offer something of value to start the relationship.
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7. Fitness classes and groups
Business people usually like to relieve stress, maintain their health, find new contacts, and stay active. That is why we can frequently find them in fitness-related groups and fitness classes. We can join a spinning class for a low rate or buy our own spinning equipment. From fitness classes, we will be able to participate continuously while meeting new peoples. Also, we will get the benefits of physical exercises.
8. Networking events
Networking events are designed to connect people. Also, these events are greater opportunities for expanding our professional network. We should try to talk to as many people as you can through these events. Also, we should wait for a potential partnership to make self-evident instead of a too forward with our goals.
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Business leaders are looking for new contacts. The reason is that they can be perspective partners, employees, or clients in the future. We can meet professionals in many various fields at networking events and it helps to expand our personal network
9. Any public location
It is possible to meet a quality mentor on the street. Most of the experienced entrepreneurs are also ordinary human. They utilize public transportation for travelling. They like to walk around downtown. They like to go to bars and restaurants, mainly on the weekends like others. So we should talk with more peoples to know about them. If we don’t find that suitable person, also there is a chance to meet someone who knows about them.
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Mentorship is an important factor. A perfect mentor shows the way for startup to reach in the heights. They provide you the tested and tried ideas and help you to reach your goal with lesser stress and faster. Also, they support us by filling our knowledge gaps and widening the network.
Author: ATHUL C K
Source : https://startuptalky.com/find-mentor-startup/
Date : 2020-08-27T15:40:52.000Z