Business Owners
Though it can be extremely satisfying being your own boss, running your own business can also be lonely and challenging. When business owners need support, a Business Mentor can assist in a wide range of ways by offering business coaching.
Confidential Support
Confidential business owners support from a mentor who has the right background and experience can provide practical benefits. Our mentors will share their successes and mistakes, as appropriate, and can help motivate, challenge and support you and guide you towards the business growth strategies that will best suit your enterprise. Your matched mentor will have overlapping yet complementary experience to your own, as well as a wide background to help fill gaps and blind spots in experience.
Business Growth Strategies
A common request from business owners is for us to engage a business mentor to assist with their business growth strategies. This can apply to a range of enterprises, whether they’re already performing but may have much greater potential, or are failing and must increase performance and profitability to survive.
Succession Transition
We are often requested to assist in developing succession, enabling the business owner to begin stepping back from the business.
When you’ve built up a successful business, it’s often hard to hand over the decision making to a successor even though you want to reduce your input. Your business mentor will work with you on how to let go and pass responsibility onto the new CEO or GM. We can also mentor new executives to help them settle into their positions.
Other factors such as business growth strategy, family, retirement, health issues, or a desire to take up a new venture often require business owners to change their focus, and a mentor can support them to achieve this successfully.
Business Planning
A mentor can help with business planning by reviewing the plans and the actual performance with you. They can also assist you with changing your business plan as conditions and requirements change.
Family Businesses
Family businesses have their own unique dynamics influenced by their specific family relationships. We can provide a mentor with experience running a family business who can help guide and develop family members and their staff to perform and meet the business requirements.
Getting Ready for Sale of Business
Getting a business ready for sale is an experience that can be stressful, and many business owners can benefit from mentor support during the process. It may be that no decision has been made to exit and it`s the intention to become investor ready, with a view to either maximise performance or to attract new funding as a business growth strategy, or both.
Growing the Business
The direction and method of your business growth strategy needs careful consideration. Mentors with the right experience can help by talking through successful strategies from their own experience. This might include pursuit of new markets, incorporating new products or services, expansion overseas, or mergers and acquisitions.
We have mentors who have successfully expanded their own businesses from Australia to overseas destinations. For business owners, support from someone who has experience in this field is essential, as overseas expansion can have many pitfalls.
What a Business Mentor Brings to the Relationship
Our business mentors bring a wealth of experience in various industries, and are well trained and educated. They have all demonstrated skills in the relevant areas, including active listening and the use of our mentoring processes.
Most business owners have many new ideas and could benefit from a mentor that offers skills in critical discussion, evaluation and prioritisation, or even simply a sympathetic ear and a private sounding board.
Your Specific Mentor Requirements
At International Business Mentors, we find that business owners approach us for a wide range of reasons. Challenges to their enterprise are often the catalyst that causes the search for assistance. Our mentors will help with the initial issues, and, as the relationship develops further, growth strategy issues may arise and your mentor can provide ongoing support as appropriate.
Business Mentoring Programs Across the Organisation
As well as providing mentoring and support for the business owner, we can provide a mentoring program for a number of senior staff across your organisation. If you are a business owner and would like to discuss further, don’t hesitate to contact us.