7 signs that you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor

 

Want to know what the 7 signs that you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor are? Well, you are in the right place.

I was very tempted to call this blog post ‘7 signs that you need a business mentor’ but the fact is no one ever NEEDS a business mentor.  When it comes to business mentors there are people who sit on both sides of the fence. There are those who never work with a business mentor and there are those who always have a business mentor regardless of what is happening in their business. In reality, a business mentor can be helpful at any time, but there are certain times when a business mentor definitely will be really valuable and that’s what I want to highlight. So keep on reading to find out what the 7 signs that you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor are.

 

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7 SIGNS THAT YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER HIRING A BUSINESS MENTOR 

 

Before delving into how to choose the right business mentor I want to first discuss that as a business owner that is looking for one-to-one support there are a number of options. In this blog post, I specifically refer to how a business mentor can help, but I’m fully aware that there are also business advisors, business consultants, business coaches, business strategists business [insert something else. I talk further about the differences between a business mentor and business coach here. The main thing is to not get overwhelmed with the titles but get clear on what you want to happen as a result of working with the person.  

 

1. You have business problems that you can’t figure out by yourself and you have no one else to talk to

Building a business isn’t easy. You’ll be faced with lots of problems, some big and some small, along the way. In most cases, you’ll be able to deal with the problems by yourself. However, if you get to the stage where you have business problems that you can’t figure out by yourself and you don’t have anyone else to talk to then you could really benefit from having a business mentor.

 

A business mentor can act as a great sounding board and as someone external to your business they are likely to have the distance required to challenge your thoughts, make you think through different scenarios and then help you decide how to address the problem.

 

2. You are struggling to work out what to focus on 

Do you feel as if there are so many things you could be doing and having all of those options is overwhelming you? If so, you would definitely benefit from having a business mentor. A business mentor will provide you with the space to share all of your ideas and then help you work out what your priorities should be. Being in a state of overwhelm or trying to do too many things at the same time is not good for business. You’ll either take no action or take lots of actions, but not see the results you desire because you’ve spread yourself too thin.

 

For you to perform at your best you need to have clear priorities so you know what you should be focusing on. Sometimes that means saying no to some options and sometimes that just means putting an option to the side for a period of time. A business mentor can help you to make those decisions. They’ll help you to create a long-term vision for your business, whilst helping you to concentrate on what needs to be prioritised in the short-term.

 

3. You are procrastinating

If you find that you are frequently procrastinating, or procrastinating around a certain thing, then you should definitely consider hiring a business mentor. The fact is that as a solopreneur or small business owner you can easily find yourself in a position where you have no one holding you accountable. As a result, you might say you are going to X or Y, but no one else in the whole world knows. That means that for weeks, even months, you can keep on putting off X and Y and it doesn’t matter. No one is the wiser. However, the likelihood is that if you decided to do something in the first place, and you are now procrastinating about taking that action, it will have an impact on your business.

 

That impact could be good or bad, but the fact you’re procrastinating shows that internally you have expectations around what will happen when you take that action. But if you never take the action you’ll never know. Now very often, in this situation, procrastination is a result of fear. A business mentor will be able to help you work through the fear and take the action.

 

4. You’ve set BIG goals for your business that will require YOU to personally change

As a solopreneur or small business owner you are central to the success of your business. So if you’ve set some big goals for your business it is time to have a look at those goals and get real about what is required from you in order to achieve those goals. If achieving those goals require a change from you then you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor.

 

Maybe you’ve historically ignored the numbers in your business but you’ve set the business the goal of increasing profitability by 20% and in order to ensure that happens you are going to have to get to grips with the finances in your business.

 

Maybe you’ve previously been haphazard with your marketing and you only create, and post, content when you feel like it. But you’ve set the goal of having a Xk launch and in order for that to happen, you need to create a marketing plan for the launch and stick to it.

 

Maybe to date, you’ve been hiding behind a brand, but you’ve set a goal to increase sales. You know a critical part of increasing sales is by using video, of you, in your marketing, and that means you are going to have to face your fears and create videos.

 

Those are just three possible examples of how a business goal can require a personal change from the business owner. One of those might resonate with you, or you might have a business goal that you know requires a change from you. If so, then working with a business mentor would be beneficial. Whilst you might think a business mentor is only there to help with business things the reality is that helping the CEO to perform at their best is a key part of being a business mentor. In fact, in many cases a business mentor will be fully aware of how the CEO is holding the growth of a business back and will help them to make changes in those areas.

 

LOOKING FOR A 1-TO-1 BUSINESS MENTOR TO HELP GROW OR SCALE YOUR ONLINE SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS?  I specialise in helping solo coaches, consultants and online service providers to grow thriving online businesses that they love.  No matter where you are right now I can help you to strategically grow your business. I’ll help you to work smarter, not harder, so that you can become fully booked with dream clients, smash your revenue targets and build a business you are proud of. To find out more about my 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme click here And to discuss your precise needs book a free, no-obligation, introduction call to discuss your business here.

5. You are creating plans but not sticking to them 

Creating a plan is one thing, but implementing that plan is a very different thing. If you are someone who is good at planning, but struggling to stick to the plan then you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor. A business mentor can help you in two ways.

 

Firstly, if you are not implementing your plans because you get bored or get shiny object syndrome then they can help remind you why you decided to create the current plan and the importance of following it. Secondly, if you are not implementing your plans because it requires you to take actions that scare you then you’ll get the support and accountability to work through the fear and take the required actions.

 

6. Your business growth has plateaued for several months (and you don’t want it to have)

If your current goal is for your business to be growing, but it has hit a plateau for a number of months, then that is a sign that something needs to change. Growth in a business is not linear and it is very common to hit a plateau. But if you’ve been in a plateau for a number of months then the likelihood is you’ll continue at that plateau unless you make some changes.

 

A business mentor can help assess the current situation and provide ideas about what changes to make in order to break through the plateau. A business mentor will find it easier to spot the plateau than you for a number of reasons. Firstly, they aren’t as close to the business and can be more critical. Secondly, through their experience of working with other businesses, they’ll know the common reasons why businesses like yours hit plateaus.

 

7. You want to make a considerable change in your business

It is easy from reading some of the other signs to think that business mentors are only valuable when you are struggling, but that isn’t true at all. Lots of very successful business owners will hire business mentors consistently because they know that a business mentor helps them to make better decisions and follow through with implementing those decisions. In short, business mentors help business owners perform at their peak.

 

For many reasons, it is beneficial to hire a business mentor even when business is doing well, but you should definitely consider hiring a business mentor when business is going well, and you are about to make a big change. In the world of big business, there are whole teams that are dedicated to change, so you should at least be investing in a business mentor at this moment of time.

 

A big change in your business could be any of the following:

• Pivoting your business
• Introducing new products/services
• Changing your approach to marketing
• Growing your team
• Adjusting your business model

And so much more.

 

That’s it. You now know the 7 signs that you should seriously consider hiring a business mentor.

As I said at the beginning I don’t believe that you NEED or MUST-HAVE a business mentor, but I’ve highlighted some of the common situations business owners find themselves in and were working with a business mentor would be really beneficial.

 

If after reading this blog post you feel as if you could benefit from working with a business mentor then be sure to check out my services. The full details are below.

 

And because no two business mentors are the same you can check out my blog post on ‘How to choose the right business mentor’  here. 

WORK WITH ME (1-TO-1 BUSINESS MENTORING SERVICE) I specialise in helping solo coaches, consultants and online service providers to grow thriving online businesses that they love.  No matter where you are right now I can help you to strategically grow your business. I’ll help you to work smarter, not harder, so that you can become fully booked with dream clients, smash your revenue targets and build a business you are proud of. To find out more about my 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme click here And to discuss your precise needs book a free, no-obligation, introduction call to discuss your business here.