Hi! I’m Stephanie Breedlove, Co-Founder of Care.com HomePay, Author and Angel Investor.
I absolutely adore taking an idea and giving it life in the form a business, then leading it to its full potential. Nothing is more fun. (Seriously!) I’d love for every woman who wants to start her own business to say the same thing, so here I am, mentoring millennial entrepreneurs. When I’m not working, I like to recharge and head outdoors to hike, bike, or stand up paddle board!
Is that list of business news and trending articles you’ve tagged still unread? I get it. Allow me to help. Take a couple minutes to read my summary of articles serving the most pertinent, actionable business topics. Or, take 10 minutes to read the full article, and put another brick on the foundation of your growing career.
This Week’s Must-Read:
Entrepreneurs, Don’t Fail or Fall Short for the Wrong Reason. Twelve Benefits of a Mentor
Who it’s for:
Every founder. At every stage of your business.
Why it’s important:
In today’s rapid pace world, entrepreneurs are expected to do more of everything to help their startup succeed. Often this means being more focused and knowledgeable with less support. Meeting these needs is often a little crazy, and a very tall order. Solution? Recruit a mentor - who can potentially be the key difference in your startup succeeding or failing.
A mentor should be someone who has more life experience than you; someone you aspire to be like or who you think shares your morals and values. If you can find the right mentor, you will find yourself receiving invaluable benefits both for yourself and your company. It is so worth it.
Here are 12 tangible (and amazing) benefits of finding the right mentor:
1. Networking. Finding a mentor who you aspire to be like, within your chosen profession also helps you grow your network. They can introduce you to like-minded people and some of these people could be valuable connections throughout your career.
2. Startup Progression. Having a mentor is a great way to find out about new resources – product development, marketing, distribution, and they can often provide an introduction to a potential vendor.
3. Honest Feedback. Having a mentor to bounce ideas off of can help you plan and organize how to put them into action.
4. Accountability. Telling your mentor that you’re going to achieve something and setting a goal means you have someone to hold you accountable to these goals. When you are the captain of your own ship, this form of accountability is incredibly valuable.
5. Problem Solving. A mentor can give you helpful advice for navigating problems, and their experience and insight may stop you from making the mistakes that create many problems.
6. Perspective. A mentor is likely to give you an entirely different perspective from your team or anyone who knows you personally. They can offer you impartial advice from a professional point of view.
7. Personal Development. Talking through things with people more experienced than yourself can help you to learn and grow much quicker.
8. Sharing Success. It isn’t always about discussing problems. Sharing your success can be hugely rewarding for your mentor as well as for you and can help you find ways to build on this success.
9. Focus. Having someone to help you stay on track and focus will help you to stay on target.
10. Mentoring Others. Having a mentor guide you through your career is a great way to learn how to be a mentor yourself. Becoming a mentor may also open up opportunities to you as well as the person you are mentoring.
11. Confidence. A mentor who really knows you can know when to push/pull you, and when to reward you with praise.
12. Listening. Of all the skills you might acquire, listening is one of the hardest to develop. A mentor can help teach you how to listen in order to gather the facts before making hasty or bad decisions.
Top Take-Away: If you want to hedge your bet on your entrepreneurial success, it is worth doing the work to get the best mentor you can find.
A few tips on how to find and keep the best mentor:
How to Find (and Keep) a Mentor in 10 Not-So-Easy Steps