the value of a mentor

February 7, 2012 / by jack speranza / Make A Comment / Filed under msv, ZENCubate

our focus lies in the realm of small business, but we stay connected to the “big-market” world of venture capital and their “sexy” startups because 1) there’s a lot of talented folks who hang out in that neighborhood, and 2) they’re consistently sharing valuable experiences and insights about growing businesses.

though much of the perspective and advice associated with growing a large market venture is irrelevant to growing a small business, every once in a while we encounter a universal truth worthy of sharing. today we were inspired by an article published by the venture development center at umass boston. here’s our condensed translation for the small business owner ::

1. they complete a skills gap :: small business owners rarely have a “team” of high-level thinkers, which means they’re even more behind the 8-ball than a big-market startup when it comes to covering all the skills needed to successfully start and grow a business (think marketing, sales, finance, operations, legal, technology, and human resources). bring in a mentor, however, and many of these skill gaps get plugged.
2. experience with prioritizing :: it’s been repeated a gazillion times… to be successful, small business owners need to work on their business rather than in their business. even then, there’s an incredible amount of things to do. the sheer volume makes it particularly challenging for a business owner to prioritize. mentors with years of experience (especially with operating small businesses of their own) have the perspective to guide small business owners towards what they should be spending the most time on.
3. making connections :: experienced mentors will have an extensive network — more than the typical business owner. they’re able to introduce the small business to people who can really help make things happen for their business.
4. building credibility :: having an experienced mentor can help business owners gain the trust of prospective customers, business partners, bankers and others.
5. avoiding mistakes :: mentors have “been there, and done that.” they’ve already made the mistakes every small business runs the risk of making and can help a small business owner avoid dangerous land mines.

the folks at umass rightly posed the question of “how do you know if a mentor has the right qualifications, motivation and time commitment to help?” in response, they came up with a rating system based on four simple questions to help business owners determine if a prospective mentor is likely to meet their needs. again, we’ve made some slight adjustments to account for the variations associated with building a company for “main street” vs. wall street ::

(attach a score to each of your answers, with 1 being low and 4 being high)

1. qualifications :: does the mentor have experience successfully building and/or running a small business? has he/she gone through the experience of selling or acquiring another company?
2. motivation :: does the mentor really care about helping to build your business or is he/she just involved to do business with your company?
3. attitude :: does the mentor spend a lot of time telling you the “right way” to run a company instead of listening to and asking you questions that get you thinking?
4. accessibility :: how available is the mentor when you have a burning issue? does the mentor use regular one-to-ones with you as the means of mentorship, or does the mentor swoop in for one-to-manys?

total your score and divide by four. here’s what it means:

1.0 to 2.99 – the mentor is just a contributor.
3.0 to 3.99 – the mentor is, well, a mentor.
4.0 – the mentor is a super mentor, the kind you want.

like the umass venture center, mentorship lies at the core of ZENCubate and all of our other business-building services. we buy into the concept of scoring a “4.0″ on their scale, and you should, too.