Being a young entrepreneur and starting out in business having a mentor can be the best business decision you ever make. Whether your mentor was a professor you had in varsity or your first boss that you always look up to in your career decision making.

The best way to get to know a new space is to get someone who has been in that space for a while to show you the ropes of how things function etc.

Here’s a list of Top 10 Reasons Why Having a Mentor Is Important:

10. Perspective and Experience.

A mentor can help you learn the ropes of the space you are going into through their perspective and experience of challenges they faced when starting out and how they dealt with certain situations to get them where they are today. You get to learn from and understand how to deal with the challenges they faced before you face them.

9. Think Outside the Box.

A mentor can help you develop a new way of thinking and look at situations. You may have solutions to problems you may face but are your solutions always the best solutions to use? A mentor can help you evolve your solutions to best suit the problems you may face and to deal with the quicker and efficiently.

8. Define and Reach Long-Term Goals.

A mentor is essentially there to help you keep focused on your dreams and business aspirations. Helps you focus on achieving your long term business goals so you don’t become another failed small business, a part of the failing entrepreneur’s statistic.

7. Accountability.

Mentors tend to give mentees tasks to complete after every meeting they have for your mentor to refer someone to do business with you is a big deal but you need to be accountable enough for your mentor to take such a risk. So make sure that every task that is given is completed on time and to the best of your ability.

6. Trusted Colleague to Discuss Issues.

Mentors are always the best listeners when it comes to sitting down and paying attention to your business constraints and concerns. Your mentor is the best HR manager you’ll ever have because they’ll give you the advice and criticism you need to hear at that very moment.

5. Champion and ally.

A mentor who knows you well can be a strong champion of your positive attributes and motivate you accordingly and an ally during any bumpy spots in your career and career moves. As a mentee it is important to have a genuine relationship with your mentor and prove yourself worthy of any sacrifices your mentor may want to make for you.

4. Expand your contacts and network.

A mentor is the best way to make great business connections in your area of business. They may introduce you to potential clients and may be even business partners or investors that may invest in your ideas because of the faith your mentor has in you. Having a mentor is the best way to network in business spaces that you are new in.

3. Open Doors.

A mentor can open doors to new opportunities for you, either open the doors to your new business or even doors into other companies that are bigger that yours that consider outsourcing to smaller businesses. Everyone starts somewhere!

2. Inspire.

The best business inspiration one can have is from a mentor who is doing fairly well in their business space. Any mentee wants to at least try and fill the shoes of a great mentor.

1. Work better.

With the help of a good mentor, you can work more efficiently with a clearer view of the future you are trying to achieve for your business. This helps you feel more confident in the way you go about running your business, which leads to your business being a great competitor and more success along your chosen road.

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