Call to entrepreneurs to act as mentors

The benefits of a mentor, whether for business or in one's personal life, have long been espoused and mentoring expert John C Crosby encapsulates exactly what a mentor is when he says: "Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction."

For small business owners, having a mentor can be invaluable and the statistics prove this. Research has shown that 80% of entrepreneurs who have mentors working alongside them survive long term, versus only 45% who don't have a mentor.

All of The Hope Factory's programmes are underpinned by mentorship. According to Annie McWalter, CEO of The Hope Factory: "We choose our mentors because they themselves have first-hand knowledge of what it is like to run a business, having run their own in the past; we also seek excellent experience in the various aspects associated with starting and growing a business. Similarly, assigning each mentor to one of the entrepreneurs on our programmes is very important - we have to ensure we have the right fit for each individual and that the mentors are able to help grow the person and, in turn, their businesses. The relationship needs to be one of empowerment. When the mentor leaves and the mentee has to implement what they've discussed, he needs to be able to do so on his own and with confidence.

"We believe that if we can help to grow the individual business owner or entrepreneur then the business will be more likely to grow and remain sustainable."

The programme

Each business on the programme will be assigned a dedicated business mentor who will assist it with hands-on business development. Business owners are afforded an opportunity to attend workshops that teach specific business management principles such as financial management, effective marketing, branding and public relations, costing and budgeting, and supplier development opportunities among others. They will also receive capital investment opportunities, networking opportunities through The Hope Factory's events and expos, access to markets relevant to their businesses, specialist training and exposure to their industries.

To be eligible for the programme businesses need to be: