Find Mentors If You Want to Improve the Chances of Success of Your Small Business

You start up your small business, and you are filling every role and find yourself doing everything. You have become a multitasking workaholic responsible for the bookkeeping, the sales, the marketing, the production, the distribution and many other functions. Someday, you hope most of these roles and responsibilities will be filled by another person or persons. Right now at the initial stages, you are forced to do everything.
 
Let’s face it. You are not good at doing everything. You sure aren’t the best at sales or finance or some other business roles, but the business is just too small to afford to hire the expertise to perform these roles. What is the next best thing?
 
Sure you can always hire in the talent on a temporary basis, but normally this does not mean that the role has been filled by some else. It just means that someone has come in to help you in that role. The problem of work load crunch may be solved, but not the root of the problem of not having the knowledge to be more effective and efficient in whatever area you are lacking. Perhaps the way in which you are tackling a particular issue, may not be the right course of action in the first place and a better one may be easier. However, as the expression goes – “you don’t know what you don’t know!”
 
So another alternative is to seek advisors or mentors. Identify areas that you are not good at and find people that you believe can help. These may be people who are successful at business and have a proven track record. They also could be paid advisors. It will all depend on the nature of the help that you require. What you are seeking is the leverage of someone else’s experience and knowledge that they have gained over many years.
 
You may want someone to have an overall look at your business plan and vision. You may require accounting help or technology advice. Seek out experts in your local area, town or community and approach them directly. I have been pleasantly surprised how many successful people are willing to give of their time and advise a new entrepreneur. You may have some doors slammed in your face by busy business people who don’t want to help or are too busy to help. Hang in there and keep trying.  Sooner or later you will find someone who wants to give back to fledgling businesses or someone who intrigued by what you are doing.
 
I have tried using the internet to widen my search for advisors, with limited success. I have found that nothing beats a face to face meeting. No better way than for the advisor to size you up and no better for you to determine if there is a fit between teacher and student.
 
A mentor will not only be able to give you good advice but also introduce you to a new network of contacts. This is another way of broadening your reach. A mentor will also be a person that can act as a sounding board, to bounce new ideas off. This is invaluable. You will find that you no longer feel like you are completely alone, but have someone smarter and more experienced in your corner. You also will have someone who can help you strategize and help guide the overall direction of your business.
 
Here is a one final piece of advice. Do not treat this association with your mentor lightly. Show them how committed and serious you are about getting their help. Remember that their time is extremely valuable, time which they are graciously giving away to you that they could be using on something else. 
 
If successful, this association may lead to you having a powerful and very valuable friend in the long run. That certainly cannot harm you and your business in the long run.

Small business owners know the media does an excellent job presenting a down economy in worse light possible. What the media does not report is that LOTS of professionals thrive even when the general economy seems to be bad! 

What is the difference between business owners who thrive and those who fail when the economy turns down? Successful business owners seize on the good opportunities and make their marketing plans stronger than ever.
Here are three things savvy small business owners recognize and act on during an economic downturn.
 
1. You get more for your marketing dollar. 
 
When sales go down, many small business owners cut their marketing budget (and cutting off potential for future business).  What does that mean for you?  Because there are less people marketing, YOUR marketing activities are going to get even more attention. 

Even better, when other companies are pulling their advertising, ad rates go down dramatically! If you are currently advertising, contact your ad representatives and see if you can renegotiate your contracts. If you aren’t currently advertising, now is the perfect time to give it a try.

2. You have a chance to recreate your business.

Despite the doom and gloom you’ve been hearing, many businesses are thriving.  If your business is slowing down, that means your market has changed.

Ask your clients what they want, and figure out a way to offer it to them.  This is the perfect time for you to focus on learning new skills, get more training and try new things.  Your business may shift a bit….but your income could grow tremendously!

3. You have less competition.

It is true that a lot of people are out of business.  That is great news for you!  That means that you have less competition, and are perfectly positioned to help the people who still need your service. 

But, you do have to do a few things in order to thrive.

A. You need to let your contacts know YOU are still in business and are able to help them.  You need to let them know over and over again.

B.  You need to reach out and SCOOP UP the customers your competitors have dropped.  Then you need to KEEP IN TOUCH with them over and over again.

C.  You are in a perfect position to present yourself as an EXPERT in your field.  Giving presentations, sending out informative email newsletters and continuing to learn about your industry are all great ways to present yourself as an expert.

With some careful marketing strategies, you can ensure your business thrives no matter what the economic situation looks like.