Issue No 150 July 2005
Mentors make good business sense
There comes a time when things do not grow or develop as they were initially envisaged. Getting advice from a Business in the Community mentor is an ideal solution for those businesses that need another viewpoint on strategy and direction. We look at what a business mentor does and how they can help.
Turning an idea into a business is the dream of many. New Zealanders are known for having a 'jack of all trades' reputation but, many people starting out do not have the time or experience to do every job required in business especially if they have plans to grow.
"Often businesses have to overcome similar hurdles to grow,"says Jill Taiaroa, Canterbury co-ordinator of the Business in the Community mentor service at Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC), the local agency delivering this nationwide service.
"They question whether to stay the same size or to develop further. A mentor can help get a business operator thinking in the right direction. Mentors can act as sounding boards, they can help a business move forward by giving new insights, opinions and ideas — from an experienced business person. And, it's a free, confidential, personal service."
The criteria Business in the Community sets is that the business must have been trading for a minimum of six months and have less than 25 employees.
When a client approaches CDC, Jill will match their business needs with a mentor that can help in that area. "CDC has most fields covered — sales and marketing, exporting, international markets, finance and accounting. We also have mentors with experience in branding, marketing and design, which is a field today where a lot of businesses need assistance."
One such mentor is Patrick Rottiers whose philosophy for being a Canterbury Development Corporation business mentor is giving something back to the community. "I think it is that European Protestant background in me. What you give back to the community is a measure of your success, it's not just how well you have done financially. And it's very rewarding to help some people develop a great idea and see it work."
When arriving in New Zealand after working in a number of large corporates in Europe, US and Britain, Patrick contacted CDC. As well as running his own business he is now a mentor for Canterbury businesses needing help with exporting and identifying international opportunities and markets.
"New Zealanders have great ideas and everyone has a dream of working in their own business, yet people often don't have the knowledge or experience to take concepts and plans further,"he comments.
"People say that New Zealand is a small country on the other side of the world so it can be difficult to expand. But it's not true, look how isolated the Scandinavian countries are and how successful they are."
Patrick believes New Zealand is a good climate for business. "There's a strong small business sector. In the latest World Bank business survey New Zealand came up as the easiest country to do business in."
He stresses that it is not up to him as the mentor to develop the business in question, he just gives the information and the tools to develop. "In business, research is a vital component and can be the make or break factor. I transfer the methodology, to get businesses to ask and investigate the right questions — to do the homework and then to come back to me."
Having a number of mentors of Patrick's calibre is a measure of the success of the Business in the Community mentoring programme. As Jill points out "it is an involved process determining what a business actually needs to develop and grow, and then to match that with the appropriate mentor is the key."
