Mentoring and start-up
A mentor is your guide and an example Where do mentors come from?
Let me first look briefly at the origin and meaning of the word "mentor".
Mentor is a character from the Odyssey, the Ithacan to whom Ulysses entrusts little Telemachus before leaving for the Trojan War.
Etymologically the word mentor now has the meaning "adviser ", and is used to refer to a trusted confidante, a wise guide or tutor. In literature, a mentor is a character who gives objects and precious advice to the hero.
A mentor in the ecosystem of start-ups
Nowadays there’s so much talk about start-ups, especially in major Italian cities, like Milan and Turin, where I live and work myself.
Starting a business certainly has advantages for an individual, a community and the entire country.
It is a way of creating jobs.
To create work you need to set up businesses
– Anonimo
... I am absolutely convinced about this and have ample proof since I have helped hundreds of people in their career paths over the course of years. Some people tried and made it and really created work for themselves and others.
There may be some discussion about whether someone that is self-employed is also an entrepreneur, but that is beyond the point.
The point I want to get across
is that to run your own business you need traits and know-how that not everyone
possesses, but which can in part be acquired.
One of the ways to resist and overcome obstacles during an entrepreneurial venture is to have a mentor.
Ideally the mentor in will already have "been there".
Where?
Through the process of setting up and running a business.
So the mentor can be like a father or older brother offering advice.
But in the end an entrepreneur
will do what they think is best. That’s what makes them entrepreneurs.
So what traits will a mentor have?
A mentor will have been there before: they will have set up businesses, made mistakes, overcome obstacles, seized opportunities, they will have been in the market (as followers/leaders), they will also have amended their business model, ... and so forth.
A mentor wants to share their experience with others in order to teach, offer a contribution, give back what they may have received, because they are good, or want to leave a mark, ...
A mentor will have hard and soft skills.
In terms of hard skills they must know about the management of a company, but maybe they should also be up-to-date on business management issues in specific markets. What can a mentor from the metalworking industry in the '50s offer an internet start-up???
Certainly a positive approach by the mentor and the mentee will ensure that both parties will always learn and have something to offer.
But if you could choose the perfect mentor?
What about a situation in which a consultant or former manager wants to become a mentor to a start-upper or new entrepreneur?
Even here, there may be some positives, but running a business in the market is one thing, being a consultant or a manager is something else.
I know this for sure having been involved personally on both levels and having helped hundreds of people who were managers, consultants or entrepreneurs.
A comparison
It is fashionable to view maternity in much the same way as a Master’s course.
Let me explain:
- a mother is a mentor who supports her child as they take their steps; she supports them, urges them, encourages and consoles them.
- a mum needs a paediatrician when her child is sick.
A mum is a mentor.
A paediatrician is a consultant, a specialist.
A mum grows her child, like the mentor can help the business of his/her mentee to grow.
A paediatrician can’t do that.
In other words, the mentor should be an example who also does these things for free without any ulterior motives.... Perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to find real mentors!
