…and finally

Reviewing and evaluating learning

Useful websites

References

PARTNER QUOTES

“Small business owners value talking to otherentrepreneurs and we at ACBBA know fromexperience there is a lot of informal mentoring going on; we are happy to partner in a project thataims to enhance this form of support and mobilisesand builds on the resources already present in thebusiness community.”

Armando Pardo Association of Community BasedBusiness Advisers (ACBBA)

“Shell LiveWIRE supports 1000s of youngentrepreneurs each year. Our feedback shows that mentors are a key part of what many of themsee as vital to support and growth of their business.Making access to mentors easy will enhance theprospects of many young people starting theirjourney as entrepreneurs and be a key factor for their success.”

Stuart Anderson Shell LiveWIRE

“All our research at the IOEE shows that informalmentoring is tremendously important and goes onday to day, helping business owners solve problemsand seize opportunities as they arise.  Having amentor, or mentors, within your enterprise supportnetwork has proven invaluable to pre-start, start-upsand existing small business owners.  Mentoringreduces the mortality rate and increases the growthrate. At the IOEE we’re very excited about thisinitiative to provide free training to small businessowners that are willing to mentor others. It is anexact fit with how the Institute knows personal andbusiness development takes place in enterprise and entrepreneurship. This will make thousands of our members into better mentors who will be able to help each other to survive and thrive.”

Tony Robinson IOEE

“LANTRA, the Sector Skills Council for theEnvironmental and Land based Businesses welcomethe opportunity to be involved in this excitinginitiative. Representing more than 260,000businesses, the majority employing less than five people, LANTRA recognise the need to encouragethe development of services that support smallbusinesses and business start-ups such as this UKmentoring project. Mentoring, whilst appreciated bymany businesses outside of the Land based sector,does not readily feature as a business support tool in the minds of many of our businesses. Whenbusinesses do consider using a mentor they oftendon’t know where to go to find one. Having anetwork of mentors that can be easily accessed andwho know the issues facing small businesses will be a welcome part of the holistic business supportservice LANTRA is hoping to develop for the sector.”

Madge Moore LANTRA

“The National Enterprise Network are delighted to be involved in this UK wide mentoring project, our members have always appreciated the greatbenefit that mentoring brings, as a valuable element of a holistic business support service.  Many people want to be a mentor to others startingup or running their own business, but often don’tappreciate exactly what is expected of them andwhat the boundaries are – this project is a great wayfor us to work with mentors to ensure that togetherwe are providing a great opportunity to add value to the businesses we are supporting and in turnmake their contribution to the much needed growthin the economy.”

Dawn Whiteley National Enterprise Network (NEN)

“The International Association of Book-keepers(IAB) applauds this initiative and has itself longcampaigned for government funding to be providedto enable this type of vital support service bybusinesses for other businesses. IAB members havealways appreciated the great benefit that mentoringbrings, as many are themselves business owners and at initial start up and in the early stages ofgrowth have benefited from the support of moreexperienced IAB members and other entrepreneurs.This project will ensure that many more mentors are better prepared for their roles and therefore will improve and extend the mentoring available tonew businesses. This will undoubtedly have a muchneeded, positive impact on UK business start-upsuccess rates – benefiting not just the businessowners, but the wider economy and employment.”

Malcolm Trotter International Association of Book-keepers (IAB)

“PRIME is committed to supporting older people into enterprise and we are therefore delighted to be involved in this national mentoring initiative.PRIME is the only national UK charity which helpsthe over 50s get back into work through self-employment. Mentoring is a key aspect of our work.Through this partnership we are able to extend ourinfluence and provide greater support to thosestarting, developing and growing their business.”

Nick Bunting PRIME

“We welcome involvement in this project. Mentoring is an extremely useful tool for all firms,and we know that start-ups that receive mentoringsupport are more likely to survive. It is importantthat mentors come from all walks of life, includingthose that have run successful small businesses, so that they can offer a wide range of experiencefrom different sectors for businesses to get the best out of their knowledge.”

John Walker Federation of Small Businesses

GET MENTORING

An Introduction to Enterprise Mentoring 67

Reviewing and evaluating learning

As we have mentioned in this workbook, a key part of being a mentor is the use of reflectivepractice. We have created a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Plan for you to use to plan your development and record all CPD activity you undertake. This can be downloaded at http://mentor.ioee.co.uk/resources.

Should you wish to become an accredited mentor and qualify for MentorPlus status in theInstitute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE), please visit www.sfediawards.com to find out more about the Award in Enterprise Mentoring available through your local Approved SFEDI Awards Centre. Details of all the centres can be found at www.sfediawards.com.

Useful websites

Business Link

www.businesslink.gov.uk

Business Link is government’s online resource for businesses, offering information, support andservices for you and your business whether you work for a large organisation or are in the processof starting up a business of your own. Here you can find guidance on regulations, accessinggovernment services and accessing funding options, as well as useful online tools, calculators and best practice case studies.

MentorsMe

www.mentorsme.co.uk

mentorsme.co.uk is operated by the Business Finance Taskforce, which has been set up by theBritish Bankers’ Association. It is an online gateway for small and medium-sized enterpriseslooking for mentoring services, and connects companies with mentoring organisations that cansupport and guide their growth. The site also allows business professionals to offer their servicesas a business mentor via mentoring organisations. Its library of online resources includes articlesabout mentoring and case studies of successful business mentoring relationships.

…AND FINALLY

An Introduction to Enterprise Mentoring68

…AND FINALLY

References

Our thanks to the following people and organisations who have kindly agreed to their material being reproduced in this workbook:

• Arrington M (2004) Understanding the entrepreneur. BizLife Magazine, April.

• Clutterbuck D The Toxic Mentor, The Toxic Mentee. Clutterbuck Associates.

• Essential Business (2011) The Essential Business Guide (4th edition). Hove: Essential Business.

• Essential Business & SFEDI Group (2011) Start your Business Step by Step (2nd edition). Hove: Essential Business and SFEDI Group.

• Hill P (2004) Concepts of Coaching: A guide for managers. London: Institute of Leadership and Management.

• NWDA Solutions for Business provider manual.

Other references included in these pages:

• Bachirova T (2007) Role of coaching psychology in defining boundaries between counsellingand coaching. In: S Palmer and A Whybrow (Eds) Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A guidefor practitioners. Hove: Routledge.

• Chandler DE and Kram KE (2005) Applying an adult development perspective to developmentalnetworks. Career Development International (special edition on mentoring) 10 (6–7) 548–566.

• Covey S (2004) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. London: Simon & Schuster Ltd.

• European Mentoring and Coaching Council Code of Ethics.

• Haji-Ioannou S (2000) Sunday Times, 29 October.

• Lewes J (2000) Mentoring and Coaching at Work, A Practical Toolkit. Kent: Agora Consultancy. 

• Whitmore J (2009) Coaching for Performance (4th edition). London: Nicholas BrealeyPublishing.