07/ 26/ 2005
by Nancy Mann Jackson
Business ownership can be a lonely path. Not only are you engulfed in the day-to-day operations, finances and challenges of your business, but in many cases, you’re dealing with these issues all by yourself. Yet even if you’re the sole owner of your company, you don’t have to go at it completely alone. Finding a mentor or a more experienced business person who is interested in your success and is willing to share time and advice can be a lifesaver for your business—and your sanity.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m in a fish bowl and that no one else has ever had a particular problem I’m facing,” says Susan Gamble, owner of Web design firm Magic City Webs. “But after I talk with my mentor, many times I realize that everybody has had the same problem at some point in their businesses. My mentor has been there and done that and can see the big picture—even when I can only see the problem at hand.”
A good mentor can make the sometimes overwhelming responsibility of running a small business seem much more manageable. Here, small-business owners describe three invaluable capabilities that a good mentor can provide.
See the big picture
A few years ago, Dennis Spaeth and his partner, Whit Moorer, were ready to relocate their business. Their company, Independent Graphic Services , was located in a facility that didn’t meet its needs. So Spaeth, who didn’t want to spend money on rent, began considering buying a new building. Before purchasing space, however, Spaeth and Moorer discussed their plans with mentor and business advisor Louis Henderson of Henderson and Associates, a business-consulting firm.
“I agree that in many cases, paying rent may not be the best investment,” says Henderson. “But I encouraged them to look at the larger picture. We went through a strategic process to study the business’ plans for the next few years. That process revealed they needed to continue renting for a while in order to save capital to manage the growth they were experiencing.”
Four years later, Independent Graphic Services’ gross sales have increased from $800,000 to more than $4 million, and the rented facility has turned out to be a wise decision.
“I’m totally against renting, but at the time, investing in the building would have tied up capital and stopped our growth,” says Spaeth. “We wouldn’t have been able to buy the equipment we needed. And while we may have been in a new building, we wouldn’t have experienced the growth that got us where we are today.
“Nobody knows everything,” says Spaeth. “It’s very easy to be so focused on what you do that you forget to pay attention to what’s going on around you. A good mentor helps you see the larger picture and make better, more informed decisions.”
In their case, the advice comes with a cost: Spaeth and Moorer pay their business mentor. Henderson is a business consultant who has been helping entrepreneurs for years. But Spaeth says Henderson’s services are worth it. “It’s not about how much it will cost,” says Spaeth. “It’s about how much it will help us make.”
Manage fears
Business coach Margarita Rozenfeld founded YES Circle three years ago to offer free networking and educational opportunities to the Washington, D.C., entrepreneurial community. But the organization quickly grew faster than she expected and sucked up the time she devoted to her own business,
Of Essence.
It was clear Rozenfeld needed YES Circle to bring in some cash to compensate for the time she was spending on the new organization. Rozenfeld had to start charging a fee at YES Circle—and that was risky. Would people still want to join? Rozenfeld consulted her mentor for advice.
“Going from a free service to a paid membership structure was a scary process,” says Rozenfeld. “But my mentor really helped me manage my fears, as well as guide me through the business part of the transition. He helped me clarify what I wanted the
organization to look like and price the services in a way that made me and my customers comfortable.”
For Rozenfeld, having someone to discuss her ideas with made an important business transition easier. “It’s not always so much about the mentor having the answers, as helping others find their own,” she says. “Running a small business can be such a time-intensive and emotionally taxing process. It helps so much to have a sounding board, someone who cares about your success and wants to support you along the way. It can give you a whole new lease on life and business, and the momentum to move forward.”
Unlike Spaeth and Moorer, Rozenfeld’s relationship with her mentors—she’s got several for different areas of her life—are less structured. They’re more like friendships than business associations. She doesn’t pay for their advice.
Having a sounding board has been crucial to her success. Rozenfeld regularly makes time to mentor other small-business owners, whether through formal relationships or just to answer a quick question. It’s all about giving back, she says.
“What goes around comes around,” she says. “So many people have helped me over the years. How could I not say yes when someone asks me for advice?”
Gain perspective
Whenever Magic City Webs’ Susan Gamble experiences the pains associated with a growing business, she discusses the challenges with her mentor, Keith Barfield, a CPA with Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith As an experienced business owner and business counselor, Barfield offers a fresh perspective and focus to a problem that may seem bigger than it really is.
“One time I explained a problem to him, and he said, ‘Oh, your business is moving from childhood to adolescence. Every business goes through this and it is only a stage,’ ” says Gamble. “Owning a business is like raising a child; it’s refreshing to know that this is only a phase, and it too shall pass.”
“Many small-business owners feel that each problem they face is unique to them, and it may appear that other businesses do not have the same problems,” says Barfield. “Yet methods already exist to deal with all problems that are common to the business-owner experience. Without a mentor to keep this in perspective, it is very easy for a small-business owner to reinvent the wheel each time he’s trying to solve a problem, which absorbs large amounts of time and generates a lot of frustration.”
