From the course: Entrepreneurship Foundations

Startup mentors and advisors

From the course: Entrepreneurship Foundations

Startup mentors and advisors

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- Whether you end up becoming an entrepreneur or not, having mentors and advisors is a must for your career. Whenever I say this, the same things happens. Panic sets in and a flurry of questions come tumbling out. Where do I go find them? How many do I find? Where do I go? I know the task can seem daunting. But, it doesn't have to be. For me, I think of my mentors and advisors as my very own Taylor Swift styled squad. These are people that I can go to with anything from a quick email question to a strategy phone call about my future. Let's go through my favorite tips to identifying and utilizing mentors and advisors. First, shake off the formalities. In today's world, mentorship can take a lot of different forms. While formal sit downs are great, every scenario doesn't call for it. Modern mentorship can include quick texts and even FaceTime calls. And break out of any stereotypes you might have. Mentors can be anyone who helps guide you regardless of age or industry. One of my closest advisors is Helaine Knapp who owns an amazing boutique fitness business called CITYROW. As a fellow female founder around my same age, I often go to Helaine when I need help solving a problem or advice on a contract. While she might not seem like a mentor figure, as in she's not that much older than me, or more senior, she's provided me with an immense amount of knowledge over the years. When you finally do get some time on someone's calendar, make it count. Your mentors are busy people. And respecting their time is of the utmost importance. Make an agenda and keep your questions brief. You should always shoot to take 30 minutes or less of their time. Now if they want to keep chatting and meeting with you, that's fine, but always clue them in to the meeting time. One of my favorite phrases to use is, "I want to be conscience of your time "and I know we only have a half hour scheduled, "here are some of my last minute questions." Letting your mentor know that you're trying to keep them on schedule will signal to them that you're moving forward and that you're someone who's going to keep their busy day on track. I encourage everyone to find a handful of mentors and advisors to help them along their entrepreneurial journey. To help you dive deeper into this topic, you can take a look at some of the articles I have written in the exercise files. And remember, the same advisor you had to help get the business off the ground might not be the same person you go to when you hit your first million dollars in revenue. No matter the business or the stage you're in, advisors and mentors will always be changing.

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