{"id":6739,"date":"2024-03-05T12:13:56","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T17:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/resource\/the-value-of-mentorship\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:36:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:36:04","slug":"the-value-of-mentorship","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/resource\/the-value-of-mentorship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of Mentorship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A mentor can help entrepreneurs learn how to navigate many of the challenges typically faced by social entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A mentor is a business professional with the experience to provide personalized support, sound business advice and encouragement to help emerging entrepreneurs develop their own abilities and insights. A mentor\u2019s value stems from the fact that they\u2019ve \u201cbeen there and done that,\u201d giving you the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and successes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>role of a mentor<\/strong> is to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Help build your self-reliance and leadership skills<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help you discover your own insights, abilities and solutions as you start and grow your business<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support your self-directed learning and help you come to your own conclusions and decisions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Listen to your ideas and answer your questions truthfully<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give emotional support while also challenging you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide real world business advice when requested\/appropriate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Celebrate milestones and successes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Being given the \u201canswers\u201d can make your life easier, but that isn\u2019t the primary type of support a mentor provides. Your mentor will enable you and provide opportunities for you to learn how to solve problems and make decisions, ultimately helping you to help yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cMy mentor provided major value \u2013 everything from emotional support through the tough times to real world business advice. Most valuable was the ability to have a third party sounding board that wasn\u2019t shy to tell me the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>\u2013 Robb Price, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.delivergood.org\/\">DeliverGood<\/a>, Futurpreneur entrepreneur<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is Mentorship So Important?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mentors are an essential ingredient for the success of any social entrepreneurship. They can help you learn how to navigate many of the challenges typically faced by social entrepreneurs, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>conceiving a viable business model that creates both social and financial value<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>measuring and evidencing social impact<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>governance and legal structures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>processes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>attracting investment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>organizational structure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In the experience of Futurpreneur Canada, the chance of succeeding in business is much higher when a young entrepreneur is being mentored. In fact, Futurpreneur Canada entrepreneurs \u2013 all of whom are matched with a mentor \u2013 have a 94% loan repayment rate. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that:<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of learning a theory = 5%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of learning a theory and seeing a demonstration = 10%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration and practice during the training = 20%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration, practice and corrective feedback during the training =<br>\n25%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learners that will transfer a new skill into their practice as a result of theory, demonstration, practice, feedback during training and in-situation coaching or mentoring = 90%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Through mentorship, an entrepreneur gains feedback and encouragement and can learn how to overcome challenges that range from current legal structures and financial models to staff management and investment decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>My mentor has helped me achieve my goals and overcome obstacles through meeting with me on a regular basis; creating goals and plans with me; then holding me accountable.<\/p>\n<cite>\u2013 Melanie Breitkreutz, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.beato.ca\/\">Be\u2019ato Coffee Company<\/a>, Futurpreneur Canada entrepreneur<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I\u2019m Convinced \u2013 Now How Do I Find a Mentor?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many business <strong>mentoring programs and opportunities<\/strong> available to entrepreneurs in Canada. Some offer one-on-one matching between entrepreneur and mentor, while others help entrepreneurs establish relationships with mentoring advisory boards. You can also look for a mentor on your own, without being part of any program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Futurpreneur Start-Up Program hand matches every entrepreneur to a qualified mentor, a matching of needs to skills and personalities. To help kick-start the relationship, Futurpreneur Canada holds an interactive orientation session during which the entrepreneur and mentor work together to establish objectives, meeting dates, important milestones and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as you wouldn\u2019t necessarily settle for the first family doctor that you meet, you should take your time to find a mentor who suits your needs and personality. The best match is made when a mentor complements your own skills, experience and needs. If you have worked in a social context for years but have limited business-related expertise, a mentor with strong business skills who gives advice that\u2019s relevant to the real business world would be most helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The greatest value to social entrepreneurs is having a mentor\u2019s support during start-up and the first two years of business development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A mentor can help entrepreneurs learn how to navigate many of the challenges typically faced by social entrepreneurs. A mentor is a business professional with the experience to provide personalized support, sound business advice and encouragement to help emerging entrepreneurs develop their own abilities and insights. A mentor\u2019s value stems from the fact that they\u2019ve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","resource_category":[58],"resource_type":[85],"resource_phase":[93,89,91,95,96],"class_list":["post-6739","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry","resource_category-mentorship","resource_type-course","resource_phase-mentor-explore","resource_phase-entrepreneur-grow","resource_phase-entrepreneur-launch","resource_phase-mentor-prepare","resource_phase-mentor-support"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/6739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/6739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_category?post=6739"},{"taxonomy":"resource_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_type?post=6739"},{"taxonomy":"resource_phase","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_phase?post=6739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}