If you think that you have wide knowledge on particular topic and information that you could share with new business owners perhaps you should consider becoming a business mentor.
Being a mentor is a great way to share your knowledge with the other people who need it and assist them on their way to success. This will give you a great satisfaction that not only you have helped someone but you have also benefited from it yourself. Becoming a mentor isn't complicated. First of all you must educate yourself by reading some books about mentorism or study the articles you can find on the Internet to improve your communication skills with other people. If you are looking for some advice of how to become a mentor for an individual who is expecting your support then try to consider the following:
Become an expert in your field
You need to know your field very well and you must have what it takes to help the others. People will be coming and asking you for advice so that you need to have the knowledge to be able to help them. Your mentee should know your strongest points and skills so that he will know what kind of help he can expect from you. Try to specify what you can do for him.
Listen
The skill of listening to other people is a key in mentoring. People will have a lot of problems and they will try to tell you about them, you should listen to them and show them that you care and you will do everything to help them. Even if you aren't able to solve the problem straight away you can take your time to find solution for it. Always carefully listen to people's questions and give the appropriate and detailed answers. Remember that your mentees will appreciate what you say because they respect you and consider you authority.
Give your time
When you are a mentor you should be prepared to spend some of your valuable time with your mentee. Even when you have a lot of other things to do, you need to always reserve some spare time to help your mentee. You don't have to give huge amount of time to him every week, but you need to be prepared to be available for that person to help. The people you are mentoring need to know that you're still out there and you care about their problems and you are ready to come up with solutions and necessary assistance. You can talk to your mentees on the phone from time to time to ask whether they need a help. You can drop them an email asking even simple "how is going". This will build your credibility and make your mentees feel more comfortable with your assistance.
Also be honest to your mentees. If sometimes you can't talk to them on the phone or stay in touch any other way, let them know about it and about circumstances that keep you away. Being honest you can earn even more trust and become more successful mentor.
Submitted By: Daniel Gebura
