Business mentors rescue tyros

It s been fantastic, Murray says of their relationship. His (John s) input has been invaluable in improving our business. Every part of our business has improved. Barr, who meets with Murray twice a month, says he finds it rewarding being able to help young businesses avoid potentially costly mistakes. We don t live long enough to make all the mistakes ourselves. The benefit they (clients) get is they end up saving money and time by using a mentor and not making all the mistakes themselves.

Auckland mentor Eric Millar, a former chief executive with Dalgety New Zealand, says it is often a deja-vu experience for those in his position. One of the most common problems Barr has observed is companies which have outgrown their ability to manage their own success. There s a lot of good stories out there. The Kiwi culture mentality is: `We don t accept no and we don t accept can t.

As an entrepreneurial people that s one of our key strengths but it s turning that into businesses — you have the key transitions, a few key sales and some traction, then it s knowing what to do next and how to manage your cash flow. An outsider — particularly one with 30 years plus experience under their belt — can often zone in on things that might not be readily apparent to an owner, says Schofield.

Someone who is independent, who doesn t have any issues, they re not married to the business, they can be the devil s advocate and bring the benefit of their own knowledge and skill. At the end of the day, the client doesn t have to action it, they can say, `Thank you but I disagree . Millar — who has mentored 153 businesses since he joined the programme six years ago — says the biggest common denominator among companies he has worked with is simply the desire to talk.