Mentoring catch-up

As you might have read in one of my previous posts – I decided to get involved in the Start-Up Britain project. I enrolled in some mentoring advice from a similar type of business to mine – much bigger and more successful business – to see what I could learn, and what advice I could get.

My Mentor was Vicky Reeves from ChameleonNet.

Okay, so my first mentoring session is done and dusted. When I was told to turn up at no12 Cock Lane I thought it was some practical joke, but luckily a happy smiling ChameleonNet employee was there to greet me.

I was somewhat apprehensive as I was about to tell a complete stranger everything about me and my business, but Vicky was extremely friendly and we chatted easily. I won’t go into detail about what we discussed for obvious reasons, but rather some of the key overarching feelings I had when I left the meeting.

Vicky is seriously well connected. That is something I am definitely missing in my own business. If I am to grow my business I need to be better connected. Better connected to my customers, prospects and the people I can turn to when I need them.

It was great to hear some stories about how she grew ChameleonNet, they were inspiring, but at the same time not dissimilar to some of the challenges I am facing with Matizmo. It was good to have somebody to listen to what I had to say. She’s a good listener which is such a rare attribute.

I feel good about how we’ve done and where we are going, but I know that I need to act upon the good advice that I have been given. I think that is the key takeaway; My mentor has acted upon the opportunities that she has been given, which is a whole lot different than intending to act upon them.

There are some really great people out there who can help your business grow. Mentoring is a great opportunity for any business owner.