We’re giving 12 businesses the opportunity to work with a carefully selected, experienced and highly qualified business mentor for six months starting in January 2024. All mentors are ready and willing to help you grow your business, and we have some serious knowledge and expertise in our mentoring team.
Meeting for between 1hr and 1.5hrs each month from January to the end of June and with two in person networking/social events during the six months programme, we’re looking initially to support businesses in their first three years of trading.
The role of a mentor is to encourage the personal and professional development of their mentee by sharing their knowledge, expertise and experience. The mentoring relationship is built on mutual trust, respect and communication. It involves both parties, meeting regularly to exchange ideas, discuss progress and set SMART goals for further development.
A mentor is a sounding board, a critical friend who provides ongoing, personalised guidance, is non-judgmental, supportive, challenging, a catalyst for ideas and a confidant – they have your interests at heart and will provide a safe, confidential space for you to talk about your business, giving you time to think about your business rather than always fighting fires within the business. Working with a mentor also takes away the isolation many small business owners feel and gives you the support needed to move your business onto the next level.
If you’re interested please email Lesley Robinson – lesleyr@cumbriachamber.co.uk with the following information:
- Confirmation you can commit to the six meetings, one a month January through to June
- Confirmation of business start date
- What you are looking to achieve by working with a mentor
- Your key objectives to achieve by Dec 2024
There will be a charge for this programme but at a significantly reduced rate as this is a pilot programme. Cost can be confirmed following expression of interest.
If you’ve been trading for longer than 3 years you needn’t miss out. Once we have the pilot programme up and running we’ll be looking to widen our team of mentors and offer the opportunity to businesses more widely.
If you’d be interested in becoming part of the mentoring team again contact Lesley Robinson.