All our mentoring sessions have the Simón seal of affection, because we firmly believe that by doing things from the heart, the effects are deeper and more transcendent and that is what we seek to transmit to our mentors in the initial training and that in turn is transmitted and lived by the entrepreneur, throughout the entire mentoring process.
Behind every venture there is a life story that explains the decisions that have been made, how they have reached that point, the sacrifice and often the family behind it . Empathy, commitment and responsibility are essential factors for our entrepreneurs to open up and share the details of what is possibly their biggest dream: their business.
In general, those who lead a business work quite alone and do not have anyone with whom to share experiences or clarify doubts. They create their company motivated by an idea, but they do not necessarily have the management tools to make it a reality. This is why we believe that a dedicated, close and experienced guide can help them take the leap they are looking for.
Entrepreneurs are the heart of mentoring. All those who participate in it join forces and wills, in order to achieve their dreams and meet their goals. For this reason, total commitment and responsibility is expected from them; this process begins and ends with them, and its success will depend largely on their willingness and work.
How a mentorship works
When starting a mentoring process, it is essential to carry out a diagnosis of the business with the entrepreneur, to identify opportunities. This also allows efforts to be focused on what prevents or promotes growth. The diagnosis must be agreed upon, since if the business owner does not understand or does not agree with the problem to be addressed, he or she will hardly work 100% on any action plan that is suggested.
Once the problem has been defined, it is necessary to establish the objectives that will be worked on during the mentoring session, and then transfer all this information into a timeline or a Gantt chart, to create a concrete roadmap that allows monitoring the progress of the tasks.
This action plan will be the result of a deep reflection between the mentor and the mentee, where opportunities for improvement and strengths will be considered, as well as weaknesses and possible threats in the environment. The more information available, the better the work planning and execution will be.
Each mentee knows better than anyone how their business works. It philippines mobile number is key that the mentor asks good questions that allow them to guide entrepreneurs to find the answers to the many questions that arise throughout this process. During the action plan, the mentors' job is to provide support, motivation and focus in the face of the difficulties that entrepreneurs may face.
At Simón de Cirene, we aim for our mentoring sessions to be an instance of deep learning through doing. This means that the methodology, the way of working learned, can be used again and again by our entrepreneurs when facing new challenges, even after the four months of the mentoring session. For example:
They should be able to carry out a good self-diagnosis at a personal and business level, knowing their weaknesses and strengths.
They should be realistic, recognizing and naming their main problems and opportunities for improvement. They should also prioritize them and develop a concrete plan to improve or implement these aspects.
That they can access sources of information to stay up to date, sales channels, use of new technologies, new networks and contacts, among others.
They are able to identify new business opportunities, evaluate them and make informed decisions.
For the Mentor Network, it is crucial that the mentor-entrepreneur duo achieve a unique synergy, which is why we put special effort into finding the “ideal match” for each one. We believe that this is an essential element for the mentoring experience to be completely satisfactory and to allow them to continue growing and making their dreams come true. The work we do in the Mentor Network is the best example of how affection can achieve significant, profound and long-lasting effects.
Do you want to know more? Sign up as a volunteer at redmentores.simondecirene.cl or write to us at [email protected]
Daniela Reyes Gajardo