I’m a business mentor and expert: here are my six tips on how to get the most out of your business coach

• In two years, an army of volunteer mentors on the Help to Grow: Management course have delivered 22,000 hours of business mentoring

• Business mentor and expert Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova says business mentors can help businesses grow more quickly and avoid costly mistakes

• Research found 82% of businesses say they are interested in mentoring

• 76% businesses say mentoring is key to growth

• Stoyanova-Bozhkova shares her tips to get the most out of working with a business coach

Dr Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova is Head of Subject: Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and is also part of national network of voluntary mentors who work with small businesses on the Help to Grow: Management course.

In 12 months, Svetla has mentored eight small business leaders to help them become better managers in order to grow the business-- including Rachel Rowtree, the commercial director of Hampshire-based chemical-free feminine intimacy brand YES - which saw the company grow by 30 per cent, adding £1.1m to the bottom line in 2023.

• 1. Dive in headfirst. To make this work, you need to be prepared to be totally committed and share everything. Often the reason people have been struggling to reach their business goal is because they need to change something in themselves first. For this to happen you must make sure the chemistry is right. It's rule number one.

• 2. Don't get too hung up on models and structures. Allow your coach to help you apply the principles of business management to your business. If you can absorb these leadership theories and see how they fit into what you do, they will naturally become part of your working day without even realising it.

• 3. Trust your gut. Many of my mentees know what they need to do already, they just need to understand the process and have the confidence to get there. I can provide my experience, that's fine, but very often they know the answer themselves.

• 4. Learn how to delegate. Understanding that by delegating, you are more able to focus on the strategy is one of the key learnings to come out of business management mentoring. By allowing your mentor to direct you and apply their experience to your business, you'll get there faster.

• 5. Try it. Put your mentor's advice into action and bring it back to the session to discuss. How did it go? What could have gone better? What would your mentor recommend? By trying and reviewing things openly and honestly, you can learn in a safe space.

• 6. You don't know what you don't know. It sounds like a cliche, but you could discover that in order to grow the area of the business you targeted - like sales, you might need to overhaul another part of the business first -- like HR. Being flexible is key, but if you put your trust in your mentor, you'll avoid costly mistakes and reach your potential more efficiently.

An impressive 23,000 hours of business mentoring have been delivered by an army of advisers and business leaders who have volunteered to support the UK's small business community, like Svetla.

The heroic effort has seen thousands of small businesses on the Help to Grow: Management course, which offers senior business leaders 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, with the government covering 90% of the costs involved, receive one-to-one support from an experienced and rated business mentor to help them put growth plans into action.

Training is delivered via a national network of over 60 business schools.

Led by business support group Newable, technology partner and business membership platform Enterprise Nation and the Association of Business Mentors, the consortium was appointed by the Government to develop a national network of business leaders and experts who can share their skills and experience with firms on the practical management training course to support economic growth.

Sign up to be a mentor here.

ENDS

About Newable    

Newable is the leading provider of Money, Advice and Workspace to SMEs. Now employing over 1,000 professional staff, it has grown to become a national business with a presence from Aberdeen to Brighton, serving over 43,000 client companies each year. 

About Enterprise Nation    

Enterprise Nation is a business support platform and provider delivering support to more than 800,000 business a year. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses -- through expert advice, events, acceleration support and networking.  

Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by British entrepreneur Emma Jones CBE, also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain. A former SME Crown Representative, Emma is also author of several best-selling business book. Enterprise Nation sits on the Government's SME Digital Adoption Taskforce.

About the Association of Business Mentors   

The Association of Business Mentors (ABM) is the UK's leading professional body supporting the business mentor and coach sector while raising the profile of the value of business mentoring to small business owners.