Guiding growth: How mentoring helps business owners take a step back

When freelance technology consultant Richard Shaw joined the Help to Grow: Management Course as a mentor, he wasn't just looking to help others – he wanted to grow too.

After two decades working across enterprise technology, strategy and business architecture, Richard was used to solving complex problems for large organisations.

But in early 2024, he saw an opportunity to apply that same structured thinking to small and growing businesses through mentoring.

He says:

"I've been freelance for 20 years. I've worked in technology architecture and strategy, but I've always wanted to enhance my skillset and give something back.

"Mentoring felt like a way to use my experience in a different way – to help other people and to formalise what I've been doing informally for years."

For Richard, mentoring on the Help to Grow: Management Course offered a balance: a way to build credibility as a mentor while sharing real, practical insight with business owners.

"It's about using what I already know, but learning in the process too. It's a two-way experience."

From enterprise strategy to small business support

Richard's professional background means he brings a methodical, systems-based approach to mentoring.

He describes his expertise as sitting at the intersection of strategy, capability and business architecture – understanding how people, processes and technology need to fit together for a business to scale.

He explains:

"Many businesses want to run before they can walk. They grow fast, but their internal systems and technology can't keep up.

"My role is often to help them slow down, look at their strategy and make sure they have the right capabilities in place to support that growth."

That perspective has proved valuable to a wide range of mentees. Since joining the programme, Richard has supported business owners at different stages – from one-person consultancies to established companies with several employees.

The issues might vary, but the underlying challenge is often the same: turning ambition into a clear, workable plan.

Working with different types of business owners

Richard's first few mentees offered a good cross-section of the small business landscape.

• One was a parent working full-time while trying to launch a consultancy to support other parents through school appeal processes.

• Another was a contractor in a tech company.

• Another was a director of a fast-growing gardening business in Scotland.

Each required a different approach, as Richard explains:

"With smaller businesses, it's often about helping them make their plans realistic. My first mentee had a great idea and a strong motivation, but she hadn't mapped out what it would take in terms of time and resources.

"So we worked through questions like, 'What's your budget?', 'When do you want to start?', 'What do you need to have in place first?'

"Once it's written down, people start to see dependencies they hadn't noticed before. That clarity makes a huge difference."

Richard approaches each mentorship as a structured but flexible process. Early sessions focus on understanding what the mentee wants to achieve, and later sessions revisit those goals as things develop.

"I always check in at the midpoint to ask how it's going. Is this meeting your expectations? What do you want to focus on next?

"That regular reflection helps keep things grounded and makes sure the mentee is getting value from every session."

Building awareness and accountability

For larger or more established businesses, Richard's role is slightly different. The focus shifts from getting started to building resilience and efficiency.

One of his mentees ran a thriving gardening company that had grown organically through word of mouth.

Richard recalls:

"He didn't really need to market. He looked after his customers and staff, and the work kept coming in. But he wanted to be prepared if that changed."

Together, they explored "what if" scenarios – what would happen to cash flow if work slowed, how long the business could sustain itself and what systems or relationships could make it more robust.

"It wasn't about technology, it was about management. How do you make sure you've got a good relationship with your accountant? How can you improve financial reporting? What tools can help you see issues before they become problems?"

By the end of the mentoring, the business owner had taken steps to improve how he managed finances and built stronger relationships with external partners.

It wasn't an overnight transformation, but it laid foundations for more confident decision-making.

Across his mentees, Richard says the biggest changes are often around awareness.

"You start to see people think differently. They begin to understand what it really means to manage finance, technology, HR, planning – not just doing the work, but running the business."

What mentoring gives back

Mentoring has also been a learning experience for Richard himself. He describes it as helping him "crystallise" years of experience and see his own knowledge from a fresh angle.

"My background is in business and technology, so I've always known what I can do. But this helps me put that experience into context.

"It's helped me see how my skills translate to different types of organisations. And it's given me a more formal structure – a way to say, I've done this with 10 mentees, across different industries, with these kinds of outcomes."

He's currently completing the ILM Level 7 qualification, using his experience from Help to Grow to build a strong foundation for future work.

"For me, it's about credibility. Not just saying I can mentor, but showing that I've done it successfully."

The role of the mentor

Richard is clear that mentoring isn't the same as consultancy.

"Some people think the mentor is there to tell them what to do. But that's not it. The mentor is there to ask questions, to hold you to account, to help you think differently. You still have to do the work."

Setting that expectation early is key, Richard adds.

"In the first session, I make it clear what I do and what they're responsible for. That clarity helps the relationship work better.

"When a mentee engages fully with the process, the impact can be huge. It gives them structure, confidence and a clearer path forward."

Reflections on the Help to Grow: Management Course

Having worked with several mentees through the course, Richard believes the programme has real value for small business leaders.

"From what I've seen, it's comprehensive and credible,. It gives business owners access to tools, frameworks and support they probably wouldn't get otherwise. And having a mentor alongside them makes a big difference – it turns learning into action."

For Richard, the experience has confirmed his belief in the power of mentoring.

"It's not just about business strategy or planning. It's about giving people the space to step back and think about what they're doing and why. When they start to connect those dots, that's when you see real progress."

Want to help a small business grow?

Being a mentor goes far beyond the rewarding feeling of 'giving back'. Mentors gain a range of personal development benefits from the experience.

Become a voluntary mentor for the Help to Grow: Management Course and commit 10 hours over 12 weeks to support businesses with their growth action plan. Sign up today