Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)
Do you have a mentor? The Cambridge definition of a mentor is one I particularly like:
“a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time, especially at work or school.”
A mentor is a crucial person on your advisory team. Do you have one?
Entrepreneurs make many decisions and, inevitably, there will be some bumps on the business road. A mentor will help you decide if you should go around the bumps into a different direction, jump over the bumps to quickly get to where you want to go, or turn back as the road ahead has danger.
As a Christian entrepreneur, the advice you receive also needs to keep in line with your spiritual values: it needs to make biblical sense to you as well as business sense.
Perhaps your accountant advises you that your payroll is too high for the income you are presently generating. How do you handle this from both a business and biblical perspective?
Perhaps your partnership is no longer working well. How do you handle this from a business and biblical perspective?
Perhaps one of your staff is being disrespectful to you or to another staff member. How do you handle this from a business and biblical perspective?
Do you find yourself making the same mistakes over and over? A mentor can help you sort through why this is happening and offer advice on what you can consider doing differently.
Have you been hesitating to do something that you think would be a great idea for your business? Talking to a mentor can help you determine what may be holding you back and be a cheerleader for you as you go forward.
A mentor can help you sort through all the things you need to think about as you make decisions. Their role is not to make the decision for you. Rather, their role is to give advice based on their wisdom and experience. They also have another role, to give you encouragement and support. You might know what you should do, but need the courage to do so, which is where a mentor can assist you.
The desire of a Christian business woman’s heart can be summarized in Micah 6:8:
“He has shown you, O mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
And that is the desire of our heart as we manage our businesses: to do the right thing, the right way and to honor the Lord in all we do. A wise and experienced mentor can help you do just that.
This week, pray about the role a mentor can have in your business. Make a list of decisions you need to make, ideas you want to explore and what struggles you have. Can you see any patterns in your strengths and weaknesses? If so, make a list of specific things you can use advice on.
Next week, we will talk about what to look for in a mentor. Stay tuned!
May God richly bless you this week at you look at your business and consider adding a mentor to your advisory team. Have a fabulous week!
Bonny, Christian Women at Work bonny@christianwomenatwork.com