Wednesday, 23 July 2014


Entrepreneur. It's a tough word -- both to spell and to call yourself. Being an entrepreneur brings with it a love of leaping head first into the unknown. Life-long entrepreneurs love new challenges, and live their lives in a constant growth phase. One of the common resources an entrepreneur turns to is a mentor. Asking for advice and bouncing ideas off of others is essential to the success of an entrepreneur's journey.

I've been fortunate to have a variety of mentors over the years, and I can't imagine standing where I am if it wasn't for them. Despite all the challenges of running a business, the biggest constant in my life is those mentors, and their advice.
I also think it's important that mentors come from many different perspectives, as mine have. These are the five types of mentors I've had over the years, and the ones I think any entrepreneur can benefit from:

1. A friend that knew you before you started your own thing.
Perhaps no voice matters more than the one that knew you before you had a startup. They knew you when all this was just a dream, or when you didn't even know what a startup was. They can speak to your roots and ground you when you get lost in the startup haze.
For instance, when I go back home to the East Coast, my friends ask me about everything except tech and business. They tell me how impressed they are but remind me that I need to slow down, to live the life I want, doing what I love. No entrepreneur should lose sight of that.
2. A person with your similar skill set at your point of learning.
Having regular coffee dates or Skype chats with people who are in your similar phase of growth can lead to valuable relationships. I have a group like this, and we push each other and question each other's decisions. We have been there when things fell through and when our big days happened.
There is a confidence that can come with camaraderie like that. We understand what each of us is going through.


3. A colleague you don't love working with.
One of the biggest challenges that face any entrepreneur is justifying what you want to do and why it's going to disrupt the status quo -- whether it be to investors, future co-founders, team members, the press or others. It helps if you're good at talking to just about anyone. Fine tune your ability to take feedback and get good at turning it into positive results. There is no quicker way to do this than to push forward with a relationship that isn't particularly enjoyable or easy at first.
4. A person with the exact opposite skill set than yours.
Seek out mentors who are most unlike yourself. For me it's been coffees with product managers, and tech leads. I've met with chief operating officers and have standing chats with our office manager. Do I know much about any of that? Not really. Do I know more now than I did before I met with them? Sure as heck I do.
Having these types of mentors and encounters has motivated me to take classes in coding and financials, and it's humbling to see just how much you don't know. Life-long learning is critical to success in business, and particularly to those who have bought into an industry founded on innovation.

5. A friend who always knew you'd be an entrepreneur.
Meet often with someone who knows you as "your entrepreneurial self" and not in any other way. He or she is likely the one to say "you got this" and "this is what you do" -- even when you're doubting it yourself. That person can't imagine you ever taking the safe option or quitting. He or she would never tell you it's OK if you haven't given something your best effort, and will cheer every one of your accomplishments.

   Source:Entrepreneur.com

25 comments:

  1. An entrepreneur must be creative, should be an extrovert person. Must know how to solve any problem which may comes in any ways. Ojekunle Olasunkanmi Idris

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  2. B4 a person becomes an entrepreneur,there will be people who motivated him to become an entrepreneur and once you are an entrepreneur you should be ready to face challenges from any angle of your life be it in the business or among your mates outside the business.Sure there will always be people who got your back.By;Oduola Adekemi Blessing

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  3. An entrepreneur must be able to relate with his immediate environment, and must open his mind to new ideas from mentors with different perspectives.
    The style of writing is expository .

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  4. an entrepreneur must be extra-ordinary careful when it comes to decision making

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  5. An enterpreneur is an innovator and he must be able ti initiate or encourage others.

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  6. Éducative in nature,exposture of un common truth.The write up is perfectly balanced for those who are business owners.

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  7. With this 5 mentors, no entrepreneur will lack any skills in the fiels. Very nice outline. Eluyemi Elizabeth

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  8. entrepreneur should chose a mentor having same view and not a person who cannot encourage but criticize. The style is narrative and the language is familiar e.g "camaraderie " means a feeling of friendship and trust among people. AZEEZ MUSIBAU DAMOLA

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  9. Educative and with this mentors, an entrpreneur should be able to train or get something tangible from them all. Adeduntan Blessing Tinuade

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  10. Professional writing style. Good article.

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  11. Good one, ER. I earlier considered that your mentor should of necessity be someone that is older than and, or ahead of you....

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  12. An entrepreneur must be creative and innovative, it should choose the best way to follow.

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  13. in any work you engage in someone must have influenced you one way or the other. mentor will guide you in the work process. and a good mentor is your friend, someone you don't know and your lecturer. olatunjoye oladimeji kehinde.

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  14. One of the common resources an entrepreneur turns to is a mentor. Asking for advice and bouncing ideas off of others is essential to the success of an entrepreneur's journey............olatI leave tairu olatoye

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  15. To be a successful entrepreneurs its a must we listen to advice......ADEBOYE ROTIMI FRED

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  16. Creativity and innovation;closest of all companion of an entrepreneur

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  17. An enterpreneur must be extra- ordinary careful when it comes to decision making. Ladigbolu blessing kemi

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  18. An enterpreneur must be extra- ordinary careful when it comes to decision making. Ladigbolu blessing kemi

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  19. Risk taking and decision making by enterpreneur cannot be taken with a light hand.it constitute the major aspect of enterpreneurship .

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  20. As an entrepreneur, u should have someone you look up to as a guide... Someone you want to be better than... Someone you see as a great competitor to your business... All these wil help push your motive nd urge for more success.
    Ajibewa Adewale Emmanuel

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  21. An entrepreneur should be a person that converts weakness to strength. ADEGOKE MATTHEW

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  22. An entrepreneur is one that Improve and motivate the source of the business regarding to the environment and his Clients too ...Adeoye Abiola Sunday

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  23. An entrepreneur should have targeted aims and means of achieving them. Ayeni Ifeoluwa Victoria

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  24. Enterprenuer need to be motivated. Raji Balikis Favour

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  25. An experienced mentor must be chosen by entreprenuers so as to know the problem they have face before and how they solve them.

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