Becoming a business mentor is probably one of the most rewarding and challenging things that you can do with your time. Helping those just starting out in business and giving them your advice from past experiences, building a friendship and becoming a confidante are just some of the benefits that you can get from being a mentor.

However on saying all of this, mentoring is not suitable for everyone and certain criteria needs to be met for you to get the most out of the experience and for others to benefit from your past experiences. Perhaps the most important aspect and quality needed to become a successful business mentor is having the ability to listen to what others are saying and respect what they are saying.

You should also be able to sympathise with the person when needed and be able to relate to the problems and how they are feeling regarding them. Your ideas and practical advice is essential but you must remember that you are there to just give advice and give it honestly. Once you have listened and given sound advice then it is time to take a back seat and allow the other to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.

Mentoring is very rewarding without a doubt and it can be especially so if you are the sounding board for the small business owner that is just starting out. Here you will have the chance to advise and grow with the person and the company and see the difference you are making both to the business and to the person themselves.

The business mentor should always remember that their role is to be there for the person, to give advice, support, to stimulate and help the business to develop while giving the person some challenge. The ideal business mentor is someone who has successfully started a small business and had great success with it.

The basic key skills to becoming a business mentor are having ability, availability, and empathy for others and a willingness to help others succeed. The whole point of hiring a mentor is for the individual to access your wealth of information and knowledge of business. They will also be looking to you for one on one feedback during any particular critical stage of their businesses development and new businesses will be looking to share your contacts.

If you think you could make a difference to others in small businesses, then as a start you should pop along to to our website and sign up for free. Here you will be able to find great advice about business mentoring and people looking for mentors, along with a whole host of valuable information, there is also a community area and FAQ page with answers to many of the questions you could be asking yourself when thinking of becoming a mentor or looking for one.