by Kabwe Mulolo
It is interesting yet distressing to read about South African statistics on the number of start-up companies that fail. The failure rate is almost 80% within the first three years and 50% after five years. One lives to wonder, why start a business anyway, statistics isn’t on anyone ones favor, and despite the ratios even those who make it might someday close their doors.
In reality not all is gloom and doom, even though it’s in our nature as humans to always cling on the negative rather than the positives. Well, here is some good news, some companies do make it and guess what! they grow into successful sustainable businesses.
So how do they do it? Looking at big organisations like Microsoft and Apple excelling even in turbulent times, it lives one to wonder and perhaps wanting to emulate their business model in order to succeed. So how do they do it? According to a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, they surveyed 45 founders with formal business mentor relationships, and 84 percent said as a result, they have avoided costly mistakes and became proficient in their roles. In the same study, 69 percent said mentors helped them make better decisions, while 71 percent were certain company performance improved. This shows the importance of a Business Mentor in not only start-up company’s but also renowned established organizations.
One might argue, why do startup entrepreneurs need a Business Mentor, especially as a start-up company? The answer is simple, you do not train a child how to sit or run or even eat when they are adults, you train a child from infancy so that they can be better at it as they grow older. Same applies with mentorship, a business mentor is cardinal for a start-up because at start-up level that is when an entrepreneur needs to be trained on how to start, manage, and grow a company. It is imperative that there is a distinction on what level of your business you need a mentor. Remember statics show the early stages or years i.e. 3 - 5 in which a company can fail.
When an entrepreneur starts a business, their aim is not to fail, but to succeed. It’s in every humans intrinsic nature to succeed and not to fail, so how does one fail? Three points outlined below will give a better understating on why startup fail and why you need a business mentor from inception.
Lack of business management experience, knowledge, and expertise
Financial management incapacity
Lack of business acumen
The three points outlined above all point to the same sentiment on how to run a business. But how does one run a business without prior knowledge or experience in running a business?
A Business Mentor is the answer. A Business Mentor can be defined as someone who guides you in not only business but career progression as you grow with your company. They are a sounding board, a confidant and as one might put it a campus to starting and running a business.
A Business Mentor is vital in ensuring that as an entrepreneur you are accountable to yourself and your business, be it financially or professionally, because they are individuals who have either started a business before or have the wisdom to guide you, they understand what an entrepreneur might be going through when they either start or are managing a business.
Often times, entrepreneurs start a business without any form of business tools like a business plan or a guide on how they would have started or run their business. A Business Mentor who understands business dynamics will be able to guide and advise that a business plan is not just a document that one writes to tick the box, but it is a roadmap to ensuring that as a startup you are accountable to what is written down on that business plan. An experienced Business Mentor can not only help you identify critical tasks to grow your business, but they can guide you attain your goal in growing your company. As time goes by and you grow, you will be able to do certain tasks without the help of a Business Mentor and in turn be able to foster a culture of self-reliance and self-confidence as you manage your own organization.
Kabwe Mulolo is a born Entrepreneur and business owner managing a professional services company in a sector that is male dominated and very competitive. Kabwe is the Founder and Owner of Construct Executive Search commonly known as CES, a niche Executive Search Recruitment Agency based in South Africa but with a global presence. She holds a four year Psychology Degree, an MBA as well as a Management Development Programme (NQF7) qualification from Wits University. She is a Multi-Award Pan African Winner, a Business Mentor for Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, as well as the Mentorship Challenge helping young start-up entrepreneurs shape business ideas and businesses to be sustainable in our current economy.