Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage
(Victor Kiam)

What’s a business mentor?

Firstly, let’s make the distinction that a business mentor is not a Business Consultant. 

Consultants will do the work for you, often specialising in one specific field.  A business mentor is more of a teacher and advisor with knowledge spanning a large variety of business areas.

Your SSB Mentor, is someone with extensive personal small business experience. Your SSB Mentor is the person who will help you stay focused to  achieve your goals.  Confidentiality is also a primary benefit that comes with when you work with your SSB mentor and is guaranteed from the outset.

It’s easy to get distracted when you’re running a business. Staffing issues.  Cash flow drama’s.  Personal problems.  Distribution hiccups. The list goes on and on.

Your SSB mentor will help you refine your ideas, inventions and inspirations and show you how to realise their potential.  You can tap into the brain of your SSB mentor for ideas on how to grow your business and for contacts you need to get your job done more effectively and efficiently, not to mention profitably. 

When you’re running a business, it becomes increasingly difficult to see your business as others do. Most business people work in their business and not on their business. Your SSB mentor has the clarity to take a fresh look at your business and see it as your customers see it.  Best of all, he’ll always give you honest, genuine and useful feedback and it won’t cost you anywhere near as much as you’ll have to pay for a consultant.

Micro and Small Business

• Micro business is a one person operation like a plumber, electrician, consultant, gardener (Jim’s Mowing). 

• Small business is a business that employs up to 10 people or family business

Free no obligation meeting

---  Editing ---

.

(WIIFM) What’s in it for me?

I’d be disappointed if you didn’t ask this question.  Every small business operator should ask this question first.  After all, your customers’ do. 

SSB will:

• Help to ensure you invest your energy only in projects destined to succeed.

• Help you eliminate or reduce the risk of failure.
• Give you access to the knowledge and experience of qualified business mentors who already know what you don’t.
• Give you access to coaching in presentation skills that will help you when you apply for finance and capital investment.
• Either give you or direct you to the contacts you need when you need them.
• Show you how to create a business plan that has the power to attract investors and financial support while keeping you focussed and on track.
• Provide a passionate mentor who will make sure your eyes stay firmly focussed on the ball so you can make the most of every opportunity.
• Secure the privacy of your intellectual property through a signed “Non-Disclosure” Confidentiality document that’s prepared before any disclosure occurs.
• Only be successful if you are.

Confidential

Once we agree to work together, a non-disclosure document is prepared and signed by all parties. This document is designed to protect you and to give you legal security that your business idea /concept  or invention is not made public or disclosed to other parties by anybody at SSB.  Confidentiality is paramount in everything we do at SSB.

Micro-managing

This is when a business owner tries to do everything alone.   If you own a business, you need to focus on the things you know best and delegate other tasks.   For instance, if a plumber spends two days a month balancing the books, doing invoices and preparing BASS statements, that’s 16 hours not spent in the field making money.  The plumber could hire a bookkeeper who could do the same work, in less time, cost less money (and possibly make money using their specialist expertise).  Your SSB mentor will help you identify the areas you should be focussing your energy on, and direct you to others who can offer specialist skills to support you and your business

Commercialisation

Dictionaries define this process as follows:  

• process of introducing a new product into the market
• to offer for sale; make available as a commodity.
• to organise something to make a profit
• to manage on a business basis for profit
• intended to make money, or relating to a business intended to make money 
• the process of transforming something into a product, service or activity which may be used in commerce, that is the buying and selling of goods and services, especially in large amounts 

For example:  The commercialisation of football has turned it from a sport, into a business.   Kerry Packer

commercialised cricket with “World Series Cricket”.

Do-it-yourself “Tool and Templates”

The primary benefit of any DIY project is the personal experience you gain in doing it yourself.  To master the management of your business, it’s essential that you “do it yourself” and SSB give you the “Tools” with help, guidance and knowledge.  Think of it like a carpenter teaching an apprentice what tools to use for a particular job.  The apprentice then progresses into the trade using that knowledge.

These are templates for your Commercial Viability Assessment, Business Plan, Partnership agreements or Marketing

analysis.  Your SSB mentor can supply the document headings and an outline of what information you need to complete that part of the document.   This makes it easier for you to know what information you have to gather and provide for each of the processes

Viability and Sustainability

By asking “is your business viable?”, we examine how you are funding your business, whether you’re operating on borrowings, just paying your bills, paying yourself a wage or maybe not even that, and whether you have any money set aside for expansion and/or redevelopment.   A business is sustainable if it can maintain a good profit over an extended period of time.  To find out whether your business is sustainable, we need to examine a number of “what if’s?” and “then what’s?”.  Knowing if your business is viable and sustainable is vital if you are to succeed in the long term.