Lets start with some recent statistics [icegram campaigns=”412″]
* In the UK, 460 out of every 500 new business start-ups will not reach their 5th anniversary.
* The Federation of Small Business (FSB) state that having a mentor will increase your chances of business success by fivefold.
So, what is the role of a business mentor? Let’s reflect upon the story of Charles Plumb. It illustrates the essence of making a difference in mentor.
Charles Plumb was a navy jet pilot. On his seventy-sixth combat mission, he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in prison. He survived and now lectures on the lessons he learned from his experiences.
One day, a man in approached Plumb and his wife in a restaurant, and said, “Are you Plumb the navy pilot?”
“Yes, how did you know?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. [icegram campaigns=”423″]
Plumb was amazed – and grateful: “If the chute you packed hadn’t worked I wouldn’t be here today…”
Plumb refers to this in his lectures: his realisation that the anonymous sailors who packed the parachutes held the pilots’ lives in their hands, and yet the pilots never gave these sailors a second thought; never even said hello, let alone said thanks.
Now Plumb asks his audiences, “Who packs your parachutes?….. Who helps you through your life?…. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually?……. Think about who helps you; recognise them and say thanks.”
The point being that a Mentor should be your parachute packer – there to support you throughout your business journey, regardless of whether you are a new business start-up or an established business needing to boost high growth, the impact a mentors can have can be business life changing.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin
So if you are you thinking of setting up your own business, or someone who has recently started one, you are invited to contact us today to arrange an initial discussion and identify if the I Mentor programme is right for your new venture
