Informal Mentoring
By: Carole Long
I needed a mentor but didn’t know it. Mentorship was mentioned a few times and I even had a mentor attached to my business loan. The mentorship felt forced and awkward, I did not open up and I wasn’t confident he understood my business. A few years out of being a teenager, I felt the typical “no one understands me” feelings but amplified. I could no longer relate to my friends that were attending their first year of university. I felt disconnected, so I made peace with being alone on the island of entrepreneurship.
A year into business, I was pretty good at handling the day-to-day issue; trucks stuck on the highway, employees not showing up, the weather affecting food costs, and on and on. I was not prepared for the harder, more unique situations that even google didn’t have the answers for. Then random acts of mentoring started to happen. Local business owners and professionals could pick out, like an entrepreneur superpower, situations I was struggling with.
At a local business event, I sat at my assigned seat, wanting to get through the next 2 hours as quickly as possible. An older man was seated beside me. He introduced himself and then began asking questions. The conversation was genuine and I couldn’t believe how forthcoming I was to this stranger. I felt no judgment in the two hours we chatted and he even insisted we go for lunch to further discuss situations I was feeling stuck in. After two encounters I was rejuvenated, and I felt confident to make decisions and move forward.
My mentoring relationships continued to evolve organically. Informal mentoring continued. I can not imagine where I would be without the help of informal mentoring angels. The way they approached me, their kind words, and their encouragement was more helpful than anything I’ve experienced before. They turned me into a mentoring believer.
Shared wisdom is vital for the success of a business. I hope after reading this blog, you consider being an informal mentor yourself.