Making the most of mentors

If you are looking to export, for instance to an untested market, you might need a mentor who has been internationally successful in that region; if you are looking to buy other businesses in your sector, you might seek out an experienced mergers and acquisitions player.

There are a number of places you can go to when looking for the right advice. If you have a good relationship with your bank, they may help you find an expert.

Business Mentors New Zealand delivers a business mentoring programme, partly funded by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, drawing on a database of more than 1,600 volunteers who offer an extensive range of business knowledge, skills and experience. Companies seeking help just have to pay a one-off $100 fee plus GST.

Lee Carr, Business Mentors NZ agencies manager for Counties Manukau, says the mentors are usually people who have run their own businesses. There are some former CEOs from corporates but SME clients prefer to deal with someone who has “had their own blood on the floor”, says Mr Carr. 

“They can relate to what the SME is going through. They've done everything from clean the toilets to hire staff, to buying machinery,” he says.

The mentor may not necessarily know the industry of their mentee.

“We have recognised that mentors have transferrable skills – things like communicating with staff, speaking to the press, are all transferrable.  Having the same industry background sometimes helps  too, he says.

If the experience of a mentor is broad enough, they can read when an issue can be a symptom of a wider problem, he says. Mr Carr remembers a kitchen manufacturer in Auckland whose operations were not sufficiently well designed.

The mentor, an experienced management consultant, went in and helped reorganise their systems of production – the job sheets weren't linking up with costs, the time sheets weren't being done correctly and the overheads were confused.

The mentor spent six hours writing up a flow chart for this business, over and above the six hours of meetings with management. It really saved the company's bacon, says Mr Carr.

Business Mentors NZ generally finds a mentor will come in and help a company for three to 12 months. But if they get along and another issue comes up, they will contact them again perhaps 18 months later, and they'll often ask for the same mentor.

For New Zealand success story, 42 Below, founders Geoff Ross and Justine Troy had a few key mentors along the ways. Troy describes NZ Stock Exchange (NZX) chief executive, Mark Weldon, as perhaps not a mentor, but more a champion for the company when they really needed one.

 “He was one of the few people who truly understood luxury brands in New Zealand,” says Ms Troy.  He had seen 42 Below selling in American bars for $400 a bottle, she says. 

“He understood the value of the brand, he was a fantastic ally.” This kind of back up was important when the company's IPO was questioned by the circumspect financial community, says Ms Troy.