Our service

About Dorset Business Mentors

Established in 2005 Dorset Business Mentors - formerly known as DorMen - was a founder member of the National Mentoring Network and is acknowledged as one of the most established and experienced services in the UK. We have developed a strong reputation for accurately matching mentors’ skills and expertise with the needs and goals of local business.

Ensuring our clients remain the focus of all we do, our offer responds to your needs: ensuring you can access any specialist expertise among our Mentors, providing exclusive skills workshops developed in direct response to the needs of our clients and facilitated peer-to-peer networking - all for no additional cost.

Central to our mission is to ensure our service remains incomparable and accessible to all businesses. Accredited and part-funded by Dorset’s local authorities we work closely with Partners who share our mission to support business growth and ensure an effective response to your individual business needs.

Our Team

Our team of experienced Programme Managers are on hand to assist, to listen and explain how you can benefit from our services offered. Please click on the images for information on their contribution.

Meet Our Volunteer Mentors

Dorset Business Mentors are all Executive and senior management level business leaders and successful entrepreneurs. They understand the challenges associated with running and growing a business and the value of having an impartial sounding board.  Our Mentors offer an invaluable level of knowledge and scope of experience across all sectors that can help you to drive your business to the next level. All are selected and trained, and offer close, encouraging support.

Below we offer a representative sample of our volunteer mentors, to give you a feel for their level and scope of experience. Please click on each photograph to learn more about each individual. You can also visit our Insights page where we are introducing more Mentors in a series of ‘Mentor Insights’ articles.

Paul Cartwright / Former Chairman of Dorset Business Mentors and Mentor

“Growing businesses need to evolve, change and sometimes renew, often in ways that are outside the experience of the founder. A good mentor has been there already and can strategise with, challenge and inspire confidence. An ambitious founder will challenge the mentor. I’ve seen founders grow and business flourish through mentoring”

Paul has been mentoring businesses in Dorset and Hampshire for 10 years and has a portfolio of Directorships and Chairmanships with commercial and not-for-profit organisations. He has worked with a range of companies involved in digital technology, branding and marketing, sustainability, lighting, robotics, public care and performing arts.

A doctorate physics graduate, Paul has worked in R&D, engineering, process safety and consulting.  He set up a university spin-out tech-company which as CEO he grew over 25 years into an international group operating from 7 bases around the world. Paul then led the sale of the group to a German trans-national.