Discover more about our service through News, Articles or Events. These enable you to develop your understanding of the benefits of being supported by a mentor and becoming a member of the Dorset Business Mentors Community.
Our Summer Social brought Dorset Business Mentors together to reconnect, share experiences and celebrate the impact mentoring continues to have on Dorset businesses, with thanks to our sponsor Rathbones for their ongoing support.
Back from holiday and thinking about the months ahead? Discover how business mentoring can help you gain clarity, confidence and support to grow your business.
As we celebrate 20 years of impact, Dorset Business Mentors is thrilled to welcome Rathbones Group Plc as our renewed sponsor. This partnership fuels our mission to support local businesses with expert guidance and strategic insight.
Dorset Business Mentors celebrates 20 years of empowering local enterprises, having supported 2,500 businesses through expert volunteer mentoring. Backed by Dorset Council and partners like Rathbones, the organisation continues to drive economic growth and resilience across the region.
Seasonal slowdowns can feel like a challenge—but they’re actually a valuable opportunity. With fewer daily demands, it’s the ideal time to step back, reflect, and plan ahead. Whether it’s refining goals, upgrading systems, or focusing on work-life balance, these quieter moments can set your business up for long-term success.
It’s also the perfect time to connect with a business mentor. With support from Dorset Business Mentors, you can gain fresh insights, tackle challenges with confidence, and build a stronger, more resilient business for the future.
The UK is braced for a series of economic shocks this winter. Interest rates are on the rise; inflation is predicted to be 18.6% by early next year and fuel costs, as we all know, are sky rocketing. Consequently, discretionary spending will be hit hard. Businesses need to be preparing and planning for recession. For some, there will be opportunities but for many, it will be a question of preparing for deep cuts in costs and revenues. Cash will be king.
Building a successful business doesn’t have to be something you do all alone. Dorset Business Mentors offer a long-term mentor to support your journey.
Dorset Business Mentors are ready to support Dorset businesses wishing to expand globally. With around 130 mentors, many who have expertise in growth worldwide.
An all female cast from Dorset Business Mentors discuss all things mentoring to mark International Women’s Day
Paul Cartwright, Chairman, talks about the benefits of business mentoring and strategies for exiting your business. Experienced in this field, his key message is: There is no time like the present to consider your options and plan ahead.
Shirley Hensher has had a notable variety in the nature of client’s businesses. Discover how she supports each in her Insight to her role.
Sue Pilgrim, brings over 10 years of board level experience to her role as a Dorset Business Mentor. She mentors a number of clients in the creative industries in particular and sheds light on areas of common challenge.
From an award winning family food producer to a specialist seaweed fertiliser manufacturer, Mentor David French references three of his mentoring relationships as he offers us his Mentor Insight.
You are invited to join us for our informative and interactive webinars entitled a ‘Taste of Mentoring’ over Zoom. This is an opportunity to discover how to drive your business forward with mentor support tailored to your aims and needs.
The final instalment of Mark Snare’s must read e-book ‘The secrets to success on the web’, covering ‘Paying for Traffic, Visitors and Sales’, ‘Going multi-channel’ and ‘Free things you should do’.
In this, the third of our Mentor Insights, Mark Hudson answer some of the common questions asked while he has been undertaking initial assessments to help our team streamline the process of assigning a permanent mentor to new clients.
We are delighted to announce Sponsorship from Investec Wealth & Investment who, having a passion for making a meaningful contribution to the communities around them, have found in our programme the leadership and qualities they seek that provide inspiration and develop resilience among others.
Read the third (and penultimate) instalment of Dorset Business Mentor Mark Snare’s e-book ‘The secrets to success on the web’. to learn all you need to know about ‘Links’ and ‘SEO on page’.
Read the second instalment of Dorset Business Mentor Mark Snare’s e-book ‘The secrets to success on the web’. to learn all you need to know about ‘Making data based decisions’ and ‘Launching micro-sites, blogs and videos’.
Dorset Business Mentor Mark Snare is a successful entrepreneur and effective mentor with specialist knowledge in e-commerce and maximising the effective contribution of web presence to business growth.
Mark has generously permitted us to publish his e-book ‘The Secrets to Success on the Web’. This will be released in two chapter instalments over the next three weeks. We recommend this as a digestible and insightful read.
In this, the second of our Mentor Insights, Sally Pritchard shares her background and explains where she brings value as a Mentor to businesses looking to address ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ challenges.
In the second of a series of articles authored by Mentor Sophy Robinson, the spotlight is on how individual Mentors are supporting their client mentees in the Retail, Leisure and Tourism sectors.
Mentor Insight No. 1 - Mark Snare
This is the first in a new series of Mentor Insights, where we introduce individual mentors, profile their skills and experience and they share their perspective of the mentoring relationship.
Mentor Sophy Robinson reports on, and responds to, the current challenges faced by the retail, leisure and tourism sector, and checks with some of her colleague volunteer mentors to see how they are, and have been, supporting their mentees. (This article is the first in a related series of contributions by various authors).
Our business mentors are providing invaluable support to business owners across Dorset at this time. Wonder how this works? Read on to discover more, or visit our case studies page for video interviews and testimonials with client mentees.
Charlotte Bowater - Joint Programme Manager provides a current service update
At 15 years of service DorMen rebrands to Dorset Business Mentors with a bold and fitting new look.
Dorset Business Mentors welcomes the renewal of its partnership with Rathbones, extending a relationship that has supported local business leaders since 2020 through mentoring, collaboration and shared expertise.