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.

Mentor David Barker is in much demand, mentoring five businesses since 2018 and providing invaluable support to them in navigating growth and pivoting during a challenging year.

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.