Mentor Insight No. 6 - Sue Pilgrim

Sue Pilgrim brings more than a decade of board-level experience working with people in creative industries to her role as a mentor.  “That all-important vision is often clear, but clients haven’t always got the journey mapped out in much detail to get there. So I often find myself working backwards from the vision, and helping people sort out the plans, processes and structures needed to get there.”

 Sue has been part of Dorset Business Mentors since April 2018 and has been working with entrepreneurs in the creative fields, including interior design, furnishings and architecture.  As well as having a lot of experience of the challenges facing these types of businesses, she’s been able to encourage collaborative working relationships between them.

“This has worked really well for an interior designer and an architect that I’ve been mentoring. Because they have similar values about sustainability, they’ve shared ideas about best practice. And they’ve felt confident to introduce business opportunities to each other from their own client base, which is obviously really helpful for relatively small businesses.“

2020 has been a particularly challenging year for many companies, so Sue has had to tread a fine line between encouraging clients who are ambitious and want to grow, and challenging them to look carefully at adding to their cost base, and to focus on their cash flow.

“One mentee wanted to move to new premises to give her extra room for a bigger studio and retail space for displaying furnishings and fittings, and to help her work more closely with clients.  She wanted to invest in a new retail opportunity, but I encouraged her to be more cautious. We did a recce together in a local town looking at retail outlets, and I introduced her to another Dorset Business Mentor, Terry Field, who has a strong background in this area.  

My client saw the value of testing out her ideas in a pilot scheme in her existing property, before making a commitment to a different location which would give her a much better foot fall, and return on her investment.”

Sue admits that this year has been tough – not just for her mentees, but for her own career with several non-executive directorships and strategic consultancy roles in the recruitment sector which have been affected by recent circumstances.  Her philosophy is that business people should really focus on what is in their control, and what differences they can really make in an environment which is changing so fast, and in directions which are hard to predict.

“Finance is not always a great strength for people in creative service industries. They often find that they have to give a lot of their time away for free at the front end of a new client relationship. I’m keen to help people to find way to recover that investment, and cost that time into the way that they price a job once it has been commissioned. It is that sort of analysis that can really make a difference.”

Sue doesn’t need to structure regular meetings with her mentees, as they are proactive and come to her when they need support. “I will hear little for a month, sometimes longer, and then suddenly there is a great flurry of activity to resolve a particular business issue, or to review the strategy. But when they have a success, you almost feel as if it is your success too! You get back so much from mentoring entrepreneurs who are open to ideas and different ways of doing things, and helping them gives me a real buzz!”

Reach Out

Whether you are interested in working with a mentor, or are interested in helping business succeed, we're here to help you on that journey and would love to hear from you.

Please do also look at some of the Insights from our Mentors here or call us for an informal chat on 01305 221 268

*Prices start at £200+vat for the year