Mentoring service experiences peak demand through lockdown

The Business Resilience Service offered by Dorset Business Mentors in response to the C-19 pandemic and lock-down has resulted in a surge of applications.

The program received three times as many applications for 1:1 mentor support than in the whole of the previous month and with 128 seasoned and senior-level business mentors volunteering their support we are well positioned to assist (and with the capacity to match individual mentor experience with more businesses as needed).

Until mid-June mentoring through the program is being offered free of charge for up to 3 months, after which (if the mentee chooses to continue) the standard required contribution to administrative costs ’ of £200+VAT for up to 12 months of mentoring would be charged. As ever this modest charge is thanks to mentors giving their time and the funding received from the Dorset Councils and HM Government and the European Regional Development Fund., effectively ensuring accessibility to even the smallest business by 90% subsidising the cost.

Demand for mentors has ranged from business owners wanting urgent help with addressing challenges around sustainability in the short and mid term, as well as those estimated 1 in 4 businesses who having furloughed staff and paused trading are taking the time to work ON their businesses. What does this look like? Well this is having a mentor get to know your business model, history and current situation, and then looking at what the future currently looks like as well as exploring options. The mentor brings all their experience to bear, and while they may use well known techniques to help a business owner develop strategy they are not relying on ‘if you do this, then that will happen’ style support. Instead, they have real world experience and can offer valuable insights and share knowledge that cannot be found in ‘text book’ style support.

We recommend looking at the Case Study page on this website to get a feel for mentoring from the perspective of other business owners. (Please note that this is being added to weekly and videos are being uploaded imminently.)

In the meantime, while mentoring to date has always been ‘in person’ and normally at the owners place of work, we are adapting like everyone else and have shifted to online meetings - whether through zoom or skype…..or the good old telephone!

If you would like support and fresh insight for your business future (or just someone to support your well-being in business at this time) then please request a mentor by filling out the application form here.