Mentoring is neither coaching nor consultancy. Yet its impact on both the mentee entrepreneur and on his business is powerful.
Frédérique Gueth, who is in charge of the support programmes at nyuko, says:
nyuko has a strong expertise in supporting project holders at the state of pre-business creation, from the idea to the business plan. The recent integration of the mentoring in nyuko’s support offer to entrepreneurs meets a very real need and fits perfectly into its value chain. We are now able to offer a significant support to entrepreneurs whose businesses are starting up or developing and to entrepreneurs that take over companies. The demand is strong, not surprisingly, given the complexity of the multiple tasks and challenges faced by any entrepreneur whether beginner or already launched.
Tandems with high added value
Lack of experience in management, isolation, life skills to develop,... the needs and expectations of entrepreneurs are diverse. As for the mentors, it is primarily the desire to pass on their experience which is at the source of their commitment. Rachel Gaessler, responsible for the mentoring program at nyuko has the delicate task of establishing the relationship between novice entrepreneurs (mentees) and experienced entrepreneurs (mentors). In charge of the BusinessMentoring program since its beginnings in 2010, Rachel receives the applications of mentees and mentors and sets up the tandems. Rachel follows the tandems and supervises their journey which usually spans over 12-18 months.
Rachel, how is mentoring different from coaching or consultancy?
The coaches and consultants typically focus on elements of knowledge and expertise. The coach acts primarily on the performance of the person and the consultant on the business itself. The latter does a pre-diagnosis of the company and offers solutions while the coach is committed to work with the person about his performance objectives. Both are paid and involved on a more or less short time.
Being a volunteer activity, mentoring has on the other hand an impact on the social and behavioral skills of entrepreneurs. Far from being a vague or "new age" concept, this notion is very practical for mentors. Do not ask them to check the financial statement, to give references or to assess a marketing plan of the entrepreneurs that they accompany. However, the majority of their interventions help to make an entrepreneur evolve in the following areas: autonomy, responsibility, confidence, ability to carry the weight of his decisions by himself.
Very often, the mentor will help the mentee to identify his strengths and areas for improvement, but also his fears and desires. We are far from the "troubleshooter" that some entrepreneurs hope to find when they start the accompaniment with their mentor. As the mentors of our network often say: "I do not want to find answers for my mentee. I want to find him questions!"
What kind of impact does mentoring have on the mentee’s business?
A study on a sample of thirty entrepreneurs who have completed their mentoring relationship, shows that mentees - through mentoring - significantly developed their managerial behavior, particularly in terms of life skills, leadership and negotiation skills. All recognize that they have improved their decision making process and developed a medium- to long-term vision.
The impact on their business is significant with a survival rate of 92%, an average increase of 43% of their revenues and increases in salaried headcount of around 20%! These numbers speak for themselves ... The impact of business mentoring on business survival is significant: it allows entrepreneurs to ensure a healthier growth of their businesses and to address sensitive areas such as taking over a business with a more structured approach.
Support for aspiring entrepreneurs by their experienced peers is fundamental. 17 mentees currently benefit from mentoring support over a period of 12 to 18 months via nyuko.
We want to strengthen this type of support happening after the business creation and call out to experienced business leaders to engage with mentors in order to solidify Luxembourg's entrepreneurial ecosystem and also to young entrepreneurs to come forward if they wish to benefit from mentoral support.
For inquiries about mentoring, please contact Rachel Gaessler.