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Mentoring & Coaching

What is Business Mentoring?

Business mentoring is a vital part of the business support landscape. A business mentor is a professional who understands how to run and grow a business, they are able to mentor with empathy. Your mentor will have expertise in business, planning, management, productivity, strategy, managing a team, increasing company revenue and helping you to manage stress and overcome challenges.

As ABM Founder & Chief Ambassador, Kerrie Dorman, summarises:
"The role of a mentor is to ease the path of a mentee on whatever their current journey may be. A mentor will use their experience together with the necessary mentoring skills to explore all the options and the appropriate approach open to a mentee encouraging self and environmental awareness."

As a business owner, becoming immersed in everyday challenges and responsibilities can make it difficult to see the wood for the trees. One of the key roles of your business mentor is to help you take a step back and provide you with an external overview of your business and marketing strategies.

Your business mentor helps you clarify your ideal future and how to achieve goals that can be transformational for your business. They support you in the development of your vision, values and purpose and help you plan appropriately. They sit by your side acting as your professional soundboard and listening ear, offering guidance when you most need it. 

What is the difference between a Business Mentor, Coach and Consultant? 

A business consultant provides a specific project-based service to solve a problem on behalf of the business owner whereas a coach supports its client to reach a specific goal themselves by stimulating discussions and providing their client with helpful resources.

Contrary to the consultant and coach, a mentor’s focus is on an individual and not on helping to solve a specific problem of a client. A business mentor will guide and support you in growing your business by helping you clarify your bigger vision and providing a growth structure that maximises your biggest strengths, captures your biggest opportunities and eliminates your biggest challenges over a long lapse of time.

Business mentors help business owners take their business from where they are now to where they want it to be in the future. They work with you to help you grow and achieve the goals and aspirations that are most important to you. This includes setting long-term goals as well as short-term, the mentor works over a longer time than a coach who will be focused on specific behaviours and skills.   

How can working with an ABM Mentor benefit my business?

Business mentoring is a vital part of the business support landscape. A business mentor is a professional who understands how to run and grow a business, they are able to mentor with empathy. Your mentor will have expertise in business, planning, management, productivity, strategy, managing a team, increasing company revenue and helping you to manage stress and overcome challenges.

As a business owner, becoming immersed in everyday challenges and responsibilities can make it difficult to see the wood for the trees. One of the key roles of your business mentor is to help you take a step back and provide you with an external overview of your business and marketing strategies. Your business mentor helps you clarify your ideal future and how to achieve goals that can be transformational for your business. They support you in the development of your vision, values and purpose and help you plan appropriately. They sit by your side acting as your professional soundboard and listening ear, offering guidance when you most need it. 

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Couldn’t find what you were looking for? Write to us at enquiries@associationofbusinessmentors.org

Frequently asked questions

What benefits do I get when becoming an ABM member?

As a member of the Association of Business Mentors you will be part of the only professional association in the UK and Ireland that promotes and improves professional business mentoring standards.   

Whether you are at the start of your business mentoring journey, or run an established mentoring business, ABM membership provides you with the network and tools to develop and grow your professional business mentoring skills and business. You can find a list of all ABM Membership benefits here.

How do I sign up?

We welcome applications from business mentors, consultants and coaches who have relevant business experience and an interest in developing their business mentoring skills.

You can find further information about the ABM Membership and application process here.

What are the requirements to become an ABM member?

In order to become a member, the ABM expect you either to: ‍(a) have started, run and or owned a business, or to have played a significant operational role in such a business; or (b) have managed a significant business unit or profit centre in a large corporate.

You can find more information about joining the ABM here.

I'm a Help to Grow Mentor. Why should I sign up for ABM membership as well?

Help to Grow volunteer mentors can upgrade to Full or Associate membership of the ABM to benefit from a number of additional professional and commercial opportunities to support them on their mentoring journey.

You can find a full list of ABM Membership benefits here.

What content is included in the resource library?

The ABM Resource Library includes a vast selection of webinars, workshops and educational podcasts with industry experts. All resources are designed to support you on your mentoring journey.

Can you connect me with peers in my area?

Yes. The Network provides opportunities for ABM members to meet and share mentoring best practice within the nations and regions within which they live and/or work.

Discover more about the ABM Network and upcoming regional events here.

Will you support me in finding mentoring clients?

As part of your ABM Membership, your profile will be listed in the ABM Directory for potential mentees to search and find.

Additionally, as an ABM Member you will receive commercial opportunities via the ABM Newsletter.

How will you support my professional development as a mentor?

A key objective of the ABM is to actively advance learning and development and best practice in business mentoring.  We provide mentees with the confidence that our members operate within an ethical framework and conform to an accepted Code of Conduct.   

Whether you are at the start of your business mentoring journey, or run an established mentoring business, ABM membership provides you with the network and tools to develop and grow your mentoring skills and business.   

Discover our various Learning & Development programmes here.

What offers and discounts do I get as part of my membership?

The ABM has a number of partners whose services will benefit ABM members as business mentors.

Are you an ABM member? You can find out more about the benefits available to ABM members here.

What kind of events do I get access to?

The ABM hosts a number of member-only as well as public events.
You can find an overview of all upcoming events here.

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Interested in joining the ABM?

Whether you are at the start of your business mentoring journey, or run an established mentoring business, ABM membership provides you with the network and tools to develop and grow your mentoring skills and business.