Starting a business is like having a child, EVERYONE will want to have their say

When Xavier was born, everyone had an opinion to give about everything, especially people who barely know us. Either he was hungry, or sleepy, or dealing with colicky pain, labor pains... in short, everyone had their own theory.

Before he was born, we had already decided: the word of the pediatrician we had chosen was law, and the experience of some people close to us was welcome. What the rest said should go in one ear and out the other

Even so, sometimes these nearest and dearest opinions contradicted the pediatrician’s position. In this case, the pediatrician’s word won out.

This was the only way to go through the beginning of motherhood/paternity without going crazy. We were the ones who chose the pediatrician and, if we trusted his competence, there was no point in questioning every piece of information he gave us.

It’s not that his method was THE BEST, THE ONLY method. We know many other parents who have done totally different things, also successfully. Basically, there is no SINGLE secret to raising children. Each one is raised the way the parents think is right, and that’s fine.

BUT the point is: for US; as parents, to be able to make decisions and raise our child, we had to CONSCIOUSLY decide who to listen to and who to ignore.

The mentors, the specialists, and the sideline experts

With a business, it’s the same thing. There are a thousand mentors and connoisseurs, plus the sideline experts, who have never had any business. Some will want you to do things one way and others claim theirs is the route to go. And what works? What you put into practice.

Then it is a matter of whether some take more or less time, need more or less investment, etc.

So how do you choose your mentor?

Knowledge and experience

It’s very important to have mentors to follow and guide you through the different stages of your business. Whether you are just starting out or have a high turnover business, there will always be people who are above you in terms of experience and knowledge and who can help you greatly speed up your progress, and avoid many mistakes you would make without such guidance.

Values aligned with yours

However, knowledge and experience should by no means be the only factor you consider when starting a mentorship. Even more important is that the mentor is aligned with your values, with your way of looking at life. Otherwise, you will be even more confused. What he advises and teaches will clash with your belief system.

It’s crucial that the mentor challenges and helps you to deconstruct some of your beliefs and methods so that you get better results. It makes no sense to have a mentor focused on creating businesses with a purpose, that have a mission and are a life project, like us, if what you want is to get rich quick, regardless of the business you’re going to create. Now, if we don’t believe that you can do an excellent job and reap the rewards when you don’t have a true passion for what you do, and if you only want to know about money at any cost, we are not the right mentors for you. Do you see how important it is to have your values aligned with your mentor?

Entendes como funciona isto de teres os valores alinhados com o teu mentor?

Consider your life goals

Another important aspect is to make sure that the mentor considers and respects your life goals during mentoring by asking you about them. Imagine that one of your life goals is to be invited to lectures and courses around the world. Without knowing this, your mentor may recommend that you create your entire business in Portuguese because you have a good opportunity to penetrate the national market. And you may accept the recommendation because you haven’t even stopped to think about your medium-long term goals.

That’s why it’s important to have a mentor who, more than guiding you to develop a business, cares about you developing a business that fits the life you aspire to.

Getting you out of your comfort zone

Finally, you’ll want a mentor who challenges you. If the goal is to keep doing things the way you would without them, it’s not going to work. The mentor has to get you out of your comfort zone and you have to go into the mentorship with an open mind, with a lot of willingness to get your hands dirty to achieve outstanding results.

So, choose a mentor who challenges but respects you at the same time. And move forward with faith. Only then will you be able to be an entrepreneur and take action without going crazy.

Encontra mais dicas sobre os erros que podes cometer ao criar um negócio à tua semelhança neste artigo.

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