Call for Business Mentors

The Centre for Enterprise at MMU Business School has joined forces with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), the Centre for Social Inclusion at MMU Cheshire and Bolton Business Ventures to launch a new scheme to offer free business mentor support to NES graduates for 12 months.

NES is the New Entrepreneur Scholarship programme for which MMU Business School (MMUBS) is the regional contractor, and is run through the Centre for Enterprise.

The new business mentor scheme is being launched in Lancashire and Greater Manchester and is funded through HEFCE’s Strategic Development Fund and aims to give mentor support to up to 100 NES scholars in the process of starting their own business for the crucial first 12 months of operation.

“Entrepreneurs who set up a business often face barriers during their first 12 months, such as feeling isolated,” said Sally Bate, NES Project Manager at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). “We hope the scheme will help tackle these barriers by offering an experienced business mentor to give additional help and advice.”

“The scheme will be targeted at businesses in economically deprived areas who are often excluded from mainstream business support services,” explained Dominic Martinez, NES Project Manager at MMUBS.

“Sole traders and small businesses play a vital role in regenerating areas and developing sustainable communities. However, while there is an ongoing network of programmes that support established companies, up to now there has been very little help for budding entrepreneurs who need to turn their idea into a viable enterprise.”

Mentors can come from any sector and will probably have started a business or been involved in business set-ups. They are volunteers and will receive training as part of an accredited mentoring course on how to give advice and guidance, plus they have a mentor manager on hand to assist them.

Bolton Business Ventures (BBV) will provide some mentors for the new scheme. Mentoring will be delivered for 12 months at one-to-one counselling meetings of between 45 minutes to 2 hours, with the frequency of meetings determined through need. Usually, mentors will meet their clients face-to-face, but telephone or e-mail support can be given too.

Research suggests that mentoring schemes help increase knowledge. Learning is a crucial part of the growth of a small business, especially if learning takes place through experience. But it’s not a planned process and often comes from the entrepreneur’s reaction to critical events. This is where mentors can help – by sharing knowledge and helping NES scholars learn ‘how to learn’ from their experience of running a business.

NES scholars stand to gain other benefits from having a mentor. “Personal mentoring support could help new businesses increase sales through advice on how to target customers more effectively,” added Sally. “Plus business mentors can give guidance on alternative financial solutions for scholars who might not be able to access mainstream funding. And an added value is that scholars can tap into their mentor’s established networks and contacts.”

In the Manchester region alone, over 1,000 people approach MMUBS or its partner business support organisations for help with starting their own business every year. Yet The Big NES Survey in 2004 - conducted by MMUBS on entrepreneurs who had been on a business planning course - found that over half encountered problems turning their idea into a business, with entrepreneurs needing ongoing individual support in the vital early stages of their new enterprise.

“We really need a mentoring scheme for NES scholars,” added Dominic. “But we can’t do it without the volunteer mentors from the wider business community. This includes former NES scholars who will hopefully seize this opportunity to give a helping hand to other entrepreneurs and give something back to the NES scheme that helped them on their way.”


If you are interested in being a mentor – or know someone who might be - then contact:

 Sally Bate, UCLAN on 01772 894768 or entscholarship@uclan.ac.uk
 Dominic Martinez, MMUBS on 0161 247 3954 or d.martinez@mmu.ac.uk