Stop, collaborate and listen (Finding mentors to support your pivot)
As an entrepreneur and a control freak, I know that it's not natural to ask for help. We seek to demonstrate independence and show everyone that we can do it alone.
I want to share with you that one of the biggest lessons I have learnt over the years is how to ask for help.
Finding a mentor or a series of mentors to create your support team for your pivot is a really smart way to learn. It's got me to where I am today.
These days one of the key questions I always ask myself and any client I am working with is,
"Who do you know that may be able to help with this?"
Why is this such an important question?
There is always someone that has done all or some of what you are trying to do.
A problem shared is a problem halved...
It saves a lot of time.
You can get a new perspective on things.
When you find yourself coming up against a challenge or a task that is out of your comfort zone, take a moment to
STOP and consider, who can I COLLABORATE with this on?
Who do I know that has the experience I am looking for?
How can I find a way to LISTEN to what they have to say?
When launching my business, and whilst I continue to run and grow, I am continually collaborating and reaching out to others to support and grow with me.
I want to share the collaboration team that I will always use to keep me and my business moving forward...
My Coach.
Even coaches need a coach! I asked my original life coach who I trusted and respected, to coach me on launching and growing my business.
She was someone who I had a great rapport with and had to tread the path I was about to travel. By continually working with her, I shortcutted a lot of experimentation and learnt things in days that may have taken me months or years on my own.
Having a silent partner that helped me stay accountable, think through decisions and prioritise tasks is the best investment I made in me and my business.
Designer friends.
There are so many tools these days that enable an entrepreneur to do everything themselves. You can drag and drop and design your website/logo/emails/social literally everything! I recommend you consider where your natural talent sits and where it doesn't.
Just because you could do everything yourself, doesn't mean it's the best use of your time. I pull in two trusted friends to help with design elements and create templates for my business when needed. This saves me time, faffing about and builds my visual brand in the most efficient way.
My network.
It's amazing who you know. You will have people within your network that can open doors, share insight or partner with you on a project to move your pivot forward.
On every occasion where I have reached out to my network with a clear focus, I have got back more than I ever expected.
Recent examples include free use of events spaces, referrals, photography, speaking opportunities & time spent over coffee sharing insights. It takes a little courage and bravery to ask, but I have found if you don't ask you don't get. And people love to help.
My family.
As well as being my emotional support team, my partner, mum and sister regularly give me space to talk through my ideas with them.
By sharing where I am at and how I feel, they are able to keep me lifted during the dips and give me a high five when I have something to celebrate.
I like that I don't solely rely on them for support as it helps me have a work-life balance and switch off. Having coaches and mentors outside of your family can take the emotion out of it.
An exercise on how to find the right people to collaborate with to create your support team.
Ok. This exercise should take you about 20 minutes. Grab a big piece of blank paper and a pen. Draw a line down the middle to split the page in two.
On the left-hand side, write "LESSONS", on the right side write "MENTORS". Think about your pivot today and where you are. Think about the areas/challenges you are exploring & the tasks you need to do.
Under LESSONS free writes all the things that you are currently trying to learn and do. Don’t filter, just write everything you are faced with right now.
Then under MENTORS, brain dumps all the people you know or know of, that may have knowledge about your lessons. Don’t filter this either, just free write and be confident about who you include.
These can be people in your friends and family circle, colleagues or senior people you know of, or could even be industry experts that you don’t know directly, but you could approach or even read their books or content online.
Then match the lessons to the people. Some people may be able to help with more than one thing. Winner!
Then prioritise. What lesson do you need to know first? What is going to have the most impact? Then decide which mentor you will approach first.
Here is my example for this week...
Event space furniture -- Nic, the director of an events company I used to work with.
PR for my events-- My friend Jenny who has achieved this before.
Buying a house -- My friend's dad Eddie is a mortgage advisor.
How to approach
As I said, people love to share their wisdom. They feel flattered to be asked. When approaching people to make it easy for them. Be aware of people’s time restraints so approach with focus and clarity on what you want to know. One of my mentors, Darren Robson says,
“It’s difficult for someone to say no if they are approached with the following, “I have this challenge X and as someone I admire and respect, I would love to hear how you have dealt with X in the past. People love sharing their insights, life experiences and learnings as a whole.”
If someone keeps saying NO or not responding to your requests for help, then consider whether they would be a good mentor anyway. It's not a failure, only feedback. Widen your thinking on your list of people and go again.
In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's most powerful point is when people who recognise that they cannot do everything on their own and have an open mindset, they are more successful throughout life.
Try it out!
Don't be afraid to ask for help, advice, collaboration or for someone to mentor you.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness that you are not intelligent enough, creative enough, well connected enough, it's the opposite. Smart people stop, collaborate and listen.
It's not what you know, it's who you know, isn't it?
Liz Ward is Founder and Coach at Slick Pivot. Slick Pivot helps new and seasoned entrepreneurs get good at change. Supporting your pivot journey through one to one coaching, bespoke team workshops, and events to help you find more happiness and growth in your work, whether that is quitting your 9-5, starting and growing that business or developing the right mindset for success.
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