The Importance of Mentors for Pinoy Entrepreneurs

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Category: Entrepreneurship

The debate on whether entrepreneurship is a product of nature or nurture, genetics or environment, recognizes that, to a certain degree, the environment affects the business decisions of the entrepreneur. The existence of a mentor is a component of an environment that affects the entrepreneur.

The Positive Impact of Mentors

For starters, when it comes to a person's decision to engage in business, a survey conducted by Gallup in 83 countries reveal that "adults who have access to a mentor are three times more likely to say they are planning to start a business" compared to those who don't have access to a mentor. In starting or continuing a business, the existence of a mentor "increases confidence and self-awareness" and "enhances business thinking and risk taking" of the entrepreneurs.

The impact of a mentor does not end with business startup. It is also important in running the business. This is summed up in a Gallup article (Mentor Support Key to Starting a Business) -- "it is clear that establishing mentor relationships with potential entrepreneurs may boost the chances of business creation, survival, and growth."

And the value of a mentor is not limited to advice and insights. According to the same Gallup article, "Without a mentor, an entrepreneur may find it difficult to access resources, build networks, and create partnerships that help the enterprise grow".

Mentors at Home and the Office

Business thinking is expected from Pinoy Entrepreneurs who grew up in a household with parents engaged in business. The children grow up immersed in the business and, guided by the parents, learn the intricacies of the particular business and doing business in general. These children are introduced into the parent's business and financial network that increase the chances of success.

A mentor could be the boss or the immediate superior in an employment environment. Many big corporations and successful Chief Executive Officers (CEO) pay serious attention to succession, grooming the next generation executives. No matter how they are called -- apprentice, understudy, intern, junior executive, vice-president or some other nomenclature -- these hardworking and lucky individuals naturally soak in the expertise and network of the mentor-superior.

Success and Experience

We previously noted that an entrepreneur, especially someone who has just started his lot in the entrepreneurial field, performs a number of distinct roles. One role that a starting entrepreneur must do well is being a great manager, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) if we extend the term. Those who were "forced" by necessity to go into business early in life, acquire business skills by trial-and-error ahead of the pack.

Indeed, not everyone would have the good fortune, and the requisite intrinsic characteristics, of being mentored by successful parent-entrepreneurs or superiors. The existence of a mentor does not guarantee success, in the same way that the absence of an immediate mentor is a formula for automatic failure.

Despite the existence of guilds, ethnic and other closed business groups, business success is not closed to the entrepreneur who happens to have the right skills and tools at the right time. Success, after all, is a confluence of skills and opportunities. Opportunity, without the necessary skill to exploit it, amounts to nothing. Skill, without opportunity, is simply skill.

Take Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan (commonly referred to as MVP) as an illustration. He is the first one to admit that he was poor, yet he is undeniably one of the most successful Filipino CEOs who heads Philippine corporate giants including the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). He noted in the December 2011 issue of the Esquire Philippines magazine: "To pretend that there is a school for CEOs is wrong. There is no such thing. Some business schools will tell you otherwise, but that's not the case. It's really experience." Look where he is now.

[How do you think a mentor impacts Pinoy Entrepreneurs? What are your thoughts and tips on mentors? Let's hear what you have to say, through the comment section below.]