Why Mentoring And Collaboration Are Key To Business Success

When it comes to entrepreneurial success, often, the most difficult part of the business journey is getting the initial idea off the ground. You spot a market trend, have an idea, or want to solve a problem, but sometimes it just takes the input from others to really decide it is worth a try. 

This is where business mentoring comes in. Some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs have benefitted from mentoring in one form or another. One of the world’s wealthiest businesspeople Bill Gates credits his success, in part, to his mentor Warren Buffett. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg looked to Steve Jobs as a source of inspiration and advice. While prior to that Steve Jobs benefitted from the guidance and mentorship of one of Apple’s earliest angel investors, Mike Markkula.  

This is exactly what happened when I had the idea for a new company, CrowdProperty. In 2013 I was a guest panellist talking about how I had grown my previous company, property investors network (pin), when a new idea for a business was born, another speaker was talking about crowdfunding and how it worked, and it made me wonder if this was possible in property. Pin had so many members with money to invest and who wanted to see a better return on their investments. As I was a member of Genius Group’s crystal circle, an invite-only business mentoring group with Roger James Hamilton, I ran the idea past him, and he was immediately sold. He even went on to say it could be a 100-million-dollar business and he was right. CrowdProperty is currently on track to reach that valuation in the next 3 years. Without Genius Group and Roger’s guidance, CrowdProperty may not have grown into the business it is today. 

Why Business Mentoring?

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if the business mentoring relationship is formal or informal, direct or indirect. What does matter is that you connect with someone who encourages you and challenges you to approach potential problems from a different perspective and think bigger?  I also think a certain rapport or friendship is needed too, especially given you will need to trust and listen to any advice given. The advice and guidance I have received from Roger and Genius Group and the network on GeniusU really have been invaluable and I feel that everyone in business can benefit from a network such as GeniusU. 

Subjects like entrepreneurship and investment just aren’t taught in schools yet, which makes the need for a business mentor even greater. Gaining wisdom from those who are perhaps further along their business journey and gaining invaluable advice on any pitfalls or challenges along the way, is a no brainer for anyone who is looking for business success. Entrepreneurship and investment are taught on GeniusU and via Entrepreneur’s Institute and as the edtech platform is digital it is helping to make learning accessible to all. 

There is also, I think, something to be said for always looking to allow others to replicate your success and via receiving mentorship from Roger and the network at Genius Group, I have learnt the importance of then offering my skills to others, creating a whole network of people who have the skills and talents to shape future economies and drive growth across the globe. If only people were educated in making their own fortune in life, we could start to reduce the number of people who are in poverty. 

Through this collaboration with Roger, I am now a top-level partner at Genius Group and offer the pin network the chance to learn new skills and access business mentoring via Genius’ edtech platform GeniusU. I am also working with Genius Group to develop pin mastermind which will be both physical and virtual training programmes including a personality profiling test for real estate. This will be launched later this year and will allow so many people to learn the skills and gain the education they need to invest successfully in property. Genius Group is great at helping people to grow wealth with strategies for investing in stocks, shares and crypto, and I am so pleased to be able to partner with them and pass on these invaluable skills to more and more people. 

Collaboration is key to the future of business, and I believe that everyone should be open to helping others along the way.

My businesses have grown significantly as a result of partnering with Genius Group and if you look across many sectors you will see that collaboration is happening in many different areas. Collaboration opens both brands up to new customer bases. But it isn’t just about benefitting the brands, collaboration should ultimately benefit the customer and make their affinity to the company and their services or products stronger.

How Business Mentoring Could Work For You

The first step to connecting with a suitable mentor is to identify a person who possesses the attributes, skills and experience that you respect and feel inspired by. Start by looking at and building upon your existing network. Then broaden your outlook outside of the key players in your industry. You can also look sideways to other sectors – there can be lots to learn from adapting successful paths or processes and translating them to your market. Consider investing in specialists – seeking out more structured coaching and courses takes the principles of business mentoring to the next level. 

Of course, I would wholeheartedly recommend joining Genius Group for business mentoring, but the key is to find a group that can help grow and further your skills and business. The digital future is here to stay, and we need to adapt and evolve to keep up. 

About the author: Simon Zutshi is a financially independent, professional property investor with over 26 years of personal experience investing in residential property in the UK and overseas. He is CEO and founder of property investors network and the Property Mastermind Programme, and founder of CrowdProperty. Simon spends his time helping and educating other investors. This is by sharing his ‘hands-on experience’ gained over many years as a successful investor. He is one of the few property investors in the UK who is a member of the Professional Speakers Association. As such, Simon Zutshi is regularly invited to share his residential property investing strategies at the major property exhibitions and entrepreneurial business conferences in the UK and around the world.