Can we all agree that as creative business owners, our journeys can be a lonely one?

From unravelling so many ideas you come up with to take your business to the next level, implementation can become daunting as more often than expected you, hit stumbling blocks such as self-doubt or limited information.

It doesn’t matter how skilled or informed you are, there are still issues you wouldn’t be able to navigate on your own as some challenges require you to have experience dealing with a similar situation.

This is a major reason why creative business owners need mentors.

But first, who exactly is a mentor? When you think of mentorship, people typically imagine a scenario of an older person coaching a younger person on the proposed subject matter.

Well, that is far from who a mentor is, A mentor is a person who is better experienced and is willing to guide and advise a less experienced person.

You may ask yourself “but there are thousands of resources online why do I need a mentor?” however, despite the enormous amount of resources online, a more experienced better would do a better job guiding you on relevant resources that will be helpful.

In this blog post, we discussed the benefits of having a mentor and how to get one.

Benefits of Having A Mentor

Time is a resource we all want to utilize appropriately. With mentors, you can access years of strategies that can be helpful to your business without having to spend more time figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

Here are some benefits of having a mentor as a creative:

1. You Gain Access To Their Network

The fastest way to excel in the creative industry is to make yourself known to others.

Mentors usually have a network of people who are on similar career paths as you.

Putting yourself out there by leveraging on the existing network of your mentor is not only an excellent way to progress but also requires minimal effort as opposed to trying to build your network on your own.

2. You Develop Your Skills Better

As a creative, you might know what skills you want to develop, but we know how important it is to also have a learning path.

A mentor helps you understand the necessary areas to focus on when building your skills.

They also give you constructive feedback based on their experience so you know the possible mistakes to avoid and gain better clarity on skill development.

3. You Realize Avoidable Mistakes

“Experience is the best teacher.” You probably heard this phrase at one point in your life.

The good thing is you can equally learn from the experiences of other people and that includes their mistakes.

You do not only save time but you also avoid the pain of having to deal with a mistake that can take a toll on you as a creative and that can affect your work.

4. You Become Accountable

How often do you set new year’s resolutions and stick to them?

Not very often I bet.

Mentors help you break down those big goals into smaller bits for easy execution and that makes your career development process easier and smoother.

How Can I Find The Right Mentor

Now that you’ve discovered the benefits of having a mentor, I am certain the next thought on your mind is where do I find one?

There isn’t a linear approach to finding the right mentor for yourself. While some articles suggest you reach out to a person you admire, the chances of them being busy might be high.

Other articles might suggest you approach a colleague at work, maybe as a creative that isn’t your long-term goal or you might even be a freelancer with no colleague to approach.

While there are various suggestions online about how to get mentorship, here are ways to get the right mentor as a creative.

1. Peer Mentorship 

Remember the definition of who a mentor is? A mentor doesn’t have to be someone older but a person with better experience and expertise.

Peer mentorship is usually a group of people who share similar career goals and are on the same level but have more expertise in certain aspects of their careers. 

Think of this group as a classroom, where you have classmates and someone in a certain subject you have a hard time understanding. 

Some examples include the Tristetix For Creative group where business owners are guided on how to build a profitable business online and some people get to share helpful tips from their unique experiences.

2. Group Mentorship

Group mentorship is similar to peer mentoring but they are distinctively different.

In peer mentorship, individuals on the same career level come together and each person based on their own area of strength shares expertise.

While group mentorship involves a group of individuals who are not experienced with a better-experienced individual who is the mentor sharing insightful expertise and coaching them.

This is the most recommended mentoring style for creatives because you will benefit from your mentor and at the same get to meet peer mentors.

It is important to know what your goals are before trying out group mentoring as this type of mentorship is usually targeted at specific challenges and how to solve them.

Some group mentorship available currently to creators includes the Creators Academy which is aimed at helping creators build a profitable business online and expand their business internationally.

3. One On One Mentorship

One mentor is assigned a mentee to help them become better based on their goal, this is the most popular form of mentorship known to people.

It also gives you the flexibility of getting personalized solutions to whatever challenges you face in your business.

However, this type of mentorship requires you to ask for the availability of your mentor to make it work effectively.

Creative business owners can use this form of mentorship to take their business to the next level as they can get personalized insight into their personal challenges.

At tristetix, we are committed to helping creators build a global business that is profitable so we are committed to providing solutions that are personalized.

Conclusion

Resources for growing your business are readily available on the internet, from friends, and packaged in a book.

But having a solution that is applicable to a real-life situation is very crucial to the success of your business, this is why mentorship is important for every creative business owner.

Finding a mentor is dependent on what your goals are but ensure that when seeking a mentor they must also have progressed and handled that given business challenge you have faced.

Mentorship is also a two-way activity.

Despite the fact that one party is better experienced than the other, you must also be ready to unlearn, learn, relearn and also implement.

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