What It Means to Be a Business Mentor


As a Business Mentor, you understand the highs and lows of business and have been on your own business development journey. Your interest and willingness to give your time, knowledge and experience to support a person who owns a small business, existing or emerging, or a social enterprise executive is what makes you valuable to our business mentoring service.

You can shorten someone else’s learning curve, make improvements to their business growth potential, and positively impact the communities that they influence.

A Mentor is a guide, an advocate, an empathetic ear, supporter and a catalyst for change. With no financial or emotional investment in the business, you are motivated only by the success of the business you're mentoring.

Mentoring with Business Mentors New Zealand gives you the opportunity to be part of a nationwide structured and supported mentoring service.

What are the Commitments?

Each business receives up to 12 months' of mentoring. In the initial month, there will likely be a couple of meetings. You'll get to know each other and then establish expectations and determine a direction.

Following that, a few hours a month is usually enough to make a meaningful difference for those you Mentor.

You can change your availability whenever you need to, and you will only ever be assigned to a business with your agreement.

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How to Get Started

Complete the application here on our website. We are interested in getting some insight into your business experience and what motivates you to be a Business Mentor.

Your local Mentor Coordinator will contact you. We will share more in-depth information about how we support you and explore what areas of business motivates you most.

Once approved, you are welcomed into our Business Mentors network. In gifting your time and providing your experience and knowledge to help others, you will join a small but distinguished group who are making a genuine difference in the wellbeing and prosperity of your community.

We then provide you with the opportunity to participate in a half-day Effective Mentoring Workshop to discover mentoring best practice principles and to network with fellow Mentors.

Your local Mentor Coordinator will match you with a small business owner, start-up entrepreneur, or social enterprise decision-making executive that would benefit from your skills and experience.

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Brian Slingsby talks about Business Mentoring.

Testimonials from our Mentees

Elise Sterback

Basement Theatre


"It was so valuable for me to have a regular sounding board and an outside eye to our business. In our industry, we get quite stuck interacting with the same networks, and it was very refreshing to learn how things are done in other sectors. It was also very positive for me to feel like I was working on my own professional development."

Sebastian Mackay

The Better Comms Co


"Jung Chun has taught me more about business than I ever thought I'd need to know. He's helped me refine my vision, discover my niche and inform my decision-making process while allowing me to make my own mistakes and come to my own conclusions. Jung taught me a lot about the intersection between business and life, which has been hugely influential. Business Mentors did an amazing job placing us together."

Marc Taylor

Taylor & Sons Drainage Ltd


"I think it is important for new business owners to seek help from people who already have experience at running a business. I have been a tradesman for 26 years, but I was clueless about running a trades business. Getting a business mentor has given me clarity and helped me move in the right direction."

Alison Johnson

Sphaera Ltd


"Our mentor has been amazing, hitting the ground running with us at a critical time in our business. She is helpful, responsive and knowledgeable. We are very grateful to have access to this service."

Jeff Cameron

Rage Against Chemicals


“Peter has been excellent as a mentor.  He has great experience, is patient, knowledgeable, level headed, organised and professional.  His business skills, open-mindedness, and hard truths have been invaluable.  He's a top guy and I consider myself lucky and privileged to have had him as a mentor.”

Richard Conway

PureSEO - The Search Engine Specialists


"I had two mentors support me when I first started my business, they helped me during the stressful early years. That's why I am a strong advocate of having a business mentor for your business. My company wouldn't be as successful as it is today without their help."

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Do you have what it takes to be a Business Mentor?

BECOME A MENTOR NOW