What is a Mentor and a Non-Executive Director?

As an entrepreneur, it is important to develop information sources that can assist in operating your business effectively. This could be other small business owners with some experience, conferences, workshops, credible websites relevant to your industry, and a range of other sources.

All of the above are important points of reference, but when you have identified specific problem areas or challenges you can't seem to resolve on your own, it may just be time to seek the advice of a business mentor.

What Is a Mentor?

In general terms, a mentor is an experienced person who guides another person's development in his or her education or career. In the context of a small business, a mentor would be someone who helps you gain more insight into the various areas of running a successful business.

A mentor will give you advice and ideas, offer potential solutions to problems and help to set goals for your business, without actually doing it for you. Essentially, a mentor is a teacher rather than a consultant.

This means you should be ready to be open to listening and learning.

Advantages of having a Mentor

• Low cost. If you can't afford expensive and often time-consuming training courses, a mentor may often provide their service at no cost to you. They are also able to provide that all-important on-the-job training.
• Years of experience. With a wealth of experience behind them, a mentor is someone you can turn to for professional, objective advice and guidance.
• Proactive problem-solving. With the help of an experienced mentor, you can avoid making common mistakes by being pro-active in identifying potential problems, and implement solutions that have proven successful in their experience.
• Continuous training. A mentor can give you hands-on training in their area of expertise and be available for questions as and when issues come up.

Being an entrepreneur is challenging enough without having to feel that you are isolated. Don't wait until your business is in trouble before seeking a mentor for your business.

Please CONTACT US for more details.

What is a Non-Executive Director?

A non-executive director, independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a company or organisation, but not a member of the executive management team.

An executive director is a member of the board of a firm (or a non-profit organisation) who also has management responsibilities. A non-executive director is a board member without responsibilities for daily management or operations of the company or organisation.

In the UK, both executives and non-executives have board-level roles and both have a fiduciary duty to the company and must act in the best interests of the company.

There are codified duties of directors detailed in the Companies Act 2006 (s.172), alongside provisions around directorship in the UK Corporate Governance Code.

Advantages of having a Non-Executive Director

• The role of non-executive directors is broad.
• Non-executive directors are not employed by the company but appointed through a letter of appointment.
• They provide experience, advice, and knowledge to support your business.
• They bring an independent perspective to decision-making.
• They also support and mentor you and your senior management team.

Non-executive directors receive compensation, which tends to be a function of the size of the company, time commitment, and complexity of the role.

Please CONTACT US for more details.