ARTICLES

A brief overview of the main topics you and the entrepreneur(s) should review in your first mentoring meeting. By covering off these elements you set a positive foundation for the mentoring relationship to start from.

Before You Meet

• Review the mentee’s business plan and any other documentation Rise Asset Development provided to gain a better understanding of the mentee’s background and professional objectives.
• Review the Mentor Handbook.

The First Meeting

At Rise it will likely include your mentee and the mentee’s loan officer. You’ll likely want to block off an hour for this initial meeting to make sure you’re not rushed. At the first meeting, take some time to get to know each other. Share your professional and personal histories to discover similarities and differences. Discuss your mentee’s VISION for their business. Decide together on the overall business strategy for the next 12 months.

Once you’ve covered the general business elements, make sure to discuss each of the following items.

Connecting

Discuss the desired frequency of your meetings. Note, Rise recommends that you meet each other face-to-face once a month. Determine the protocol for rescheduling cancelled appointments. Discuss the best method for staying in touch between meetings.

Setting Priorities

Determining a productive use for your time together is beneficial to achieving your mentee’s business goals. This can be done using a structured or unstructured method. For a unstructured methodology, have the entrepreneur identify topics for discussion at the beginning of each meeting. For a structured methodology use our Setting Expectations and Goals for the Mentoring Relationship tool for each meeting.

Staying Focused

Identify a topic, the steps to achievement, along with desired deadlines where possible. Work on that topic only, redirecting back to the subject at hand if required. Slot other topics that come up for a future meeting, either electronically or in person. Direct clients to speak with someone in their mental health network if the topic becomes focused on their mental health.

Measuring Success

Briefly go over your collective goals and milestones — is the mentoring relationship still on target? Does your mentee seem positive and enthusiastic? If not, then revisit steps 1 – 3 from above.