The problem with being over confident, which I am, is that one can become a little arrogant and a ‘know it all’.
In my life, I have always had to make the decisions that I feel are right for me and this has often meant that I have gone against cultural norms, gender expectations, religious teachings and corporate competencies.
When I look back to see how I started out in life and where I have ended up, my natural conclusion is ,’I know what is best for me, I haven’t done that badly on the decisions that I’ve made, so I must be doing something right.’
Throughout my life journey so far, I have asked very few people for help and guidance. Partly because I feel I can make a judgement better than they can – you see it’s that arrogance and over confidence again.
Over the last few months it has been my business life that has helped me to become more humble in my approach and learn to trust and respect other people’s experience and opinions.
If a year ago someone had suggested I get a business mentor, I would have laughed and criticised them behind their back for suggesting that I – of all people – should need someone else telling me how I should be running my business! Please.
I felt ‘Business Angels, Advisors and Mentors’ were the new buzz words for entrepreneurs and a little like tweeting and Facebook, it felt like you just had to have one for the sake of it.
I mean how many entrepreneurs or successful businesses do you know who state: ‘I could not have done it without my business mentor?’ I may be cynical, but you know what I mean don’t you?
I met millionaire businessman Neil Warnock whilst filming Beat the Boss last year and instantly liked and respected him. I got talking about Miamoo and my vision for the next 5 years and after listening to me he said, ‘you have to meet my mate Kevin, he’s fantastic, he knows your market inside out, you have to meet him, I’ll get him to contact you.’
Normally, my reaction would have been, yeah, yeah, whatever, but there was something about Neil and the way he talked to me that made me think, Ok, I will have a chat with Kevin and I will make an effort to take him seriously.
Sure enough, true to his word Neil introduced Kevin to me and after a few email exchanges we decided to meet. I wanted him to give me an insight into the baby market and also to cast his eye over my business and share his thoughts on how he felt I was doing.
When I first saw Kevin, I wasn’t sure what to make of him, he was dressed casually and for some reason I thought he might be flash, but he wasn’t, instead he was an extremely smart successful entrepreneur.
Kevin gave me his honest opinion of Miamoo, in short, ‘a great product, it needs to get it into the hands of more mums and it needs to be made more accessible to buy.’ I know this isn’t rocket science, but the most important thing that Kevin said to me was: ‘I know how and I will help you.’
I left that meeting a different person, for the first time in 3 years I felt that someone had given me some honest feedback but also helped me with solutions and given me insight into real opportunities to take my business to another level. I was elated.
I got back home and seized the opportunity to formally ask Kevin to be my business mentor, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I never thought I would ask for anyone to be my mentor, but it happened.
He agreed and ever since that time Kevin and I have been constantly texting, emailing and meeting. It’s great being able to bounce ideas off someone else. For a long time I have felt quite lonely making all the decisions and not knowing if they were always the right ones.
With his guidance over the last few months, I have saved money on my warehousing, I have changed the way I buy my product from the manufacturer and I have opened up new distribution channels.
Next week, I have a meeting with a distributor that could mean a huge export deal for Miamoo. It’s unbelievable and I must confess I could not have achieved all this by myself. Whilst I have my strengths, I have had to admit my limitations and swallowed my pride to take direction and orders from Kevin – he has proved himself and I am not one to argue with success.
I cannot imagine running Miamoo without Kevin’s guidance. My advice to anyone else out there who may feel they are stuck in a rut or just need someone to cast their eye over a business plan, is to go and seek out a business mentor. My tops tips for choosing someone would be as follows:
* Choose someone who is a success in your line of business.
* Make sure you like them and get on with them
* Be prepared for honest feedback and willingness to take direction
* Talk to your mentor regularly
* Be prepared to put in the hard work if you need to make changes to your business.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that a business mentor will solve all your problems, or they take all the hard work off your hands. At the end of the day the business belongs to you and you have to still run it on a daily basis. Your mentor is not there to blame if things go wrong, nor are they there as investors or to borrow money from. They should be there to provide guidance and give feedback – it is up to you to decide what you do with that.
I want to THANK Neil Warnock for introducing Kevin to me and I want to thank Kevin for being my guardian angel and for believing in my business and giving me his time. I hope one day I can repay all your kindness and make you proud of me as a businesswoman.
Saira’s website: click here
Miamoo: click here
Do you run your own business? Could your business, like Saira, benefit from mentoring from an award winning female entrepreneur? Enter our RBS competition on the home page and win business mentoring for a year.
Tags: Mentoring, Saira Khan
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