Many successful and accomplished people, both in the business world and otherwise, have been helped by someone who invested time and energy in support of their endeavors. A mentor can make a huge difference at formative points in our lives and can often actually be the deciding factor on whether we succeed or fail. The benefits to the recipient are obvious, but being a mentor actually helps both the person being helped and the mentor, too!

For the mentee, the benefits are pretty obvious. A person can receive emotional and technical support and direction on available resources. Also the encouragement and correction from someone with experience in the field, and a shoulder to cry on when needed.

For the mentor, the benefits may seem less obvious and more intangible but are also life-changing. You may have had a mentor at some point on your own journey, and that can often inspire you to pay it forward by serving in the same role for another. This act of helping someone else to grow and navigate their life and career is rewarding both emotionally and morally. Selfless acts of kindness without any expectation of any monetary return are habit-forming!

Learning to serve as a mentor will also challenge you as the giver to reflect on your own behaviors and actions over time, as well as giving serious thought to your best practices, your own how-tos when it comes to avoiding costly mistakes, and your methods of recovery from past failures. The process of reflection on both positives and negatives will support your personal growth and maturation process and help prepare you to engage with new entries into the field.

Such an organic and positive process benefits not only the humans involved but the businesses, as well. More so, the entire business community will thrive in part through such practices. Healthy competition between strong and healthy business has been proven over time to be the best business model and allows commerce and trade to continually expand and grow. This helps everyone, business owners and consumers alike!I’m AnnaVija, and I am proud to be a part of the Nashville business community. Over the past decade, I have helped area business owners boost their profitability while also achieving increased personal fulfillment. I am also a mentor myself, and I have enjoyed equipping hundreds of young professionals with the skills and resources they need to transition from college into their own careers. I am here for you and would love to talk with you further about mentorship. Whether you want to become a mentor or receive help through being mentored, I’m m happy to share my knowledge and experiences with you!