What is a peer-to-peer business mentoring group?

A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group is a group of Business Owners (usually around 12-16 members) who meet on a regular basis to discuss their challenges, concerns, issues, opportunities, and even financials, with the other members of the group offering advice and constructive input, in a confidential environment. A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group is usually chaired by an independent chairman, who has his/her own experience in business.

This is not networking. It’s a confidential setting for Business Owners who want help and support, and want to offer help and support, in order to resolve difficult challenges, maximise opportunities and help to craft effective strategies for each other. Whether the issue is operational, financial, structural or even personal, a good peer-to-peer group provides insight and perspective and to help Business Owners make better decisions and achieve more. It even offers accountability, where often there is none as a Business Owner.

The aim is to create a supportive, confidential group (some Business Owners see them as an ‘external board’) that will become a close network, giving you the energy, shared experience, and inspiration to drive your business, and you, forward.

What are the benefits to Business Owners?

A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group can offer alternative perspectives to issues and opportunities being faced, bringing clarity, and offering support when making the big decisions that Business Owners have to make.

Business Owners can challenge one another to think differently to arrive at better decisions, whilst also bringing their individual expertise and experience from different industries and sectors to the table. This access to a range of experience, wisdom and insights should help each Business Owner to make better business decisions, based on a wider range of input.

Having an outside, or different, perspective from other Business Owners from different industries helps Business Owners with their challenges. Each Business Owner’s opinions and experiences are of huge use to the others members in the group, and vice versa. It is very much a ‘give and take’ environment.

A good Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group will offer a safe and confidential forum for exploring opportunities in working out, sometimes critical, issues.

A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group is a great way for you to Identify gaps and blind spots in your business. As a Business Owner you know that you spend a lot of time focused on the day-to-day running of the business. A peer-to-peer business mentoring group can help you to step away from the business operations and to work on, not in, your business. You can discuss marketing, hiring, and growth strategies. That kind of mastermind mentality, even if only for half a day once a month, forces you to have (sometimes difficult) conversations that move you and your business forward.

Many Business Owners do not have the outlet to talk about the stresses and strains we all having running businesses because they think it will reflect poorly on them and their business. Having a group of peers that you can be open and vulnerable with makes it easier to let your guard down and be honest about the challenges you’re facing. A peer-to-peer business mentoring group can become your emotional safety net and ‘circle of influence’ that you can rely on to lean on, be there and not be judgemental when you need them most.

A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group allows you to meet like-minded business owners, who you may, in normal circumstances, not have met and allows them to benefit from your experience and expertise, as well as you benefiting in return; helping you find the ideal solution to your business challenges. Because a Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group contains non-competitive business owners it allows you to discuss your business as openly as you wish; which in turn gives you the maximum benefit.

What is the usual format for a Peer-to-Peer business group?

Peer-to-Peer business groups meet on a pre-set, regular basis. Some groups meet every month, whilst others might meet every two months or even quarterly. The venue will usually be a ‘neutral’ venue like a local hotel or a business hub. Meetings will follow a pre-set agenda which will often consist of introductions then a roundtable discussion, which may be on a particular subject (like HR, marketing, supply chain, sales, legals etc) or may be a discussion on one, or more, member’s most demanding business issue. Some groups will often have an outside speaker to come in and present on a particular topic, as a ‘learning’ session. Many peer-to-peer business groups also offer the opportunity for each Business Owner to have an additional one-to-one session, at a later date, with the Chair of the group, to provide individual coaching, mentoring and advice.

What is the difference between a Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group mentoring and a Business Sounding Board?

A Peer-to-Peer business mentoring group offers input from a wider range of people and requires a higher degree of mutual assistance, with Business Owners both giving and receiving support. In contrast a Business Sounding Board, like myself, is a one-way helping relationship, but one that can usually go deeper and more specific into a Business Owner’s issues and concerns. By definition, a Business Sounding Board is ‘someone that allows a Business Owner the freedom, time and space to talk openly about their challenges and opportunities, by means of quality questioning and active listening, and thus facilitates the discussion and exploration of their options in full, in total confidentiality, leading to a clear and focussed strategy going forward.’

What should you be aware of?

A peer-to-peer business mentoring group is only as strong as it’s component members, and maybe more importantly, the Chair of the group. It is important that everyone commits to the group fully, and as openly as possible and, as in many cases, will be a case of ‘the more you put in the more you get out’. There may well be personality clashes and/or just that the members don’t ‘fit’ with each other. It is important that you identify these issues as early as possible and it is incumbent on the Chair to see and solve any such issues. But the right groups and good quality facilitation offer genuine support and amazing results.

Where can I find a peer-to-peer business mentoring group?

At the time of writing this article I am looking at the possibility of setting up a peer-to-peer business mentoring group that I will chair. If you are interested in being part of such a group, or would either like to register your interest or find out more, please drop me an email to phil@philfraser.co.uk.

I recently visited a Bradford-based independent group called TBH Mastermind, but I know there’s national ones out there, like TAB and Vistage. There may well be one in your local vicinity. Perhaps just search ‘peer-to-peer business mentoring group near me’.

What Next?

If any of the above resonated with you and you’d like to discuss how I could help you on your journey as a Business Owner, then please give me a call, drop me an email or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I’ll be happy to have chat with you to explore how I may be able to help you. I’ll be honest and I may not be able to help you myself and in that scenario I’ll try and point you in the right direction.

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