Working with a Business Mentor

Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a business mentor? We ask Jane Vandemeer, CWC treasurer and board member for her advice.

Jane Vandermeer is a creative & entrepreneurial thinker who doesn’t thrive under red tape or lots of rules. Having worked within the Fashion industry for 30 years, you can definitely say that fashion and small business is in her blood! Her strengths are to problem solve, particularly with a small budget, and to look into a small business to see what areas need help and guidance. Read Jane’s advice on working with a business mentor, and what you can get out of it.  

Part of my story

Not sure about you but I often found it challenging to cost up my garments. There was also the difficult task of promoting myself. Whether I was producing a range, making one-off pieces or providing a service (they were harder actually!), there was always the conundrum:

How do you price something when you are not sure how long it might take?

Perspective customers need a price or price range. So many times, I wanted the sale so I guessed the price, hoping that I was close to right. But it can be hard to remain competitive, cover your time, costs & make a profit!

Having a professional mentor can help

A professional mentor will look at your business from a different perspective. It is so hard to do that yourself when you are in the thick of small business.

Life gets in the way. It can be hard to keep yourself accountable. It is easy to push things to ‘next week’, particularly the things you don’t love doing.

One of the benefits is that having regular meetings with a mentor creates accountability and deadlines. It is one big way that can help propel your business forward, and significantly quicker.

Who is mentoring suited to?

• You are at the start up stage and not sure where to start. This includes important things like where to focus or spend money first.

• You have been in business for a while, feeling like you are working around the clock but can’t seem to get ahead and not sure why.

• You are looking at an exit plan but not sure how to do that

• You are passionate about so many things

• Those who are willing to take advise & learn

• Those who are brave to grow

• Many creatives’ are multi-dimensional but this can be overwhelming. Then comes paralysis…so you do nothing! A mentor can keep you going.

Tips when selecting your mentor

I often describe selecting a mentor as like selecting a councillor. Working one-on-one with a mentor is such a personal experience. If you are going to invest in a mentor, you need to connect and align with the right person.

A good place to start is to spend time at an initial meeting to ‘get a feel’ about a perspective mentor before diving in. If after the first meeting you don’t think you’re the right fit, that’s totally ok. Be upfront - they might also be able to recommend someone who is. 

Do you want your perspective mentor to be someone you admire?

Are they someone who has achieved or brings experience within the areas you need help & support?

Considerations for offerings/packages

In the initial meeting together, whether that is online, on the phone or in person, ask lots of questions. Make sure you are both clear on things like fees and what the mentoring service involves. 

Mentors might have different fee structures depending on the type of service you require. Here are some examples:

• An hourly rate. This is good for casual mentoring where something is project/problem based. 

• A program with a set number of modules. This type of structure gives perspective clients an idea of prices up front, so there are no surprises.

Some areas to consider:

• Appointment/meeting duration

• Frequency of meetings

• Does it include support such as emails, resources, phone calls outside of meetings?

• Are there certain days you can communicate?

• How is the payment system structured?

• Many do offer payment plans. This is often great for cash flow for small businesses.

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarity if you are not sure and get everything in writing. 

Expectations

It is good to set some expectations between yourself and your mentor too. Do you want someone to ‘teach you’ how to do various tasks/aspects of your business? Or do you want someone to ‘do it for you’?

Different mentors will have different approaches. For me, I have always come from the space of teaching & sharing knowledge, so that you are empowered to know, understand & grow. Everyone works in their particular way and there will be a mentor which will suit your style. 

Here is an example of what a mentor does…. 

A beautiful client of mine had been in business for over 5 years (so not a start up). She was working very hard yet not making enough at the end of each month.

After spending the time to understand her costs and sales. I discovered that she was only making 2% profit margin on many of her services!

We worked on a solution which gave her four options/strategies to increase profit within those existing services. The important thing was that they were all practical & easy to implement.

Her services were back up to 75-90% profit margin and best of all, it didn’t require that business owner to work any harder. 

A final note…

Different ideas can provide a different perspective to a business. Professional assistance can help set up ways to attract prospective clients who happily and joyfully pay for your beautiful and considered work!

Jane is the owner of Finesse Business and Style which provides services in business mentoring and styling. She is also the founder of Intuitive Whispers which provides intuitive products for the heart and soul.

Meet Jenny Brown of Melbournalia

Wander down the northern end of Bourke St and you will find a colourful store filled with all things Melbourne. We chat to owner Jenny Brown, owner and founder about work, life and that wonderful pocket of the city known affectionately as Bourke Hill.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Growing up in the 70s in the big, flat, treeless north, before cafes, avocados or even colour TV, let alone the wonders of computer technology, mobile phones or Netflix was like watching repeats of a long Moomba Parade on a black and white TV with the sound turned down; uneventful, predictable but sort of quaint. I was the last of a huge family of 8, my parents were from the pre-war generation, the house held a multitude of memories and physical objects from a 30 year period. It was like living in a mysterious museum where a party had happened, but just before you arrived.

School was 12 years of looking sweet and pressed in my hand-me-down catholic schoolgirl uniforms. Straight after school, I discovered hair product, ripped stockings, coffee, pubs and boys. It was the 1980s. I studied art history and cinema studies.

Tell us about your career

My Career is in shopkeeping! My business is located at the top end of Bourke St, Melbourne, we like to call the area Bourke Hill.

How did you get into this industry?

Attrition! I wanted to be an academic, a curator or an arts manager, but I kept finding myself behind a counter. Eventually I gave in and embraced it.

On a typical workday, I have coffee (my partner kindly delivers) check emails, the news and plan the work day before getting up. I then exercise a little. On days when I’m not opening the shop I tackle some accounts and answer emails at home, head into the shop before lunch, assist my highly capable staff, who are better at running things than me with whatever needs doing. I serve a few customers, tidy a few shelves, have more coffee, maybe plan some new stock lines, or do some ordering… I talk talk, talk to customers and suppliers, lock up late, head home, have wine. Finally I shower and do some stretches, sometimes I read, but mostly I pour over Instagram & Pinterest for ideas... I sleep and get ready to do it all again tomorrow!

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your career?

Probably coming to the realisation that I’m a terrific shopkeeper and being completely OK with that.

Best creative memory?

Heading up the rickety warehouse stairs in one of the old Munro buildings behind the Queen Vic Markets to our first a Melbournalia pop-up opening in late 2011, which had been planned in mere months, put together on hope, many favours and a shoestring budget... seeing that the place was full of friends, family and well wishers!

What’s on the horizon for the future?

I’m happy. I’d like to see the neighbourhood of Bourke Hill develop further. There are some terrific new businesses around us, and the old Job Warehouse and Palace Theatre sites are being redeveloped, which will be great for the area. There are of course some fabulous established and iconic Melbourne businesses in our neighbourhood such as Pellegrini’s, The Paperback Bookshop, Hill of Content and Gallery Funaki. I’d like Melbournalia (still a newcomer at just 5 years old) to be counted among them one day.

If you had any creative business advice what would it be?

Probably...take advice from those you trust, but listen to yourself and follow your heart as well as your head. Also, learn to delegate. You can’t excel at everything, but you can excel at finding the right person for the job!

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be and why?

My mum in 1953 (10 years before I was born). She had a whole bunch of kids, no car, the most basic appliances, a handsome, hard working but troubled war veteran husband, few outfits in her wardrobe, a jar of Ponds Cream and a lipstick on the dresser. Yet her house and her family were her pride and joy, both were always spotless, nothing went to waste, there was always good food on the table and fresh smelling washing on the Hills Hoist. One day in her shoes and I would never be complacent again.

Q&A with Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer

Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer is a journalist and editor of the delightful Peppermint Magazine. Find out more about her creative career, and the things which make her tick.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I grew up between New Zealand and Scotland, so I have a slightly weird accent, but on the plus side, I have two passports (hurrah!) and feel equally at home on both sides of the world.

I have an honour’s degree in English and a masters in Journalism. After uni, I moved to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for six months to teach English. It was also where I got my first taste of being a journalist – I started freelancing for a local magazine, which sent me all across the city on the back of a motorbike to interview lots of weird and wonderful people.

What do you do?

I’m editor at Peppermint magazine – a quarterly Australian publication focused on style, sustainability and substance. We’re an independently owned publication telling the stories of people doing good in the world, covering topics such as ethical fashion, food, body positivity, mindfulness, zero-waste living and lots more – and each issue is certified carbon neutral. We also run a series of events called PepTalks, where we gather our community together for inspirational, uplifting talks from people from the pages of Peppermint and beyond.

Tell us about your career

Apart from a brief stint as (possibly the world’s worst) radio news reporter, I’ve always worked with the written word. I started by writing for free and building up a decent portfolio before getting my first job as editor of an Edinburgh-based website and then moving to Brisbane and eventually nabbing the role of deputy editor at Peppermint.

The biggest challenge in my career was finding a role where I could use my skills to do something that felt like I was contributing to the world in a meaningful way. That type of job is super rare, so I’m still – five years later – so grateful to have found it in Peppermint.

There are SO many things I love about my job, but getting to interview amazing people I admire is a definite highlight – as is working with such a close-knit team of cool, clever creative women. And the days we get sent free donuts are pretty great too.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

Depending on what stage of the production cycle we’re at, you might find me dreaming up content ideas, briefing freelance writers and photographers, interviewing people, going over budgets, liaising with advertisers, editing stories, looking through photoshoots, helping to plan/strategise online content, brainstorming coverlines, and, of course, answering a million emails. There’s a fair bit of swooning over beautiful ethical brands too, which never ends well for my bank balance.

Best creative memory?

Best creative memory? That feeling when you’re writing and you’re so deep in the zone that you don’t notice time passing or get the urge to check social media. Cal Newport has a book about this called Deep Work, which should probably be next on my to-read list.

What do you get up to when not working?

At the moment I’ve been doing lots of pickling, knitting, reading, op-shopping and listening to podcasts (Desert Island Discs, The High Low and Soul Music are my current faves). And I do enjoy a big ol’ stomp around the streets with my dog by my side.

What’s on the horizon for the future?       

You never quite know what’s in store for the future so I always try and remind myself to stop and be present (and grateful) in this moment – but fingers crossed it involves continuing to do work that feels meaningful to me.

If you had any creative business advice what would it be?

I’m not entrepreneurial at all and am in complete awe of anyone who manages to run their own business. I saw a quote from Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day a little while ago that said something along the lines of: “If you run a creative business and you’re making it work financially then you’re basically a genius”. So high five to all you geniuses out there.

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be and why?

Can it be a fictional person? Lyra from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy for her fearlessness, bravery and sense of adventure – and also because she has an animal demon who’s always with her, which is basically my dream come true.