Lynne Featherstone MP, Minister for Equalities
In these difficult and uncertain times, it is more important than ever to provide people with real and practical help in order to start and run a business. I, for one, cannot stress enough how important the role of mentoring is in achieving this. Building a good network of people around you to offer you advice, feedback and encouragement will ensure you have the confidence and know-how to succeed.
Mentoring is something I really believe can make a difference to women in business and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without it. Before I became involved in politics I ran my own design company. One of the people I was inspired by was my mother who built up her own business from scratch. She was always on hand to offer invaluable advice and encouragement. But not everybody has a mother they can call on for this kind of advice and often you need different advice for different situations.
If you need help to find a mentor, then the government’s new scheme could be a good place to start. The Home Secretary has announced 5,000 mentors to support women’s enterprise and today’s announcement means that a further 10,000 mentors will be recruited and trained to help people set up or grow their business. I am confident that these mentors will use their experiences to help others achieve their potential and support our economy.
If women started businesses at the same rate as men in the UK, there would be an additional 150,000 start-ups each year. If the UK had the same level of female entrepreneurship as the US, there would be around 600 thousand extra women-owned businesses, contributing around £42 billion extra to the economy. It is clearly vital that we use the skills of everyone if our economy is to prosper.
So, whether you are looking to be mentored or volunteer to mentor someone else, I encourage you to get involved.
You can find out how to do this by visiting http://getmentoring.org/ and http://www.mentorsme.co.uk/
