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Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

means that the precise nature of the support – and therefore whether it can be
described as mentoring – can be blurred (Gravells, 2006).
5.1.2. Successful mentoring relationships
Mentors tend to be older, more experienced self-employed entrepreneurs or
executives/senior management who are either still active or recently retired. The
stereotypical image of a business mentor is the ‘white, male retired bank
manager’ though evidence from the EQUAL programme illustrate that mentors
can come from more diverse backgrounds (Johnson et al., 2008), for example,
through unlocking the considerable entrepreneurial skills possessed by those
from more disadvantaged backgrounds who are engaged in small-scale
commerce.
Successful mentoring relationships are dependent on six features (identified
in Figure 12). In addition, clear ground rules on what the mentee/mentor
relationship is expected to achieve and the right ‘chemistry’ play an important role
in a successful relationship (Cull, 2006; Gravells, 2006).

Figure 12. What works in entrepreneurial mentoring relationships

Self-efficacy of both the mentee and mentor is a key-determinant of a
successful mentoring relationship (Pittenger and Heimann, 2000). In mentees it
allows them to take full advantage of the developmental opportunities provided
by mentoring arrangements (see also Chapter 4.3.2) while for mentors as it helps
them embrace all possible opportunities available to the mentee.
The mentor’s expertise, experience and availability to perform the mentor
role are all important to the success of the mentoring relationship. In particular,
mentors should be able to adapt or tailor their approach to the needs of the
novice entrepreneur to support the desired learning outcomes (St-Jean and
Audet, 2009). Approaches that empower mentees, and that reduce their
dependency on their mentor, helping increase their self-confidence, prove
particularly successful (Cull, 2006).

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