5 Advisors you need to Start & Grow your Business

All have something to offer you and your business, if you know how to ask. You’ll learn how below.

Topics about finding Advisors: Why? Fellow Founders, Mentors, Local Talent, Industry Experts, Investors.

Network to meet the right people is one of the best things you can do for your startup. While it’s certainly possible to start a business on your own, it’s almost impossible to advance far, without Advisors in your corner helping you along the way, in one way or another. The types of people you meet, and how you keep them in your circles, will have a massive (+) impact on how successful your business is.

Why Advisors are “fundamental” to your Success.

There are actually several ways that meeting new people can help you become more successful:

• Partnership. For starters, you may find people whom you can work with directly, in the business overall or in one specific dimension of the business. For example, a) you may find someone to start a business with, b) someone to hire or c) vendor or supplier to help your business run smoother.
• Resources. You may also get to meet people who have connections to major resources: Small Business Administration, Affinity groups, Meetups, Craig’s List, etc. This can give you new opportunities you would otherwise miss out on.
• Knowledge. Advisors usually know things that you don’t know. Talk to them for a little while, and you may be able to learn a new skill or concept, or just confirm an idea you’ve had in the past. There’s always new information to gain.
• Connections. Every new person you meet will have his/her own network of contacts, increasing your range of potential connections many times over. Those networks give you more potential ways to achieve any of the benefits listed above, with even more new people in your extended range of contacts.

The most important 5 People to meet

These are the best types of people to meet for Advisors, for any of the above functions:

1. Peers – Fellow Founders

Peers are also good to meet, though they won’t have as much experience as mentors or as much influence as industry experts. These are other business owners & managers in your area trying to do similar things you’re trying to do. (Start & Grow a Business) Since they occupy a similar or close “niche”, their network of contacts is likely to be highly valuable to you (and in turn, yours will be valuable to them). They’ll also be facing most of the same problems & opportunities as you, so you’ll be able to work together to find solutions and new paths to your goals.

2. The Mentor

is someone who has done what you’re doing — sometimes many times over. He/she will have a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, & experience that you don’t have, and will be able to give you the best advice, resources & insights to the situation. As an added benefit, most advisors in a Mentor position already have their own extended network of different contacts, which you’ll be able to tap to meet your needs. There are many key places to find mentors.

3. Local Talent

The benefit of local talent is that you’ll find people already skilled in one key area (or more), know how to market and are already connected into your region. You can find these people fresh out of college, starting businesses of their own or even working with other entrepreneurs. Talk to a lot of people and you’re bound to find the best one for you.

4. a loco (local) Industry Expert.

One of the best ways to build a reputation and tap into your local market is to meet Advisors who already have a reputation in your local area. There are two main benefits to this. First, you’ll gain the secondary reputation advantage of being associated with this industry “influencer” — who could share your material and give it a huge boost, or send new social media followers your way. Second, this person will be able to recommend resources, opportunities & contacts for your needs.

5. The Investor

Your business needs working capital to get moving, even if you have a frugal business model (ie, Boot-Strapping). Unless you have a lot of capital to work with on your own, you’ll need to find an investor to help you scale up & grow or bail you out of tough situations – as your Advisor. Many key areas to find investors abound – including dedicated platforms & opportunities, but none are strictly better than others. Investors are also valuable sources of wisdom & connections, especially if they end up holding equity in your business.

Conclusion: The problem with trying to meet these types of people is that nobody has a sign around his neck advertising what type of person he or she is. The solution to the problem? Meet as many people as possible, in as many contexts as possible. You never know what someone is going to be able to offer you as an Advisor, or what you’ll be able to offer them. It’s in your best interest to diversify your new meetings as much as you can – to find a wide variety of Advisors.

Comments: Do you know any types of people, who can help you start or grow your business?

from Entrepreneur.com 22 Dec 16 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

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