Being a small business owner can be difficult anywhere, but finding someone to help when entering unknown territory can be particularly difficult in rural areas.
Nora Myers, executive director of West Virginia Women’s Business Center, recognized the lack of networking opportunities available in the rural areas of the state.
This isolation became an even greater problem when COVID left many small business owners at a loss for how to move forward.
“We have small businesses all over the state of West Virginia,” Myers said. “It is the backbone of the economy, our small businesses.”
While there were loans and financial programs available to small businesses during those initial months of lockdown, Myers felt there may be other ways to aid struggling entrepreneurs.
“The one thing that I think was missing was sort of that connection,” she said. “That connection with other small businesses or people that are maybe of more experience or have been through some things.”
According to Myers, mentor programs can be very beneficial for small business owners and studies show that business owners with mentors tend to be happier and more confident in the startup process and have a greater likelihood of still being in business in the future.
But where do you find a mentor — particularly in rural areas where choices could be limited?
With this thought in mind, the Start, Scale, Succeed Mentorship Program was born. The idea was to launch a mentoring program targeting women and minorities, although not exclusively, by matching mentors and mentees by their individual skills and needs.
Myers said the program used to match business owners with an appropriate mentor works much like a dating site while not limiting your options to your immediate location.
“You could be in McDowell County and find your perfect mentor up in Wheeling,” Myers said.
Mentees fill out a profile indicating what type of help they need and the type of relationship they would like to have with their mentor. Once the profile is published, potential mentor matches will be available and the mentee can choose who they would like to reach out to.
Laura Dulaney, owner of Big Sandy Brewing in Bruceton Mills, was one of the first mentees to participate in the Start, Scale, Succeed program and said it is truly “the gift that keeps on giving.”
Dulaney said she was willing to jump in there and join the program and meet her mentor. She matched with M.E. Yancosek Gamble, a business professor at Fairmont State University.
“I started with M.E. because I was looking for help with marketing, getting the word out, getting people to know about the business and getting people in the door,” Dulaney said. “M.E. has been great. She’s helping me with my social media, she comes down to the business when we have our meetings, so she is well aware of what I am doing there and she offers a lot of guidance and help and shows me what to do.”
Myers said not all business owners are looking for that long term mentor relationship so the system was designed to be as flexible as possible. Mentees can choose to do a one time meeting or commit to a longer relationship with established goals or anything in between.
Participants are able to conduct the relationships any way they want. If face to face communication is better for you, meet up. If you are more comfortable in the virtual world, log in and send that email, whatever works best for you and your needs.
“The benefit is the matching and then the support if you need it, but if you’re good – go off and do your own thing,” Myers said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to support small business and particularly women owned small business to just give them that extra boost that they need.”
Participants are not limited to only one mentor or type of help either and can continue looking for help with different areas of their business.
“I went to the mentorship because I knew I needed help with certain areas and it’s one of those things that I am going to continue to go to for help with certain things,” Dulaney said. “I am going back to get help in other areas like finance and banking.”
Participants can also choose to be mentored in one area, but also offer mentoring on a subject they may have more experience with.
Mentors can be anyone who feels they have something to offer small business owners and don’t have to be business owners themselves.
“Mentors are volunteering their time because they believe in giving back,” Myers said. “They believe in supporting women owned small businesses.”
The program also offers guidance on how to kick start your mentorship for those that may be new to the idea or the format of the program.
Dulaney said overall the program has served as a non-stressful way to meet people and get knowledge of resources she wasn’t otherwise aware of.
“It takes a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to raise a business,” she said. “So take all the help that you can get.”
Big Sandy Brewing has some big changes coming along, Dulaney said. The business has started serving coffee and espresso in the morning and recently had its winery application approved and will be transitioning into a winery this summer.
Dulaney said live music, games, karaoke and a new beer garden are all in the works as she moves her women owned and operated business forward with support from the program. She has even signed up as a mentor for anyone looking for guidance in her other business, boat, canoe and kayak shops and rentals.
Anyone interested in signing up for the program or just wanting more information can call the West Virginia Women’s Business Center at 304-825-5000, visit their website wvwomen.org and clicking the services then mentoring tabs, or visiting their location in Morgantown at 430 Spruce St., Suite 202.
“Take the plunge,” Myers said. “You don’t have anything to lose. It doesn’t cost you anything if you sign up, so test it out.”
TWEET @DominionPostWV
