Where will you go with your business?

Get more from your business with
ProMentor’s

Small Business Mentoring Program

Hi,

My name is Brent Combrink and, as a qualified executive coach, I’ve been mentoring and coaching South African entrepreneurs since I started ProMentor in 2003.

You’re here because you want to get out of the rat race of working too hard for too little money. You need money for a roof over your head not only today, but in your retirement years tomorrow, and you also need play time, family time, get-away time.

I know how it feels to be all alone in business with no-one to bounce ideas and brainstorm the problems with. And if you have staff and their families to look out for, the burden can be overwhelming.

It’s a tough space. But we entrepreneurs are an optimistic bunch and we do the best we can.

Having worked with thousands of entrepreneurs, I’ve learnt that, for most, “the best we can” is very easy to make even better.

Much better.

The case for business mentoring for small business owners:

The thing is, most entrepreneurs don’t know what they don’t know.

As an entrepreneur, I’m sure you’ll recognise this story: the intrepid entrepreneur leaves corporate life to go it alone, but before long, the entrepreneurial ship is sailing close to the rocks. This raises the paradox – to survive not just economically but as a species, we depend ever more on the successful small business, from home farming to high tech green energy and everything in between.

Whether you started your business from desperation or inspiration, the odds of succeeding are sadly against you.  In South Africa, only about 1 in 2 start-ups survive their first year. One of the worst ways to end a business is through liquidation or insolvency: between 2000 and 2005, South Africa averaged 6 757 business liquidations per year (Statistics of liquidations and insolvencies, Stats SA, Nov 2006).

There’s a lot to be afraid of, and feeling uncertain can jeopardise your strategic focus and jolt your confidence, turning even humdrum minor decisions into major stressors. If your business must give you your monthly income and a retirement asset, you might feel overwhelmed with everything that’s at stake.

But you don’t have to be a statistic!

My colleague and I have distilled our practical insights from our clients of what works into this powerful program specifically for entrepreneurs:

Your solution is ProMentor’s Small Business Mentoring Program!

Don’t believe me? Here’s what Richard said that made a real difference for him:

“ProMentor’s program taught me one thing that I believe all successful SME owners should strive towards constantly, and that is "to work on your business and not in your business".  This has had a big effect on the overall profitability of my business.”

         Richard Kershaw, Kerston Foods (18 months after the program)      

I’ve run the program since 2007 and our clients have been delighted with the clarity and confidence they get right from their very first workshop. We start by analysing how much you need from your business to retire with financial freedom. The next few sessions set up your strategic levers for growing the value of your business to help fund your salary and retirement goals.

The program’s middle parts build your confidence even more when you craft a laser-focused marketing strategy to drive business growth. After all, no business creates shareholder wealth without creating value for its customers.

Rounding out the program, the last modules build internal stability, focusing on business systems and people. This well-balanced curriculum gives you the strategic intelligence to confidently manage all key areas of your business. It’s like an MBA course for entrepreneurs.

You can’t build success by focusing on all the ways to fail. This mentoring program transforms fears and doubts to scenarios for success. Imagine how that would feel right now?

What about the cost, you ask? Clients have unanimously suggested I raise the fees because they got way more value than what they paid for. Fortunately for you, pricing has only kept pace with inflation. Even now, if the course were priced on the training content alone, it would still be a steal. But as the saying goes, wait, that’s not all!

With one-to-one mentoring supporting you between workshops, we will put the theory into practice, immediately making improvements to your business. And together with your cohort of peers in their own non-competing businesses, you’ll not only be supporting each other, but seeing real-life case studies in real-time, getting invaluable insights into new ways to solve old problems.

Need more proof that this can work for you? Here’s what Peter said about mentoring with me:

“Business mentoring with ProMentor has been fruitful – after only 7 sessions over 8 months, turnover climbed by 75% and net profit grew by 100%!”

         Peter Diedericks, The Key Club, ProMentor client in 2006

To find out more or to join the next program,
phone or email me now:
 082 425 2708 | email brent@promentor.co.za

Or maybe you’re not quite convinced?

What else can I offer that will help you find certainty in signing up? If you’re like me and like the big picture, yet you know that the devil is in the details, maybe this will help:

The Small Business Mentoring Program (SBMP) in a nutshell:

ü  ProMentor’s SBMP is specially designed for small business owners who want to do better business, better – a business that runs on its own without your hovering in it every day.

ü  Each program runs over six months in groups of four to nine people, meeting twice monthly for three hours per workshop, plus one hour of individual phone mentoring each month.

ü  You and your peers form a pseudo board of directors in the group workshops, where you support each other through gentle compassion and firm accountability.

ü  And the fees? I know how tight small business finances are, so with exec coaching rates easily exceeding R15 000 per hour, that’s just not accessible for small business owners. Lucky for you, ProMentor’s SBMP is much more accessible – you get seven hours’ mentoring every month for one incredibly low monthly fee. (See the fees section below.)

Outcomes and benefits:

ü  Know you are not alone. Yeah, it sound wishy washy, right? But I can’t tell you how often this feedback comes up time and again from past participants as a stand-out benefit.

ü  Confidence and certainty in what matters most to grow your business.

ü  Better business performance. We’ve had participants transform their business in meaningful ways, everything from a turn-around from imminent failure through to freeing themselves from the business for annual overseas family holidays.

ü  Your self-authored and complete business strategy.

ü  Become the CEO your business needs you to be. You can’t grow your business if you’re stuck in the operations of sales and delivery. Your new knowledge in entrepreneurship, leadership and small business management stays with you for life.

ü  Clarify your personal drivers for being in this business.

ü  Nurture an ongoing support network that can live years beyond the program.

Curriculum topics to build your small business CEO skills:

ü  Financial goals for retirement; calculating your business’ value.

ü  Business strategy.

ü  Presenting your strategy; strategic marketing.

ü  Lead generation and lead conversion.

ü  Business systems: building the business engine so it runs without you.

ü  All about your people: leadership and performance management.

Ready to try it out? Are you a good fit for the program?

Small business owners get the most from the program when:

ü  They are owner managers (alone or in partnership – ask me about co-owner discounts).

ü  Their business has fewer than 50 staff.

ü  Their business is at least two years old.

ü  They are computer literate with reliable access to internet, email and Skype.

ü  They show up on time to every session.

ü  They complete their assignments.

One more client testimonial never hurt, right..?

 “Having someone – safe, intelligent, informed – to talk to is one of the greatest benefits I’ve gained.”

         Gwen Nel, ARTicles Arts & Crafts, ProMentor client in 2006-7

Fees and payment:

ü  The monthly investment per person is R3 499.

ü  Fees are payable monthly in advance.

ü  Secure your place with a non-refundable deposit of R1 000 (deducted from the last month’s fee.)

ü  VAT to be added to all amounts.

Special offer for supplementary one-to-one mentoring or coaching

For a deeper experience and to fast-track your progress, get one-to-one mentoring or coaching between the group workshops.   The special offer for this is a reduced one-to-one fee of R1 850 for an additional two hours per month. That’s a 50% saving on our regular rates! This special offer is available to you during your program and for up to six months after your program.

How to join the program

Let’s talk about where you want to go with your business:

Phone or email me right now:
082 425 2708 | brent@promentor.co.za.

Yours in success,

Brent Combrink

ProMentor CC (CK 2004/009855/23) Sole member: Brent Combrink