A Story of a Successful Women's Entrepreneurial Journey and Her Mentor

 "The best business decision I have ever made."

10 years ago, I began my journey as an entrepreneur. Previously I had worked in network administration, software development and IT security, but I was ready for a change. I slowly started to work on the business side of IT as a business analyst and process expert. I really enjoyed working in these roles, but I still wanted more. I was inspired to become an IT entrepreneur. Together with my partner, I started my own digital marketing and SEO Agency, but trying to break into the industry was tough. I learned that embarking on an entrepreneurial dream was not as simple as I thought, especially as I still had a very technical mindset and lacked the necessary leadership skills, despite being a business and process analyst for 6 years. I realized that if I was going to succeed in business, I needed a mentor, someone to guide me and help me on my journey.

As I was trying to get my business off the ground, I found it challenging to be a leader, as I was used to doing hands-on tasks in IT. I also found that as I began to focus on leading my business to success, some of the business processes became tedious and demotivating, as I wasn’t as busy in the sense that I was used to, after working in IT for so long. I began feeling disengaged with my business which was impacting on my productivity.   

When I finally got a mentor, my productivity levels increased, as I now had someone there to hold me accountable. My mentor was Rob Livingstone, the former CIO of Ricoh Australia, and current Principal of Livingstone Advisory. Partaking in a mentorship gave me many opportunities for both personal and professional development. After connecting with Rob, not only did I begin to excel in my business, but I also began really enjoying running my own business.

There are many benefits to having a mentor. Some of the most successful people in the world had mentors, including Oprah Winfrey and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg, and without their mentors, they might not have had the same level of success.

As a business owner, having a mentor was a necessity. I found being in a leadership position challenging, and out of my comfort zone. However, Rob helped me develop leadership skills, and showcase strengths that I didn’t even know I had. With his help, my passion for business grew and I began to manage my business more effectively. For the first time, I was excited about going out on my own, as I finally had the confidence to believe in myself and my abilities.

Not only did Rob provide me with professional advice, but he also became my trusted advisor. I was able to share my ideas and problems with him. As he had already achieved the success that I aspire for, I knew that the advice he gave me would be beneficial to myself and my business.

Seeking out a mentor was the best business decision I have ever made. Olga Ramos now runs a successful digital marketing agency (Digital Presence) that spans the globe. She says: "We are continuously expanding every year, and I know that without the support and guidance of my mentor, I would have never had the confidence or knowledge to make my business succeed."

Mentors Insync is making mentorship accessible to everyone and helps people to find the mentors they are looking for. To find out more please visit our website: www.mentorsinsync.com

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Women supporting women - This is their story.

Our Story

Sue – The Mentee

“Dee volunteered to be my mentor as part of a Graduate employment program and for me it was probably the most valuable part of the program.

Dee and I made a commitment to meet monthly and at first, I was nervous at our meetings and felt unsure what to discuss. I would write up discussion points beforehand, to help guide our conversation. These helped, but I always found that once we started talking, the conversation would flow more easily than I expected, and Dee would often offer advice and guidance that I hadn’t known to ask for.

Having someone with some independence from my work to talk to really helped me to tackle problems I came across. Dee provided a new perspective, helping me to shift my thinking, and she encouraged me to take action to solve my own problems.

Having regular meetings also gave me a certain amount of accountability, since she would ask how things had progressed when I saw her next month. This motivated me and helped me to build confidence. 

Having someone in my corner who was consistently helpful and supportive was hugely valuable to me.

The mentoring Dee provided benefited me emotionally but also helped me to become a more confident and capable employee. I hope that one day I will be able to provide the same sort of support to a mentee.”

Dee – The Mentor

“I expressed my interest in the mentoring program, as I wanted an opportunity to help graduates, who would often be new to the workforce, establish themselves in their roles. I have worked in this sector for 31 years and I felt it was time to pass on something of what I have learned to someone else, in the event it could be helpful.

Roles and functions are changing along with what we do, how we do it and which roles we work in. I felt I had something to offer a graduate in understanding why these changes were occurring along with how to work with and navigate them.

I was paired with Sue and discovered we had some similar interests – which was a great start! I always find that it is easier to establish connection with people where there is food involved, so we met for breakfast most of the time and, through this, quickly established trust and rapport.

I heard Sue talk about her aspirations and her challenges. We talked about how she could achieve her goals and the strategies to address things that she may not have come across before. I used my contacts where I could, and I watched Sue transform ‘before my eyes’.  It was wonderful to see this happen and understand some of the work Sue had done behind that transformation.

 I felt very privileged to share in Sue’s successes. When she secured a permanent role, I’m not sure who was more excited! Mentoring has been such a rewarding experience – I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

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