Connecting small business owners to mentorship programs across British Columbia
MentorshipBC is an online resource for small business owners in BC to find and access mentor programs available to them. Using the search tool on the MentorshipBC homepage will provide users with a list of mentorship programs that most closely suit their needs.
MentorshipBC was created in response to demand from BC small business owners. It arose from the Provincial Government’s consultation with 35,000 small businesses. Raising awareness of mentorship resources was one of six key action items committed to in the
BC Small Business Accord, announced in March 2013.
MentorshipBC meets the need of small businesses to access the wealth of mentor programs in BC.
Best Practices
Mentorship programs you find through MentorshipBC have been screened to ensure they meet the following standards:
- Formal structured relationships (e.g. not an informal meet-up group)
- One-on-one mentor matching or peer mentoring
- Mentoring for a defined period of time
- Confidentiality and conflict of interest policies requiring acknowledgement from mentors and mentee
Programs featured on MentorshipBC also maintain most, if not all, of the following best practices:
- A policy preventing mentors from being investors in their mentee’s business
- A policy to ensure that mentors are not industry competitors to the mentee’s company
- A screening process with qualifying criteria of mentors and mentees
- A process to measure mentee satisfaction
- Program-related training for mentors
Guided by the Voice of Small Business
The MentorshipBC Advisory Group was formed to ensure that MentorshipBC meets the needs of small business. The Advisory Group includes small business owners and organizations that provide services to the small business community.
- Laurel Douglas, Women's Enterprise Centre (WEC)
- Jill Earthy, Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF)
- George Hunter, Small Business BC
- Paulin Laberge, iCompass
- Robin Lapointe, Lapointe Engineering Ltd.
- Dawn McCooey, Women's Enterprise Centre (WEC)
- Dave Mathieson, Nu-Tech Roofing & Waterproofing
- Cybele Negris, Webnames.ca
- Justin Rigsby, Holbrook Dyson Logging
- Annemarie Templeman-Kluit, Yoyomama.ca
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We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. |