Mentor scheme marks first year

The Bradford Kickstart mentoring project has achieved its first year target by establishing more than 60 relationships and is now looking to expand.

It gives start-up and growing firms access to guidance that would otherwise cost a small fortune in consultancy fees.

Mentors include people who have run local businesses for up to 30 years and senior managers in major companies who meet voluntarily with their partner firms at least six times over a 12-month period.

Coun Adrian Naylor, Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration and the economy, said: “It’s a remarkable project which is a credit to the mentors. New and young businesses can learn a great deal from experienced mentors, especially in today’s challenging trading conditions.”

The project, funded by the Council’s Kickstart enterprise programme, is run from the offices of Bradford Chamber of Commerce by Mike Whitehouse, who with Anthony Waddington also administers the successful ‘Be Involved’ project.

Lynne Ingham, who launched her weight loss business, All About W8 in Keighley last summer, is among those who have benefited from mentoring. Her mentor, Carol Buchan, runs Yorkshire Business Services in Ilkley.

Lynne said: “She’s been there, seen it, done it and got the T-shirt. If she doesn’t know the answer, she knows someone who does. One of the most beneficial things Carol said to me was ‘you're not doing enough.’ It was like a slap across the face but it got me thinking.

“If an independent, experienced self-employed person was telling me I wasn’t doing enough, perhaps there was some truth in that. Within a week my whole focus had changed.”

When Suzanne Smith’s father retired from the family engineering business, Henry Lewis and Sons, she took over. Suzanne said: “Although I had been with the company for 15 years, I realised that working in the business and working on the business were two different things. ”

She was put her in touch with Martin Fisher, co-founder of Bradford marketing agency This Is Chemistry. “I have found Martin’s input invaluable,” said Suzanne.