Are you a slave to your business? Many business owners and managers find their original ideas and motivations for going into business have vanished, and they have just created another job for themselves. Running a business is no doubt challenging. And to be successful, you need to improve or borrow a set of skillsets, stay motivated when the going gets tough, and develop critical thinking skills when making solid business decisions. Remember, all the best athletes in this world have one thing in common – they all have a mentor, teacher, advisor, or coach to push them to achieve their very best. And just as mentoring, coaching, and advisory are essential to achieving a great sporting career, it has become crucial for running a successful business. Business Ignite has compiled this checklist on how you can easily and effectively find the best business coach. For convenience, we will use the word business mentor to encompass the meaning of business advisor, business consultant, and business coach. The right business mentors can bring a fresh and unbiased perspective to improving and growing your company. They will guide, advise, motivate, reassure, and push both you and your employees, helping your business perform at the optimum level. They can also help you and your company: – Increase the value of your business. Prepare your business ready for sale Identify strategic direction Increase your sales/profitability Improve employee productivity Target new business opportunities Achieve your goals Give you more time to do the things Overall, the right business mentor is more than just giving advice. More importantly, a business mentoring relationship has the word ‘business development’ written all over it, which is why you should investigate finding a business mentor sooner rather than later. They will support you, teach you, guide you and help you grow your business, as they are highly experienced professionals that can train you to become the business owner you dream of being. But how do you find such a person, and what does it take to get them on your side?