"Don't struggle on your own."
That is Maree Tassell's advice for struggling business owners seeking a helping hand.
Tassell is one of 188 Bay business mentors in hot demand following a rise in start-up businesses and those seeking help planning a way forward after Covid-19 wreaked havoc in 2020.
The Rotorua businesswoman has used Business Mentors NZ three times in her career - now she is giving back as a mentor herself.
Business Mentors NZ is a nationwide service with 18 regional agencies and is delivered locally through the Chambers of Commerce in Tauranga and Rotorua.
Tassell first enlisted the help of a business mentor years ago when she was running three physiotherapy clinics in Rotorua.
Years later when Tassell was trying to build up her new business iFind Property she used Business Mentors NZ once again to help get systems in place.
"It was really helpful.
"It's like knowing the difference between a healthy and unhealthy marriage. I now have a very good business partnership."
Two years ago her business had grown and Tassell said she wanted to know how to move to the next step.
A business mentor in Tauranga advised her she had "outgrown" them and advised her to seek more high-level support.
So, she joined Entrepreneurs Organisation NZ.
"Having an experienced mentor give me that feedback gave me the confidence I needed to need higher-level support."
Recently, Tassell heard Business Mentors NZ was looking for mentors - so she put her hand up.
"I'm happy to help, it's my way of paying it forward."
She has one mentee who she meets once a month for an hour.
"It's all voluntary and it feels good to give back."
Tassell said she still enlisted the help of a mentor today.
"You're always wanting to be learning and always want to be accountable. Everybody needs help. It's not a weakness to ask for help. It's a strength.
"It's good business practice to ask for help."
Tauranga business mentor Lynette McClatchy said the impact of Covid-19 had seen many companies reach out for a business mentor.
"Though these have been challenging times for some, it has also presented opportunities for other business owners."
McClatchy won a Volunteer Recognition Award at Volunteering Bay of Plenty's VolFest 2021 in recognition of the voluntary work she does for Business Mentors NZ.
With her background in working across many industries, as well as establishing, operating and selling her own business, McClatchy said she felt she could make a difference by sharing her knowledge and experiences.
So when she retired to Mount Maunganui in 2019, McClatchy volunteered as a mentor with Business Mentors NZ and has worked with multiple small businesses in the last 18 months.
McClatchy said mentoring enabled business owners to discuss their unique journey with an independent, non-judgemental person whose only motivation was to see them succeed.
"It is their journey and I am there to support in any way I can, so I focus on challenging their thinking and what they are wanting to achieve, pointing out the cost/benefit or pluses and minuses of various options, sharing similar experiences, which often helps them get ideas and keeping them focused on their objectives.
"I do point out that every decision has trade-off implications, and the mentee needs to make their decisions, then own their decisions, with this in mind as priorities differ."
Rebecca McLean enlisted the help of a business mentor more than 20 years ago and still leans on them today.
McLean, who was a property investor at the time, said she was at a seminar when she first met an accountant who offered some good business advice.
"I attached to her as a mentor."
In 2017, McLean established her own business Katikati-based Tiny House Builders and says a business mentor has been "very useful" for reassurance she was on the right track.
"For me, my mentor has become like an extension of the business and we have developed a really nice relationship.
"It is about having that clarity and advice, not a family member or employee's perspective, but a completely external view, someone who has been-there-done-that who has a different picture, skillset and knowledge.
"It's also so affordable you almost can't afford not to do it."
Veros founder Peter Williams has seen a lift in Bay businesses seeking mentorship.
Williams runs an initiative called My Development, which connects Veros staff with business mentors from the community.
Its objective is to enable a confidential and transparent discussion from work and family balance to tough negotiation strategy, lessons learned from failure and anything in between.
Williams said 25 mentors from different businesses were helping seven local businesses who were part of the business mentor programme and "we want more".
There had been a 28 per cent lift in business interest, which he said was due to the programme's personable and easy-going structure.
There were time constraints to ensure participants maximised the opportunity, for example, three sessions of one hour at a local cafe, he said.
Williams said the programme helped businesses support their staff to improve productivity and wellbeing.
"It's a win-win for both employee and employer," he said.
"I think the mentors helped provide some peace of mind and reinforce the benefits of working in a team to achieve positive outcomes."
A programme runs for more than three months and the participant has the opportunity to renew for another term and meet with another mentor, he said.
"It's entirely up to the participants to choose how they apply those real-life experiences to their own journey.
"The success is meeting as many high profile mentors as possible, as all have unique stories to tell, and you never know the current or the next mentor may have the right advice you've been looking for."
'This decision has not been made lightly'.