News - June 2005

Free Business Mentor Service

A free mentoring service for Cumbria’s fledgling businesses begins this week when 20 highly experienced business people team up with small businesses across the county to share their expertise and knowledge of the local and British economy.

Business Volunteer Mentoring Service (BVMS) will match the individual mentors to small business where the more experienced mentor has faced similar challenges during their working life. BVMS say this will normally be a long term relationship of 18 months.

Dave Pearson, a retired owner of a manufacturing business in the Eden Valley, summed up his decision to act as a mentor: “I’ve had a long and successful business career and the knowledge I have could be very beneficial to the less experienced.

“It will also keep me in touch with the business community and I feel that in this way I can make a positive contribution to the Cumbrian Economy”, said Dave.

BVMS will be run by Richard Knowles, the former manager of Made in Cumbria who made a name for himself in that post as a leader with flair and drive. Richard decided 18 months ago on a sabbatical beginning with a 12 months tour of Europe and beyond. He now returns to the fray.

“We’ve found a group of 20 excellent mentors, the majority have been trained and assessed, and some have already begun working with our client base,”

said Richard the BVMS programme manager.

“They’re all very experienced business people, some retired and others still working, and all willing to impart their hard won commercial knowledge.”

Richard adds: “A small business client-base has been found by a postcard mail shot depicting a rather fetching camel photographed on my travels in Morocco. The camel is named Zig Zag, and like most businesses, it never travels in a straight line!”

“We are looking for a further 20 volunteer mentors. Cumbria is a large county and we need to be able to cover all of its geographical area. I am particularly keen on finding some more in Carlisle, Furness and West Cumbria - people with retail, hotel and catering, or manufacturing experience”.

If you have valuable commerce experience which would benefit a small business and can spare half a day a month: or, if you think mentoring could help you develop your business, please contact Richard as below.

BVMS is operated countywide by Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency on behalf of the CLEAN network of Enterprise Agencies. It is a free service to business, which aims to complement existing programmes of advice.

Contact Richard - 015242 63100 or richard@bvmcumbria.co.uk