Ian Theobold

Business Mentor

I was employed by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group for almost 30 years. My last role there was MD of one of their subsidiary companies. I ran that business for three years and in that time increased turnover from £4 million to £20 million and net profit from £1.3 million to £7 million.

I left in September 2004 to become self-employed, taking consultancy roles with small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and two interim MD positions with business brokers who buy and sell SMEs.

Since 2007, I’ve focused on business mentoring using the skills, knowledge and experience I’ve gained to help SMEs with their business issues.

The starting point for any SME owner is to understand why they’re in business - what are their goals and how they propose to exit.

All this requires a strategic plan with a route map of how they’re going to achieve their goals. This then needs to be broken down into tactical day-to-day tasks. Where is the SME now relative to its plan, and what needs to be done? What structure will be required, what funding etc? What are the key drivers that affect the business, and how are they tracked and measured?

It’s not the role of a business mentor to run the business, but to ask questions and challenge the business owners. A mentor must be their sounding board, second opinion and confidante.