Making a difference through mentoring

Amanda Montagu has been an entrepreneur since she was 18. With many successful businesses and accolades under her belt she says she's never considered any other style of working life. 

Amanda's businesses have been in recruitment, training, secretarial services and contract cleaning, and she has even received recognition from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills for her work to train unskilled workers from deprived areas into well paid jobs. Achieving her degree and postgraduate degree at night school whilst running her first business, she joined the Institute of Directors as its youngest female member when she was just 23.

These businesses have all led to her flagship business is the recruitment and management of teams for International businesses and large private households with offices in London and Geneva. Amanda was attracted to mentoring as she really wanted to give something back, she says;

"It was my total motive. If you have been self employed your whole adult life you've learnt a fair bit about the highs and lows of running a business".

She believes it's important that people that are self-employed feel there is a support network out there, people that have been there and done it, and made mistakes, so that you can learn from them, she says:

"If you look at businesses that have done well despite recessions, it's about mindset and attitude, having a mentor can help you ride the storms and run with the successes".

So when she saw the Get Mentoring training she was keen to take it up. She had some pre-conceived ideas about what mentoring involved and therefore says the training was essential:

"Mentors could go in very gung ho if they hadn't done the training, but it's important to learn to be a sounding board, to help people make their own decisions, and not to tell people what to do."

Amanda was keen to fulfil the volunteer commitment that went with the funded Get Mentoring training and therefore as she hadn't mentored since her course last summer, signed up to attend the Meet A Mentor breakfast which was held before the Women Unlimited 'Thrive!' Conference in March. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and loved meeting Michelle Hawkins, she says:

"I noticed Michelle straight away as a bright young woman who was really open to the idea of finding a mentor. She was keen to learn as much as she could from everyone there. I feel exactly the same way, irrespective of your age or how long you've been in business, you can always learn from other people's experiences. Any successful business person will tell you when they have had mentors it has helped with their success".

Throughout her working life, Amanda has always been open to finding mentors and was even invited to apply for a weekly mentoring slot on Radio 4's Women's Hour for businesses looking to expand internationally. She made it to the top 5 but was not selected. She was disappointed, however soon after received an email from the British Library with information about a mentoring scheme from Leonard Cheshire. Amanda has never considered herself as someone with a disability, but as someone who is dyslexic and was about to face a hip replacement, was able to receive support through their mentoring scheme. She was paired with a wonderful mentor called David McDermott who was a fantastic support for growing business.

Now, as a mentor herself, she's found it incredibly rewarding so far;

"I approached it in quite a structured way and had some set questions. I also brought some A5 cards so that she could mind map as we were talking. My work is to listen to hear about her, the decisions she's facing and support her as she tackles each one, whilst also allowing flexibility to explore new ideas too."

"I think that it's good that I come from a completely different background to Michelle as that encourages her to keep the terminology to a minimum and the offer simple, and I think it's from there that is really where ideas can formulate".

"I also think it helps that I don't have a vested interest in the decisions, I'm not coming in with a 'friends and family' role, so I can provide an impartial view."

When asked what Amanda got from the experience herself, she's unequivocal about the benefits in brings both personally and professionally, she says:

"When we talk through ideas, it's lovely to see somebody blossom and develop new ideas from the process. The experience I've had as a mentor is hands on and it's fantastic to share this so that they can look at things from a different angle. It's her world and she knows what she's doing, but I can help her think differently and explore all the options. It's inspiring and gives you a wonderful warm feeling."

She goes on to say:

"When it comes to your own business, it certainly gets your brain cells sparking in that direction too. Michelle and I used a mind mapping technique and it was only when I got back to the office that I realised I could be using this a lot more with the team too. You can't help but relate it back, it's bound to make you think about how you do things".

Amanda is still in contact with others she met at Meet A Mentor, and from a chance meeting at another event on International Women's Day, met a 'mentee' who had also been at the breakfast event but hadn't managed to find someone to connect with. Despite Amanda's busy diary she has also begun supporting her as a mentor too.

Amanda's passion for supporting others on top of her considerable business commitments is inspirational, and it's wonderful to see what a positive impact she's already having on Michelle's business.

Read Michelle's story here.