Julia is the Director of her own business, Julia Damassa Ltd, which develops learning resources for businesses, organisations and social enterprises, she also runs Story Shapes which provides story telling resources for parents, teachers and children. She started her career as an English and Drama teacher, but 12 years ago decided to become self employed so that she could fit her work around her family, she says;

"I've found self employment to be an amazing journey and what I've learnt on that journey is something I'm very happy to share with others.

In some ways I've always been a teacher, I'm not a traditional entrepreneur, there's an element of vocation in me that's in there permanently, and therefore I felt that mentoring suited me very well indeed in terms of my career path and training."

Julia is particularly keen to give confidence to mature entrepreneurs who she feels have so much to benefit from self employment, she adds:

"For many people over 50 the idea of being self employed is very scary. I'm keen to help them discover that these can be wonderful, fun, and exciting times, as well as potentially financially rewarding too".

Her interest in mature entrepreneurs has been borne out of some of her most rewarding mentoring opportunities since Get Mentoring with PRIME (Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprises). Julia has mentored a couple of enterprises via that route and now has developed a passion for supporting women in that age group, she says:

"I certainly feel that if you come to business ownership later in life, a mentor is absolutely key to making it work, as it builds business confidence, and helps an individual explore how their own skills can best service the business. I try to get the head and the heart of a business person working, to help them think about every aspect of their enterprise - intellectually, emotionally and legally.  Essentially it's about making sure the business has strong foundations.

Through mentoring I feel that I've inspired them to consider the business as work, rather than personal, so that they hone in on the entrepreneurial qualities they have that can serve their business. What's great about mentoring is that it's completely tailored to who you're sat in a room with, no two people have the same ambitions or backgrounds, so what they bring to the table is a completely different set of challenges. I believe a good mentor is empathetic, they will put themselves in your shoes and take it from there."

One business she's supported is run by Fiona Lindley, an author who is now developing the commercial side of the business. Julia says:

"I've tried to help Fiona see her products in a business oriented way and to help her think about how the business can serve that artistry rather than compromise it, so that she can stay in control of her creative work ".

As well as participating in mentoring clinics for PRIME, Julia has also recently started mentoring for The Mighty Creatives in Leicester, which supports 16-25 year olds. She's very excited by the opportunity and has already delivered 12 hours of training to a social enterprise in the area, she says:

"Mentoring is a wonderfully sensitive and challenging way to ask good questions. I aim to get the head and heart of a business person working to achieve the best results for the individual and the business".

Julia has been thrilled with where mentoring has taken her and her business since she completed the Introduction to Enterprise Mentoring course in 2012. She says:

"The training was It was fantastic, I went to the Introduction to Enterprise Mentoring course run by Heather B Smith who was very inspirational trainer, and it came at such a brilliant time for me - really I couldn't say enough how much it changed my professional life.

I feel that mentoring offers something that no other kind of business support does. instead of being generic support, mentoring crosses the boundary into looking at the person and their entrepreneurial qualities".

Since the Get Mentoring scheme, Julia has integrated mentoring into her professional portfolio and,  as well as volunteering as a mentor, has recently added it to her service offering. She says

"I now run Damassa classes, which are hour long sessions designed to help business owners consider specific aspects their businesses. From suppliers, to legalities, to everything else, I help business owners overcome issues and develop confidence and excitement in their businesses again. I liken it  to being a music teacher, business owners are given areas to practice on so that they can fine tune their businesses for better results."

Julia believes that businesses should shout about the fact that they seek support from mentors, she says:

"It's a great thing for businesses to say they do, it shows that they're open to new ideas to ultimately have the knowledge to make their own decisions, that's a fantastic message to send out to customers."

To connect with Julia, sign up to the IOEE and send an email via the IOEE community.