Nike Jonah, who runs a small, specialist consultancy for clients operating in the arts and cultural sector, attended a Meet a Mentor event in London as a mentee.

By almost anyone’s standards, Nike Jonah’s career has followed an exciting trajectory. Creative and ambitious, she began by studying fashion design, before adding business and financial marketing to her qualifications. Next, she set off for America:

“I went with an open mind. I did a bit of fashion design when I was out there, making clothes for people. It was very informal – I was exploring opportunities to find out what I like doing. I’m actually interested in lots of things; I’m not one of those people who has to do just one thing.”

Over the following years, Nike worked as a model agent for top hair and make up artists, as a photographers’ agent and as a videographers’ agent. She developed a diverse set of interchangeable skills and eventually secured a job at the Arts Council working on a high-profile diversity programme designed to raise the profile of diverse artists in England.

“It was an ambitious programme of events and activities focused on increasing business opportunities for personal and professional development for artists.”

Today, much of Nike’s work still has a focus on diversity and equality.

“When I talk about diversity and equality I’m talking about what the government terms as the eight protected characteristics gender, age, disability, class, geography, race, sexual orientation, religion – all those of areas.”

Nike heard about Meet a Mentor through a friend who also runs her own consultancy:

“My friend is in a similar position to me. She’s set up her own consultancy and she also teaches. She said ‘I don’t know if you’ve heard of this but I think it could be good.’ My natural inclination is always to mentor but I thought ‘Actually, I need help with my business, I’ll sign-up as a mentee.’ I saw it as an opportunity to actually be in a space where I could listen and take onboard other people’s advice.”

In summer 2014, Nike worked on an arts and mental health festival called Anxiety, and she is currently developing an international fashion and ethics platform. Additionally, she is on the boards of two prestigious arts organisations: the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the European Cultural Foundation based in the Netherlands, which works to bring Europe together through culture. Despite the high-profile work she’s undertaken and her broad scope of professional experience, Nike remains open to learning new, practical working methods:

“You kind of need some practical tips. I met a lady at the Meet a Mentor event who was an accountant and told her that I wasn’t sure which systems to use when managing my books and accounts on the cloud. I said I was always impeccable in any job but that was because the infrastructure was already in place. She said ‘oh, you can get the cloud version of Quickbooks for £10 if you go through your accountant. That’s the kind of information I wanted – practical advice.”

Having made this connection, Nike has stayed in contact both with the accountant mentor and with another woman. For her, the roles of mentor and mentee are blurred so that the relationships become mutually beneficial with each individual playing both parts:

“I’ve been in touch with the lady who suggested Quickbooks and I’ve written to one other person I met there as well, just because we discovered in our conversations that she also needed help, and that she would like to pick my brains on how I might be able to support her.”

This two-way exchange of ideas, advice and experience is an excellent way to apply the mentoring model and, as Nike shows, there is always more to learn and someone to learn from.