Real stories of how mentoring transforms founders and their businesses

Setting up and scaling a business is hard. Much harder than you think – and often quite lonely too. Hats off to the over 5 million small & medium business owners in the UK who have been brave to jump in!

Many get started because they believe deeply in their skills and the market opportunity. But as the business landscape evolves, they soon realise they need help.

From working in the business to working on it

Often, the real challenge is finding the spark to work on the business, not just in it – to drive the next phase of growth. At this stage, founders are no longer working solo; they have a growing number of employees, customers and suppliers to support.

I have been a business mentor in the UK for a couple of years now, and to me, professional business mentoring is about growth – not just business growth, but personal growth too.

But this blog is not about me. It’s about the impact mentoring delivers – helping founders and business leaders grow

Real stories, real impact: how mentoring transforms leaders

Edgar, founder and CEO of a £1 million+ software business, was looking to get his passion back, not stay stuck doing a job, but “make it a real business”. With about 30+ employees, and a business that had survived for 15+ years, collaboration was limited and decision-making was centralised – everyone looked to Edgar for approval.

With mentoring support, he reflected on his leadership style, redefined the company’s purpose, and built a more focused strategy that empowered a leaner team. Instead of saying yes to every customer request, he took a data-led view of revenue to identify where to invest and make the business future-ready. Mentoring helped Edgar gain clarity and, in his words, “raise his sights upward.

Tanya ran a fledgling business support services company with a few like-minded associates. A family-centric approach, many projects were ad hoc and decisions not data-led but based on instinct.

She needed help shaping a go-to-market strategy to scale and reduce dependency on her personal expertise. Over 12 weeks, mentoring helped her find product-market fit, define her ideal customer persona, and take a more strategic view of growth. Along the way, she also built confidence, overcame impostor syndrome, and achieved better work-life balance.

From tactical execution to strategic leadership

Rehan and Harry, both experienced sales leaders in growing B2B businesses, used mentoring to strengthen their strategic selling and leadership skills. Mentoring helped both of them learn about and become confident in strategic selling, reflect on their leadership style and take a data-led approach to achieve their ambitious sales targets.

While Rehan achieved his annual target within two quarters, Harry achieved it by focusing on key clients rather than spreading himself thin.

Niamh, co-founder of a B2B marketing agency, was grappling with how to make business development more efficient. Rather than being caught in the daily grind, she wanted to step back and think like a business owner.

The mentoring sessions gave her space to reflect on her leadership style. In her words, they “helped me understand what was holding me back from fulfilling my potential.” Niamh learned how to approach difficult conversations and empower her team with the discipline and skills to drive growth.

Since then, the business has returned to profitability – and she’s become a more confident leader.

What truly changes through mentoring

Each mentee’s needs are different, but the outcomes are similar – clarity, confidence, and capability. Giving business leaders the tools and self-belief to lead with purpose is the biggest impact mentoring delivers.

Note: Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality

Mala Morris is an accomplished Board Advisor, Mentor and C-level leader with 40+ years cross
sector experience in private and VC-backed businesses in the UK and India in the Technology, B2B,
Retail and Consumer Sectors.

A full member of the ABM, Mala regularly advises and mentors CEOs of fast-growing UK-based
private businesses on growth strategy and building a resilient business.