Support for the Business Owner

Lily Llewellyn
Apr 28
2 min read

Updated: May 5

As a business owner, you need a team around you to encourage and support you. Completing your business mission is still going to be hard work, it’ll take time, be risky and you’ll get fed up on bad days, but your support will help you get to where you want to be faster, safer and with fewer tears shed than if you went alone.

Support for the Business Owner

There are five types of support that are needed for the business owner, which can be fulfilled by fewer than five people – you may have one person who fulfils more than one way of being supported. You may also have a great number of people who support you – you may have many peers and many people who you can confide in.

I argue you need a person in your life who is your friend, another who is your peer, someone who behaves as your therapist, your coach and your mentor. Let’s break down each of these support systems…

The business owner needs someone who can encourage them and send them with positivity. A friend is the person who wants the very best for the business owner and who can be mutually confided in.

The friendship role is different to the role of the peer, even though a friend can also be a peer and vice-versa. The peer is somebody who is in a very similar position to the business owner, with a similar level of experience. The peer is able to provide a necessary form of support because they can relate and understand in ways that other people cannot. Peer groups are a fantastic way to offer championship and insight for all business owners.

Different to the friend and the peer, is the therapist. Therapeutic support is support that focuses on psychological and or emotional hurdles that come up for the business owner. While therapeutic support may come from a trusted friend or peer, it is best kept in the strong hands of a professional and licensed therapist.

A coach is slightly different from a therapist as the coach offers support in reaching goals. The coach will help focus on where one wants to be and helps to reach this destination. Despite being empathetic and well attuned, the coach may not fully understand where the business owner is or is going. This may not be a drawback! In fact, the coach’s fresh perspective and curiosity often becomes an advantage.

There is a time and place for support from a person who has a breath of knowledge and experience of the business owner’s situation to share, however – which is purpose of the mentor. The mentor can offer guidance and recommendations to the business owner based on their own experience. The wealth of experience the mentor can share is wholesome, powerful support!

The business owner needs support in a range of ways and from different people. Having somebody who can fulfil the role of a friend, a peer, a therapist, coach and mentor gives the business owner a strong foundation to build a strong business that provides a service to their clients and community!