Being inspired as an entrepreneur can mean big things for your business or organization. In fact, inspiration is a business in itself. A quick Google search will bring up a litany of articles entitled anything from “How to Inspire Employees,” or “How to Get Inspired,” with a dash of “Inspiration Messages for You” thrown in for good measure. It’s a quintessential part of being an entrepreneur – the inspirational area. A motivated, stimulated mind produces products that change lives. Inspired men and women cure diseases, invent unimaginable tech, or even create jobs that cause positive ripples in communities throughout the world. Sometimes inspiration comes from the work you do, other times it comes from the people you surround yourself with in the business community. A mentor to keep you on your toes can help you tap into some truly inspirational wells.
Spreading the mentor message was natural for Janice Omadeke, founder of The Mentor Method. “The reason I got started with this was because of my own journey, actually. I knew when I first graduated that having a mentor would be helpful considering I did not have any experience in a corporate setting. Two months after graduating I got a job for a very large corporate firm and it was sort of a “blind leading the blind” situation. It took me some time to find the right mentor. Based on my journey and how long it took me, I wanted to find a way to improve that for our future leaders. I wanted to improve that for women who were equally as hungry and give them the opportunity to connect with a mentor who can challenge them and inspire them and make them the best version of themselves.”
A business mentor is a relationship which can propel you to heights you never thought possible. But finding that special person to fight in your corner is harder than some might think. That’s where The Mentor Method comes in. “It’s an online mentor matching service. I provide the connections to trained, professional women who are equally involved in their communities and really interested in mentoring other women who are early on in their careers. When I say early on I mean early graduate to mid-level in their careers. Maybe they want to change industries or learn more about what it really takes to be an executive. I’m connecting those young women with mentors who really want to give back and are genuinely interested in sharing their knowledge and the ways in which they have navigated the corporate environment as a woman with the next generation of leaders.”
The role of mentorship takes a lot of trust between individuals. Understanding the basics of the relationship requires a comprehension of what mentorship actually is. “Mentorship is two-sided. The first side is being humble, being confident, and having a service that you want to share as well as your legacy with someone else as a means to help them become a better version of themselves. For example, as someone who has had a very strong career – there are roadblocks. There are hurdles you have to jump over and things you have to strategically navigate to get to that point. The willingness to share those stories and see someone else’s career roadmap, and help them navigate the best way to get to their own goals, that’s the definition of mentorship.”
In the hectic area of the DMV – D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, business does not rest and having a mentor ready to inspire you can be a saving grace when stepping into the fray, “Oh, it’s great,” Omadeke says. “The energy in the D.C. area is electric. People are hungry, people are ready, people are so focused on doing their best and reaching new levels. That’s what I see. I actually just got accepted into an incubator here in the D.C. area and the people that I met through there are incredible. The common denominator with all of us, even though we’re doing different things, is the strong, burning desire to help the world become a better place in some way. I think that speaks volumes to the culture of being an entrepreneur and the D.C. culture specifically – we want to see change and we want to contribute in some greater way to more than just ourselves.”
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Thanks to Janice Omadeke for this interview. Visit The Mentor Method for more information on her company and connect with Janice on LinkedIn.