Portsmouth Business

Support Service

In partnership with:

Join the Business Mentoring Initiative

Share your experience. Strengthen a Portsmouth business.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of Portsmouth. They create jobs, drive innovation, and strengthen our local economy.

Running a business can be rewarding, but it can also be challenging. Business owners often need an experienced sounding board to help them examine a problem, explore their options and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

The Portsmouth Business Support Service is looking for experienced professionals to volunteer as business mentors.

By sharing your knowledge, insight and practical experience, you could help a Portsmouth business owner overcome challenges, recognise opportunities and make more informed decisions about the future of their business.

Whether your expertise is in strategy, finance, marketing, operations, leadership or another business discipline, your guidance could make a meaningful difference.

The difference mentoring can make

Effective business mentoring can create meaningful and measurable results.

Research from the Association of Business Mentors found that, among business leaders who had received professional mentoring:

65% said mentoring had directly helped them increase revenue.
64% reported a positive impact on profits.
63% said mentoring had enabled them to increase their workforce.
Seven in ten said working with a mentor had improved their mental health and confidence.

Behind every statistic is a business owner making difficult decisions, responding to challenges and working towards sustainable growth. As a PBSS mentor, you can provide the insight, encouragement and constructive challenge that helps a Portsmouth business move forward.

You will also have the opportunity to build meaningful professional connections and contribute to a stronger, more resilient local economy.

Source: Association of Business Mentors, research into the impact of professional business mentoring.

Why become a PBSS mentor?

Mentoring gives you an opportunity to use your experience to support Portsmouth’s business community while developing rewarding professional relationships.

As a PBSS mentor, you can:

Make a meaningful contribution to the development of a local business.
Share the knowledge and experience you have gained throughout your career.
Help business owners build confidence and consider new perspectives.
Strengthen your coaching, listening and leadership skills.
Connect with other mentors, business leaders and organisations across Portsmouth.
Contribute to a stronger and more resilient local economy.

In recognition of your contribution, you will also receive:

A digital PBSS Mentor badge for use on social media, email signatures and professional profiles.
The option to be featured on the PBSS Mentor webpage.
Invitations to selected Shaping Portsmouth networking and business events.
Opportunities to connect with other mentors and members of Portsmouth’s business community.
Ongoing support from the PBSS team throughout your mentoring journey.

Who we are looking for

We welcome applications from experienced business owners, professionals and specialists who can offer practical insight in areas such as:

Business planning and strategy.
Finance, funding and commercial management.
Marketing, communications and social media.
Sales and business development.
Operations, productivity and process improvement.
Leadership and management.
Human resources and people development.
Business growth and organisational change.
Product or service development.
Digital transformation and technology.

This list is not exhaustive. If you have relevant professional or business experience, strong listening skills and a genuine interest in helping others develop, we would be pleased to hear from you.

What does a business mentor do?

A PBSS mentor acts as a trusted sounding board.

You will listen, ask constructive questions, share relevant experience and help the business owner consider their options. Your role is to provide guidance, encouragement and constructive challenge while helping the mentee build confidence in their own decisions.

Mentors are not expected to undertake work on behalf of the business or act as unpaid consultants. The programme does not require mentors to write funding bids, provide legal advice, manage HR cases or represent businesses in litigation or other disputes.

Where a business needs specialist support outside the scope of mentoring, you can raise this with the PBSS team so that other relevant support can be explored.

What is the time commitment?

Mentors provide up to six hours of support for each business they agree to mentor.

The first one-hour meeting is a compatibility session. It allows you and the business owner to discuss their goals, agree expectations and decide whether the relationship is a suitable match.

If you both wish to continue, the remaining five hours can be arranged flexibly. Meetings may take place online, in person or through a combination of both. You and your mentee can agree a schedule that works for you, such as regular one-hour meetings or a mixture of meetings and shorter check-ins.

You are not required to accept every mentoring opportunity. When we approach you about a potential match, you can review the business’s needs and decide whether the opportunity is suitable for your expertise, interests and availability.

How the programme works

1. Complete your mentor profile

Tell us about your professional experience, specialist knowledge, mentoring interests and current availability.

2. Complete the mentor agreement

After submitting your profile, you will be asked to review and sign the programme’s mentor agreement. This is an umbrella agreement that only needs to be completed once.

3. Review potential mentoring opportunities

When a business requires support that may align with your expertise, the PBSS team will contact you with relevant information about the business and the areas where guidance is being requested.

4. Decide whether the opportunity is right for you

You can decide whether you have the appropriate experience and capacity to support the business. There is no obligation to accept a proposed match.

5. Meet your potential mentee

If you agree to proceed, the PBSS team will make an email introduction. You and the mentee will then arrange an initial compatibility meeting directly.

6. Begin the mentoring relationship

If you both agree that the match is suitable, you can arrange and manage the remaining mentoring hours together.

7. Keep us updated

After each session, either you or your mentee must complete one short meeting tracker form. You should agree who will submit the form and avoid duplicate submissions.

The tracker helps us record the support delivered, monitor progress, evaluate the programme and identify whether the business may benefit from additional support.

8. Complete the engagement

At the end of the mentoring relationship, we will invite you to provide brief feedback on the experience, the progress made and any further support the business may need.

How we support our mentors

The PBSS team is available throughout the mentoring relationship.

Please contact us if:

You have questions about the programme or your role.
You would like guidance before accepting a potential match.
The mentoring relationship is not progressing as expected.
You have concerns about professional boundaries or confidentiality.
You believe the business requires specialist support outside the scope of mentoring.
Your availability or circumstances change.

We want the experience to be valuable, well-supported and professionally managed for both you and the business owner.

Ready to make a difference?

Your experience could provide the clarity, confidence or constructive challenge that helps a Portsmouth business take its next step.

Join a network of professionals committed to sharing their knowledge and strengthening Portsmouth’s business community.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.