Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Empowering Communities Through Business

Become a Mentor!

The Role

Your role as a Business Mentor is vital in guiding emerging entrepreneurs through one-on-one consultations, offering essential advice, and fostering valuable connections to help them start or expand their small businesses. Whether you’re fluent in Spanish or connecting remotely, your expertise can impact small businesses’ growth and success. Time commitment is flexible, with a minimum of at least one hour a month and at least one mentee. 

How Volunteer Mentoring Works

Volunteer mentors have various ways to connect with and support clients:

  • Coffee Shop: Engage with entrepreneurs in the Coffee Shop, our online community where mentors and mentees interact informally.
  • In-Person Events: Mentors can participate in CIE’s events, such as speed networking, industry mixers, or business workshops, to provide on-the-ground mentorship.

Check out our Calendar to find out about upcoming events.

Calendar

Ready to make a difference? Becoming a mentor at CIE is easy:

Click the Apply at the bottom of the page to become a Mentor.

Mentor Responsibilities

  • Report on mentor duties once per quarter.
  • Participate in CIE’s volunteer orientation.
  • Participate in CIE’s Start Simple Business Course.
  • Help keep the person you are mentoring stay focused on their business goals. 
  • Introduce the person you are mentoring to your personal network.
  • Attend quarterly mentor meetings/trainings and provide feedback on how to improve CIE’s mentor program.

Qualifications

  • Business Mentors must be able to suspend judgment and listen deeply. They must be patient and understand the many personal obstacles to business ownership our clients encounter. An interest in developing “poverty competency” by learning about the structural causes of poverty and poverty realities is a plus.
  • Business Mentors must have experience in starting or growing their own business or have basic knowledge of at least two areas of small business development. Special consideration will be given to former CIE clients who have successfully launched their own businesses. 
  • Business mentors must be passionate about contributing to the mission of CIE and supporting small business owners and must believe in the abilities and potential of the people we serve.
Apply

For more information, contact Melissa Suwuh.

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SBDC

The Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship is a member of the Washington SBDC Network. The Washington SBDC is an accredited member of America’s SBDC. Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, institutions of higher education, economic development organizations and other public and private funding partners.

Washington SBDC services are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals.