FAQ

No. There are no joining fees or membership fees.

No. There are some exceptions, such as being a mentee in the SBP Mentoring Program. This is because we have a limited number of mentors and many of the mentors specifically want to give back within their own community.

You may be suitable for a mentor if your business has been successfully trading and you now want to:
• grow your business to the next stage
• innovate
• take it global
• pull out of a nose dive, or
• develop a succession plan or exit strategy

Provide some basic information about you and your business by registering on the ‘Get a Mentor’ page and pay the registration fee.

Mentees pay a registration fee of $95 to cover some of the administration costs. The mentors provide their services pro bono.

First complete your profile on https://sbp.org.au/business-mentoring with information on your business and the help that you are looking for. Make sure there is enough information to help a suitable mentor to be identified. Then submit your registration.

Your mentor will be chosen for you based on the information provided and the availability of mentors.

This will depend upon your requirements and mentor availability. It can also depend upon the time of year as mentors can be harder to contact at certain times, for example, over Christmas and throughout January.

SBP provides different types of mentoring, from single sessions to commitments of up to three months.
• It is possible to extend the mentoring relationship if both parties agree.
• If a mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month’s notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.

We encourage letting the mentor know about the situation. If that doesn’t work then contact the Sourdough administrator. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner, possibly by changing mentors

SBP Mentors cover a very wide range. Some are national or even global business leaders with many years of experience; they may have managed large businesses; started up a number of small businesses; or perhaps can provide mentoring in particular skill sets such as accounting, marketing, website development, social media skills, etc

They also cover wide age ranges and may still be running businesses, be retired or be semi-retired.

All of them are looking to give back to their community with the aim of seeing the region thrive.

No. The SBP Mentoring program is not to be used as source of new clients.

Mentors are expected to provide their mentee with about one hour of support and interaction per fortnight. Much of this interaction will take place via e-mail and other web-related tools (for example, Zoom, Skype, instant messaging) or face-to-face, as appropriate. Mentors can:
• Provide insight and experience that relate to helping their mentee achieve their goals
• Be a continuous source of encouragement and support
• Act as a sounding board for ideas/concerns and provide insights into possible opportunities
• Identify resources, networks and contacts that will be of assistance
• When appropriate, play devil’s advocate to help their mentee think through important decisions and strategies.
• Give input to action plans following each meeting – Sourdough provides a Mentor-Mentee pack to assist with this process.

SBP offers different types of mentoring, from a single session to fortnightly sessions for up to three months. We ask that the Mentor and Mentee identify the expected end date of their mentoring relationship to help set expectations.
• It is possible to extend the mentoring relationship if both parties agree.
• If a mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month’s notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.

We encourage you to let the mentee know about the situation. You can also contact info@sbp.org.au and we will work with you to resolve the matter, including swapping or adding mentors if that’s appropriate. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.

No. It is not appropriate for mentors to engage in any business transactions with their mentees; instead, the relationship should only involve the flow of general information and advice.

No

Check the SBW page on the website, the SBP events page and the SBW facebook page.

Yes!
SBW is run by volunteers so we are always pleased to have any help you would like to give in setting up for events, helping to clear up, or even proposing events that you may like to run e.g. speaking at Women’s Hubs. Email info@sbp.org.au to let us know what you would like to do!

There are 2 main criteria for the subsidies:

* An Australian Citizen, permanent resident or humanitarian visa holder, or a New Zealand citizen and
* Be aged 15 years or older, and
* Live or work in NSW, and
* No longer be at school or equivalent

* An owner of a small business, OR
* An employee of a small business
A Small Business is defined as a business with:
* 20 employees or less, OR
* An annual turnover of less than $2m

Yes. Sourdough relies on NSW Govt funding to help run these courses. The funding will not come through if a USI is not provided. If a USI cannot be provided then the full price will apply

Simply go to usi.gov.au and register for your USI. You will need some form of identification such as a drivers licence or Medicare card.

You can retrieve your USI on the usi.gov.au website.