Mandi Gunsberger is the CEO and Managing Editor of Babyology, a lifestyle website that keeps hip parents and their bubs up to date with the world of baby-related design. This article explores Mandi’s experience with a business mentor and outlines how a mentor helped her acquire the skills and confidence to manage a bigger team.
Becoming a mum seemed a great time to start a business
I was in a corporate role in the events industry with a lot of travel and long hours. When I had my first child, I decided I still wanted to work, enjoy what I do and be passionate about working while raising my children. Starting my own business seemed like the ideal option to be around the kids and still working on something I enjoy. The business takes up many hours each week and I find myself working more each year as the kids get older, but I enjoy the work and am building a business, so it makes it all worthwhile.
I saw a gap in the Australian market
I launched Babyology in 2007 because I saw a gap in the Australian parenting market. I had spend four years living in San Francisco where blogging was a lot bigger over there and arriving back here I thought Australian parents would benefit from a resource based on products in the baby and children’s market.
I was challenged by never having time to do a business plan and a direction for the business
I had always only had time to work on short-term tasks that needed doing immediately. I never had time to do a business plan, set goals and a direction for the business. I approached a mentor when I was trying to decide which path to take and how to come up with a future plan for the business on where I wanted to be one, three and five years into the future. We also had almost ten staff when I sought out a mentor as I needed to learn how to manage a bigger team and what my role as the CEO should be to help the staff, while also helping the business growth.
My business goals and plans changed as a result of working with a mentor
My mentor was very skilled in this area on the business and had built a very successful business a few years earlier, so knew the struggles and challenges I was facing in this industry. My business goals did change when working with a mentor as she had me read certain books (such at eMyth), which helped solidify what I needed to do and where we should aim to be in the marketplace. I changed the way I worked each week and spent more time on big picture challenges rather than only on daily tasks.
I loved the concept of being accountable to someone else
As well as business guidance, I loved the concept of being accountable to someone else. Working from home with a team of people who are all remote can be a very lonely place to be. Knowing I am meeting with someone bi-weekly or monthly where I have to show progress, do homework or come back with my achievements since the last meeting has been a huge benefit for me as it makes me work towards my short-term business goals.
I think a mentor is a very valuable resource for a small business
I think a mentor is a very valuable resource for a small business as it’s someone to talk to and help work through future plans and business goals. If you find a mentor who has similar business experience to you or who has been successful in your industry, this can be a huge help as they often ask questions or suggest strategies that helped them with their own business, which might be concepts or ideas that you haven’t thought through.
My favourite part of being a businesswoman is…
I enjoy the feeling of achievement. I started a business from scratch and have built it up into a successful business. I love having staff who enjoy their work and giving people an opportunity to be passionate about their roles in a part-time flexible working environment. I love that the hours can be flexible. While I work more hours than I ever expected, they can be structured around my children’s schedules so I can enjoy my family and my working career.
About Babyology
Babyology is the online market leader in high-quality product-focused editorial content for Australian parents. Babyology is the premium online resource for parents, providing information and reviews on products and services for them and their children. It facilitates a community where parents can discuss products and services and ask questions of experts in the field. Babyology publishes at least three articles each day, in addition to other links and snippets sent out through social media channels. There are a total of over 5,000 articles currently on the site. Babyology is committed to communicating with readers through the mediums they frequent the most, as evidenced by Babyology’s very strong social presence on Facebook and very active Pinterest community.
