**6. Methodology**

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of women entrepreneurs. Participants were sourced through some of the local business networks that the author attends, which include the South West Women in Business (SWWIB) and Women in Southern Enterprises (WISE).

As the role of mentoring was considered in relation to business success, this required a definition of what was meant by 'success'. Survival was used as the criterion and was used to identify participants. Survival rates for small businesses vary: different sources suggest 60% fail within three years [28]; 50% fail in first two years [29]; 30% fail within three years [30]; and the FSB [31] reported that one third of small businesses may not reopen after the COVID19 lockdown. Survival for more than three years was used as the criterion for success.

A representative from each of the five FSB [12] categories mentioned above was included. In addition, as the major industries in the location studied are farming, food and drink production and tourism, women entrepreneurs were selected who operated in these areas. Interviews with a sample of mentors were also conducted, found by snowball sampling of participants' own mentors.

Twenty four women entrepreneurs and six mentors were interviewed.

An initial thematic analysis was undertaken. As each theme emerged, a rich picture developed. The three steps suggested by Braun and Clarke [32] were used. First, themes were identified to develop broad topics, then reviewed in relation to the research questions. Lastly themes were named to provide a coherent story. In addition the method devised by Gioia, Corley and Hamilton [33] who set out to bring what they term "qualitative rigor" to the presentation of qualitative, inductive research was used. This starts with informant-centric codes (1st order) and then progresses to researcher-centric concepts (2nd order). The final stage is the devising of aggregate dimensions. In a review of the methods of presenting qualitative research, the so

called "Gioia approach" is suggested as the most suitable where data is collected by interviews [34].

Transcripts were transferred into word files to enable the identification of codes. Codes were then collated into themes, with data tables being drawn up to ensure that relevant data was identified.

## **7. Findings**

An initial review of the data produced a picture of the participants. Ages ranged from 35 to 68, with most (12) of the women being in their 40s. Many (seven) businesses were around three to four years old, the same number had been in business five to ten years, with a few (three) more than 20 years old. One serial entrepreneur had run four businesses during this time, another had taken over a family business and one had run several businesses whilst also doing freelance work. Most were sole traders (15), with several (three) in partnership with their husbands and two who had employed their husbands in their business. A table of participants is provided in Appendix 1.

Several of the participants (four) were in property related businesses, including holiday accommodation and estate agency. Only five made products, including food and drink, and clothing and footwear. The majority had services-based businesses. Several were health related (physiotherapy, fitness training, personal development, hypnotherapy, nutrition, and kinesiology,). Others provided business services (video production and public relations, social media strategy, coaching). A quarter ran multiple businesses.

A variety of sources had been used to access mentoring. Three participants had had the same mentor from a funded programme through Business Information Services (BIP). Free mentoring from the FSB was used by one participant.. Some had used professional associations. A minority had paid for professional mentoring, mostly at a mature stage of their business. Interestingly, peer mentoring was mentioned by the majority of participants.

Snowball sampling accessed six mentors who agreed to be interviewed. Their ages ranged from 44 to 73. Half of these mentored on the free-at-delivery programmes, the others charged for their services. One of the former was the mentor from BIP. Four of the mentors were women and two were men. Details are provided in Appendix B.

Initially, thematic analysis identified six themes: upbringing; motivation to become an entrepreneur; elements of mentoring; gender; rural context; success. Some are included in **Table 1**.

I decided to then use the Gioia et al. [33] method to draw up a data structure (**Table 2**). First order codes were identified and then, second order concepts were devised: early influences, parent occupation, role models, environment, inner qualities, definitions of success, qualities of mentor, sources of mentor, gender of mentor. Overarching aggregate dimensions were: entrepreneurial enablers, entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial support. These themes and dimensions overlapped somewhat with those identified from the initial thematic analysis.

Thematic analysis was also carried out on the mentor data (**Table 3**). Identified themes were: success criteria, mentoring and peer mentoring. Mentors were also asked their opinion on whether they thought mentoring contributed to business success.

Upbringing was a clear influence, as nearly half of the participants had parent entrepreneurs. The childhood environment was also influential; "I was surrounded by


#### **Table 1.** *Mentees: Thematic analysis.*

very successful people … I saw myself as somebody who would do quite well," (E8). Some had found this a negative experience: "At school, the expectations were very low for everyone … I would never have thought I was going to run my own business one day," (E15). "School probably put me off it," (E14). Role models produced positive and negative reactions. "I saw entrepreneurship as a reaction to my mother's role (as a housewife)" (E1). "My aunt was an incredible businesswoman, my motivation to succeed came from her" (E5). 'Entrepreneur 'was regarded as a negative term by some who felt unwilling to identify themselves as such. "I have negative connotations around entrepreneurship which is maybe why I might be hesitant to think of myself as an entrepreneur." (E14). Images of entrepreneurship, particularly in the media, did not fit the women's lived experience.

Many talked about their own qualities when asked about their motivation to start a business. This included self-confidence (E5), wanting to inspire others (E4), selfawareness (E17), being driven by success (E5), being a natural leader (E3) and being adventurous (E14).


**Table 2.**

*Mentees: data structure using Gioia et al. [33] method.*


**Table 3.**

*Mentors: thematic analysis.*

Personal circumstances had caused some to start a business: "I needed to go freelance to sustain an income" (E13). For others, tedious work provided the push. "I didn't really want to sit there doing the same thing day in, day out" (E18).

Life changes caused some to set up a business when this had not previously been something they had considered:

*"I was caught in a Catch-22 situation of not being able to work and not being able to afford childcare. I became an entrepreneur because of necessity, I had no alternative really." (E3)*

*"It became clear very early on it wasn't going to work having a full time career and wanting to be there for my daughter." (E15)*

External life events have been added to the simple model developed from the literature. Several definitions of success were mentioned. Some participants did mention quantitative measures such as profit, but more spoke about wanting to have a better work/life balance. Being able to spend time with their family was important to many. Inspiring others and being happy in what they did, so that they would get out of bed feeling excited was a common goal.

The majority of women found mentoring a positive experience, with one considered it was "100% vital" (E16). "Golden nuggets" of advice were valuable. For one participant, mentoring had been a major influence in setting up her business. "An advisor said to me, you can do it. I never expected to be an entrepreneur."(E3). Thus the third aggregate dimension identified was entrepreneurial support.

St Jean's (2012) [18] roles were used when analysing the mentoring relationship viewed by entrepreneurs and mentors. No other functions were evident (see **Table 4**).

*The Role of Mentoring for Women Entrepreneurs DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109422*


#### **Table 4.** *St Jean [18] mentor roles.*

A different note was sounded by one participant who declared that mentoring had been a "waste of time".

*"I've never really had a Eureka moment. It was not life-changing." (E6).*

The direct relationship between mentoring and success suggested by the literature which was used to develop the original conceptual model does not seem to be borne out here.

Unusually and unexpectedly, several participants referred to getting what they considered mentoring by following influencers online (E4, E9, E16, E23). One mentioned learning from her clients who were successful businesspeople (E5). These mentors would not be aware of any mentoring relationship, which contradicts the literature.

Peer mentoring was regarded as very important.

*" … they were talking about how peer to peer support was so important and how women support women and … how helpful that can be." (E3) "(Other business owners were) asking things like, did you realise you could do this or call me if you want to do this. I felt supported. "(E12) "The value that I get from that is remarkable because it is specific to my business."(E9)*

One of the participants had set up her own peer mentoring network as a result.

*"People could meet up once a month and talk about their challenges in business and also their personal and emotional challenges, of trying to keep the show on the road facing different challenges from somebody who is going into the office 9 to 5." (E3)*

Mentors also mentioned peer mentoring. "A critical friend is really useful." (M5). They suggested that peers "provide role models for each other..and can offer insights" (M6). Peer mentoring was not referred to in the literature to any great extent.

Mentoring style gave rise to varied opinions amongst mentors. Asking questions, or making a "gentle enquiry" (M5) was a common component. Allowing mentees to develop their own answers was also part of the package. One warned that not all mentoring might be successful. "Some can't help people grow outside the existing paradigm because they don't know anything else."(M4)

Mentees and mentors disagreed about whether it was necessary for women to be mentored by other women: "I have had mentoring from my father in law and my female friends" (E7; "I have mostly had mentoring from men, gender wasn't important" (E2); "Successful women are happy to give back" (M2); "Women initially feel happier talking to other women" (M3); but "Not all women want another woman to succeed" (M4).

#### **8. Discussion**

Interviewing women entrepreneurs about how their experience of mentoring contributed to the success of their business, several themes emerged. Early influences, such as their parent's occupation, powerful role models and where they had grown up all played a part. They were motivated by their own inner qualities and how they defined success. Mentoring provided entrepreneurial support.

Positive female role models, as suggested by the FSB [12] study were important ("Images of independent career women on TV" E1). However, negative role models led to women being determined to follow a different route ("I wanted to be something other than a mother" E6).

Mentors were asked if mentoring contributed to success. One (M1) estimated mentoring contributed about 25% to success. Another felt mentoring could be "really impactful" (M4). Several entrepreneurs agreed, calling mentoring "vital" (E16). Some felt they may not have started their business (E3, E17) or not have been as successful without it (E20). One woman said, "It was critical in giving me the confidence to keep going." (E17).

Others were less definite , feeling "Mentoring didn't create the business, it just got it off the ground quicker" (E1). Only one felt that none of the mentoring was valuable. ("Mentoring was not successful. It was not realistic" E6). So the declarations in the literature about the necessity of mentoring for women entrepreneurs were not completely borne out [22, 35]. Rather than the main element which leads to business success, it is just one of several factors.

Literature suggested a non-directive maieutic style was the most effective [19], but this was contradicted by entrepreneurs who often valued more directive advice: "It's about practical help" (E2); "I wanted practical things to do" (E12).

Peer mentoring was not suggested as being particularly significant by the literature, but most participants mentioned its importance. Support and advice from someone who had been through the same journey was highly regarded. "The value that I get from that is remarkable because it is specific to my business" (E9). A mentor who is in the same business and who may just be slightly ahead in their business journey appears to be more impactful than an expert. The latter may be too far advanced to provide specific insights for the mentee. It was found that artisan entrepreneurs trading on Etsy (an American e-commerce company focused on handmade

or vintage items and craft supplies) regarded peer support from others in the same industry as extremely valuable [36]. Thus it is important to add this to the consideration of the characteristics of mentoring.

The literature emphasised that a mentoring relationship should be agreed explicitly by both parties [9, 14, 15, 18]. This was not always the case for the respondents to this study. Online mentors were more aspirational than simply being peers and tended to be those who had achieved great success Classifying successful clients almost as 'stealth' mentors was not mentioned at all. Some research found that artisan entrepreneurs had received online advice from a peer that they had never met [37], but not from such successful sources.

Mentors referred to their satisfaction at being able to help ("it lights me up, working with small businesses" (M4)) and regarded a "critical friend" as useful (M4). One said that "women prefer to be mentored" (M3) suggesting they were less confident than men and they appreciated "someone who has been there … helping them get the best out of themselves" (M3). Growing women's confidence was also mentioned (M1). All mentors felt that giving advice was an important part of their role. This agrees with the literature [9, 14, 15, 18].

To summarise, there was some agreement with the literature suggesting that women entrepreneurs benefit from mentoring [12], although it was not as causal as implied by some studies [2, 9, 27] but just part of the menu. Whilst some valued experienced mentors which confirm previous research [18], many mentioned wanting more practical advice, rather than the maieutic style suggested by St Jean and Audet [19]. Peer mentoring as suggested by Kuhn and Galloway [36] was definitely valued.

Measures of success certainly included more qualitative measures, so agrees with previous research [2, 9, 27]. Positive female role models were also important, although not necessarily as business mentors, so the FSB research [12] is only somewhat confirmed (**Figure 2**).

**Figure 2.** *Revised conceptual framework.*

A revised conceptual framework is suggested. Mentoring now consists of maieutic mentoring and practical advice. Peer mentoring has been added and given more prominence. Other additions are online role models and personal motivation. All these were mentioned by the entrepreneurs as contributing to their business success.

The linear nature of the previous model has been changed. Things do not always go to plan. Setbacks, from the economic context or personal experience, can cause bumps in the road. Life events can produce a change of focus which leads to a redefinition of business goals. Even with the benefit of mentoring and advice, success is not guaranteed.

#### **9. Conclusion**

The main elements of the St Jean [18] mentoring model were found to be relevant to women entrepreneurs. In addition, peer mentoring was revealed as significant. This should be examined in more detail. Using online role models and others who were not engaged in a formal mentoring relationship shows that the definition of mentoring is changing to include mentors who are not aware of their influence.

These additional elements add to the theory of mentoring roles and also provide some practical implications for the content of business support programmes. Entrepreneurial start up and support programmes need to recognise the value of peer mentoring. The identification of peer mentoring as a vital part of business support to encourage women to engage in entrepreneurship is an important development.

Although a successful mentoring relationship supported women in their business development, it was not the singular element that led to business success. This challenges theory and previous studies [2, 9, 27] which set out the premium importance of mentoring. The influence of personal motivation could be more important, which would lead to the need for more support for entrepreneurial ambitions at school age. None of the entrepreneurs interviewed felt that they had received such support.

The research had several limitations. Whilst it was applicable to the nature of the research aim and questions being investigated that a subjective approach was undertaken, this is an account of a relatively small number of participants. Qualitative research is by its nature concerned with smaller numbers than larger scale quantitative studies. As I am a woman entrepreneur and mentor living in the location which was investigated, I am an actor in the environment studied. This could be regarded as creating biased findings. Conversely, I viewed this as an advantage in gaining access to research participants. Personal contact is "the condition under which people come to know each other," and interviews could be more collaborative [38]. I followed a reflexive route, "mindfully distancing (myself) from embedded circumstances" [39]. By researching friends and contacts, I could "benefit from knowing (my) co-participants well and being able to rely on shared experience" [40]. This led to trust, and empathy.

For the future, the revised model could be tested on a wider sample of participants to examine the experience of women entrepreneurs in more depth.

For this study, only those women who were classed as successful and had been mentored were interviewed. Successful women entrepreneurs who had not been mentored may have a different experience. Alternatively, women who had mentoring yet did not create a successful business could also add to the picture. Thus future studies could include these groups.

Whilst the research was carried out in a small area of the UK it is envisaged that it will help to understand the issue more generally. Future research could test the model on women entrepreneurs in other locations.

