“With a Little Help from my Friends! Networking and Mentoring AmongEntrepreneuses for Personal, Business and Professional Development”

The empirical data for this paper emerged from a one year ERDF funded study, "WelshEntrepreneuses on the Web". The project was set up to identify the needs of entrepreneuses inIndustrial South Wales and the extent to which they are being met by the current businesssupport sector. The project involved consultation with around 100 women, half of whom wereaspiring towards entrepreneurship, the other half of whom were existing entrepreneuses. Thestudy involved questionnaires, focus groups, individual interviews and a 'superfocusgroup' atwhich the entrepreneuses reflected on, reviewed, clarified or confirmed the researchers'interpretation of the findings..One of the key themes which emerged from the study centres on the significance of networkingand mentoring activities among entrepreneuses as means of achieving personal, professional andbusiness development. In many cases, rather than seeking advice from business support sectoragencies, the preferred choice was to learn from peers within the business community. Similarly,whilst friends and family might provide practical help and support, other women businessowners were perceived as a more appropriate source of psychosocial support to help overcomethe stresses and pressures involved in running a business. This paper contributes to the literatureon networking and mentoring in the context of entrepreneurial learning. In particular, the paperexplores networking and mentoring activities in relation to both small firm life cycle andcareer/age stage frameworks, reflecting the work/life balance preoccupations revealed by themajority of entrepreneuses who took part in the study.[...]