Articles > The Lessons That Built My Business: A Tribute For National Mentorship Month
Entrepreneurship feels like you’re wearing 7 different hats when your head isn’t even cold – and everyone is staring at you, wondering why you’re sweating. It’s jumping into something you know very well – your trade- and still stumbling around in the darkness, trying to support yourself and your family.
So, how do we get by? How do we believe in ourselves before our outside environment tells us “You did it! You can do more now!”
For many people, the answers differ within their unique stories. As for my story, I found answers in meditation, moderation, and mentorship.
Meditation looked like calming my body in a room full of curious strangers. It looked like sitting down at the beginning of my day and choosing my thoughts and emotions so they weren’t subject to the ebb and flow that governed my daily hustle.
Moderation meant being okay with how slow things were moving. I had a full schedule, however success is so slow. Meetings with prospects, events to seek prospects, meetings with potential partners, meetings that felt like a waste of time – moderation was key here. Trusting the process and trusting the pace is so important in the early days of growing a business.
Mentorshipis, in my opinion, the most helpful tool that I can still access to this day. Sometimes it meant hearing hard truths about my own blind spots or gaps in strategies. Other times, it was reassurance that I was on the right path, even when it felt like I was making no progress at all.
Mentorship is also the reason I chose to write this, my first LinkedIn article. A whole year I waited for National Mentorship Month to come again and here we are on January 31st, 2025. In true Entrepreneur style, running off of coffee and scrambled affirmations, I’d like to shine a light on the realities of having a mentor.
When I first met Brent Knight, CSP, he didn’t waste time with small talk. He asked me, flat out: “Are you going to take this seriously? Or do you just want some resources and advice—because I can do that too.”We had met through the ASSP Consultant Practice Specialty (CPS) Mentorship Program – something I found through Google and registered in blind desperation, unsure that anyone would even respond. Quickly it became clear that this stranger was offering genuine mentorship, but only if I was ready to put in the work. I smiled because I knew that I was serious, and from that moment on he has been a steady presence in my entrepreneurial journey. For going on three years, we’ve met to talk about my business.
As the successful owner of Intuitive Safety Solutions (ISS) a multi-million dollar consultancy with over 80 employees, he could easily focus solely on running his business, yet he chooses to pour his experience and wisdom into mine. He asked me why I wanted to start my own practice, I told him it’s because I wanted to do things my own way.
When our mentorship began, I was 27 years old and just coming into myself as a young professional. In a world where it felt like nobody saw who I was, he noticed the drive and the hunger and the willingness to succeed within me. That gave me confidence.
Through the nitty gritty of entrepreneurship, my mentor was there for every twist and turn. At one point, I was convinced mobile fire extinguisher servicing was the way to go (this was beforeI realized that nobody cared that their fire extinguishers weren’t OSHA compliant…)
Our talks went on for a long time before I experienced sustainable income. When my friends would express concern with my business, I would tell them “You know, my mentor is a very successful consultancy owner and he is teaching me to do the same. You’ll see.”
I’ll never forget when I landed my first big client—I was unsure how to price my proposal, so I called Brent. He sat on the phone with me, patiently walking through the scope of work, helping me ensure my value was accurately represented.
Lesson 2: Plot on your own value, and don’t let it waver.
In fact, I called on him very recently after a long, hard week. He sent me an email with updates to my services contract that would serve me in the future, but also sent some ice cold perspective.
“This is one of those growth moments for you as a business owner (I have had more than I can count). You are challenged by someone who does not behave according to our norms. That is okay because you are in control, and you get to choose how you handle it. The last thing that you want to do is let him bring you down to his level.” – Brent Knight
Alongside the wisdom and technical assistance, Brent listened. And then he listened some more. I would talk about networking, about all the work I was doing for no pay, about my excitement for the next prospect, my frustrations, my aspirations. As entrepreneurs, we have so much inside of us in those early days—so much uncertainty, so much drive, so many ideas all fighting for space in our minds. And the truth is, not many people want to hear all of that. But Brent did. In his quiet presence, there was an unspoken reassurance, a steady anchor with small bits of information and lots of head nods.
I used to think I could never repay Brent for the kindness he’s shown me and the professionalism he’s emulated. I once tried to send him a care package full of Alaskan gifts. “This is how I can repay him!” I thought. But when he declined, I was confused. Who doesn’t want an Alaskan care package? Then it hit me—he didn’t want repayment at all. I now realize that I can repay him—by paying it forward. By becoming for someone else, what he was for me.
Lesson 3: The person who gives themselves and requests nothing in return will live forever in the hearts of whom they helped.
When we choose to invest in others—through mentorship or volunteerism—we become part of something greater than ourselves. In lifting others, we rise as well, proving that the most valuable gifts are often those given without expectation, yet returned in ways that foster legacies of kindness and giving.
To Brent I can only say Thank You.Your guidance means more than words can express, and I will gladly spend this lifetime paying it forward – as a mirror of all the lessons you taught me, the ones that helped build my business.
