The Otago-Southland Employers Association is the Otago and Central Otago agent for the Business Mentors New Zealand scheme, which has operated since 1991 supporting more than 47,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a volunteer business mentoring programme.
Association acting chief executive Diana Hudson said the first step for business owners who were used to acting independently was to ask for help.
"This can be a big step and sometimes it's hard to know who to trust with your problems."
The business mentors' help was completely confidential and the relationship was built around trust, she said in an interview.
Although the mentoring scheme was proving invaluable for some SMEs during the current global recession, it was not a creation of the recession.
It had been recognised that small businesses often did not have all the skills available, perhaps around accounting, marketing or industrial relationships.
People wanting help enrolled online for a fee of $100.
The introduction of the fee was to ensure people wanting help were serious in their request, Ms Hudson said.
The businesses were then matched with a suitable mentor.
Mostly, mentors were people who felt they had the skills to help SMEs and they wanted to put something back into the business community.
There had been plenty of success stories but the process was a bit of "swings and roundabouts", she said.
Much of the success depended on the expectations of the businesses being mentored.
There were strict guidelines as to what a mentor could and could not do.
For businesses getting help in the early stages of any problem, the success ratio was high, Ms Hudson said.
Dunedin City Council economic development manager Peter Harris said the mentors scheme was one way for small businesses to cope with business challenges.
"When times are tough, the owners of businesses that don't have a board of directors can feel isolated and not sure who to turn to.
"If you are worrying about business decisions, it can drag you and your business down."
Business owners should also assess the quality of their professional advisers, he said.
Many accounting firms offered more than just tax returns.
"If your accountant isn't regularly talking to you about how your business is performing and how you might improve it, think about finding one who will."
Many of the professionals the DCC economic development unit worked alongside would offer the first hour of time free, Mr Harris said.
Whether it was someone on whom to offload business worries, or answers to specific questions, there was help available, he said.
