An entrepreneur does not always get sensible feedback about his/her activities. He/she may have no network of colleagues or even any employees. Feedback received from customers is of course important, but it is often only directed at the quality of the products or services. So an entrepreneur him/herself rarely gets sensible feedback about working and developing as an entrepreneur.

As a mentor, you are in a key position, because you can offer honest, supportive and constructive feedback.

Constructive criticism is, among other things:

• fast and topical (which is of course not always possible in a mentoring relationship
• regular
• interactive
• clear
• empowering
• can be mastered and is well-targeted
• results in development and is relevant.

Your feedback should be targeted at competence, not at the student as a person. When giving feedback, you should discuss skills and operations, not the student’s personal attributes.