Project Financing Expert Resources Coaches, mentors, and advisors all serve different, important roles in reaching business success. By Reg Renner A s a high school basketball coach, I often think about how best to teach a n d p re p a re y o u n g a t h l e t e s f o r t h e r i g o u r s o f a f a s t p a c e d , h i g h -p re s s u re p l a y -o ff g a m e . D i d w e s p e n d e n o u g h t i m e practising our skills? How will the players re s p o n d t o t h e u n p re d i c t a b l e f l o w o f t h e g a m e ? A f t e r 1 2 y e a r s o f c o a c h i n g , I re a l i z e that each game is a brand new situation t h a t w e j u s t h a v e t o p l a y t h ro u g h t o s e e w h a t t h e o u t c o m e w i l l b e , w h i l e re l y i n g o n t h e t r a i n i n g a n d p re p a r a t i o n w e d i d t o g e t u s h e re i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e . With this example in mind, I believe t h a t y o u c a n b e n e f i t g r e a t l y f ro m h a v i n g a coach, mentor, and advisor for your bioen-ergy project. Your bioenergy business pro-posal may be brand new territor y for you and your partners or you may be an expe-rienced professional. Either way, you can s t i l l b e n e f i t f ro m h a v i n g s o m e o n e t o g u i d e and critique your performance, helping y o u g e t t h e m o s t f ro m y o u r e ff o r t s . It is my obser vation that in the business world, many of us think that because we a r e g ro w n -u p s w i t h e x p e r i e n c e , w e d o n o t n e e d a n y h e l p . I f t h i s i s t r u e , w h y d o p ro -f e s s i o n a l a t h l e t e s h i re a n d re l y o n c o a c h e s , fitness trainers, and nutritionists to help them perform at their peak? Tr ying to do it all by yourself is okay for an amateur a t h l e t e , b u t n o t f o r a p ro f e s s i o n a l a t h l e t e . I firmly believe that the same can be said for p ro f e s s i o n a l b i o e n e rg y p ro j e c t s . S o n o w y o u a re t h i n k i n g t h a t y o u might need a coach, mentor, or advisor, b u t w h i c h o n e s d o y o u n e e d ? T h e ro l e s a r e s e p a r a t e a n d d i s t i n c t ; h a v i n g a l l t h re e w i l l g r e a t l y i m p ro v e y o u r c h a n c e s f o r b u s i n e s s success. A coach has experience and an ability t o m o t i v a t e a n d p re p a re y o u f o r t h e t a s k a h e a d . C o a c h e s m u s t o f t e n re a c t u n d e r pressure to diagnose a problem and for-mulate a solution that a team can grasp q u i c k l y a n d p u t i n t o a c t i o n . T h e re i s n o g re a t e r t h r i l l f o r a c o a c h t h a n t o c a l l a time-out, diagram a play, and then watch the players execute it successfully. A coach must be an excellent communicator and have an understanding of what the team i s c a p a b l e o f d o i n g w i t h i t s c u r re n t l e v e l of knowledge. A mentor is a person who has jour neyed down a similar road before you. I encour-a g e y o u t o l o o k f o r a l o c a l e n t re p re n e u r who has successfully built a start-up busi-ness into an established company. A men-tor should be someone who has walked in your shoes, ahead of you. His or her experience, wis-dom, and insight can often be the d i ff e r e n c e b e t w e e n taking the easier p a t h o r n o t . A re -ally good mentor can help you sort t h ro u g h a l l t h e d e -tails and brings a well-balanced perspec-t i v e t o t h e c u r re n t s i t u a t i o n . An advisor often brings a specific tal-ent or skill to the team. An advisor’s fo-cus is narrower than a coach’s, which is w h y h e a d c o a c h e s o f t e n h i re a s s i s t a n t s t o h a n d l e t h e o ff e n c e , d e f e n c e , a n d s p e c i a l sub-teams. In choosing an advisor, you will want to look at the skills of your cur-re n t m a n a g e m e n t t e a m t o s e e h o w i t i s f u n c t i o n i n g a n d w h e re t h e re a re g a p s i n the knowledge and experience base. For example, do you need help with techni-cal issues, marketing, or financing? Advi-s o r s c a n b e h i r e d f o r s h o r t -t e r m p ro j e c t s or they can become long-term trusted helpers such as your accountant or bank manager. As a financing specialist for the past six years, I am often asked to advise on h o w t o o b t a i n s u ff i c i e n t f i n a n c i n g f o r b i o e n e rg y p ro j e c t s . I n s o m e c a s e s , i t b e -c o m e s a p p a re n t t h a t t h e t e a m n e e d s h e l p f ro m a n a d v i s o r w h o s p e c i a l i z e s i n f i n a n c -ing. But sometimes, the team also needs a coach who can bring the members to-g e t h e r t o h e l p t h e m a c h i e v e t h e i r d re a m . O t h e r t i m e s , t h e t e a m c o u l d b e n e f i t f ro m a mentor to show the best path to success. R e g a rd l e s s , i t i s e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t t h a t y o u d o n o t u n d e re s t i m a t e t h e i m p o r t a n c e of a coach, mentor, or advisor to the suc-c e s s o f y o u r p ro j e c t . “It is my observation that in the business world, many of us think that because we are grown-ups with experience, we do not need any help.” People often think that competition in t h e b u s i n e s s w o r l d i s d i ff e r e n t f ro m c o m -petition in the athletic world. Yes, you might be successful without a coach, men-tor, or advisor, but your chances of success a r e m u c h g r e a t e r i f y o u h a v e a p ro f e s s i o n a l s u p p o r t t e a m . S o b e p re p a re d t o i n c l u d e ro o m i n y o u r b u d g e t f o r t h i s t y p e o f e x p e r t r e s o u rc e , a s I b e l i e v e t h a t y o u w i l l f i n d t h e experience, insights, and guidance worth the money spent. • Reg Renner of Atticus F inancial in Vancouver, B C , f i n a n c e s m a ch i n e r y r a n g i n g f r o m b i o m a s s b o i l e r s t o d e n s i f i c a t i o n e q u i p m e n t . W i t h 3 8 ye a r s o f i n d u s t r y ex p e r i e n c e , h e r e c e n t l y h e l p e d s e c u r e carbon of f set credits for four greenhouse clients. E-mail: [email protected]. Canadian BIOMASS 15
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