Eva Siskova, Mentoring Project Coordinator, TCP Vice Chairwoman 

The Mentoring project was the first significant project which made the Top Centre of Businesswomen (Top Centrum Podnikatellek – TCP) visible in Slovakia.

Our project followed the example of a similar project realized in Czech Republic. We worked in cooperation with a significant Slovak daily newspaper which in its enclosure „The woman's point of view" presented once a month experienced businesswomen and the Mentoring project. The interested persons registered with the TCP coordinator who arranged for the contact between mentors and TCP. Every mentor could choose from the registered women the person whose presentation had attracted her attention. Some mentors worked with several mentees. Women had shown the highest interest in the field of food and beverage management and, in general, the tourist industry.

Although there are a lot of women engaged in business in Slovakia, it was not easy to involve them in the project. Most partnerships in the project developed into personal friendships. However, in one case the relationship ended with the mentor's negative experience – the mentee elaborated her project within the mentor's firm and with her help and then she took it as her own property. She didn't even thank for the help.

Currently, the TCP leaders in particular regions participate in mentoring and provide the less experienced colleagues or women decided to become businesswomen with counselling. Regarding the differences among the regions, it will be suitable to make our project more active and involve women from less developed Slovak regions.

When we present our project to the entrepreneurs, the reaction of men is constrained, sometimes even disapproving. In my opinion it results from the more competitive men’s nature. For a man every other man is a rival. The woman’s thinking is more maternal and sisterly. In the business, the competitiveness is obviously important. That's why the German businesswomen after many negative experiences follow the mentoring principle that the mentee operates in another business field as mentor and has been an active entrepreneur for at least two years.

Women, who are considering becoming entrepreneurs or just starting up their entrepreneurial career, should rather use other forms of preparation for a new career.

Though in Slovakia mentoring is not and never was a mass phenomenon, we can say that the introduction and more than four years long period of experience with this interesting and demanding form of cooperation were positive. It is mainly important as a positive example for people being aware of it from the mass media and from personal contacts with women – either mentors or mentees.

 

Ms. Alena Slovakova is actually the first mentee in Slovakia, trained under TCP’s project Mentoring for Women Entrepreneurs by Ms. Eva Shishkova. Her mentor helped her in her motivation, in clarifying her business idea for herself, in better understanding the real situation in order to have sound judgment for the market. Now her cleaning services company is quite successful; she has managed to establish good relations with the suppliers, has many clients and many job candidates. The Mentoring Program was very important for her at that point of her life. As the main benefit of this experience she sees the relations established with her mentor – who is not only an experienced business lady able to give you business advice but also a sincere friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Alzbeta Lancaricova owns a shop for construction materials, faience, pottery and other decoration objects. She has started a big project for establishing a kind of youth community, where young people from state orphanage institutions stay during their vocational training or higher education in order to be prepared to a life outside the institution. She invested her own money in this project and started extending her house to construct the necessary small apartments. Lately, she received a grant from the European Funds. By the beginning of the new school year she will host the first children as members of her own family. Ms. Lancaricova also actively participates in all TCP initiatives as a mentor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Hana Torhanova a runs a unique family restaurant in an Australian style, popular with the residents of Pezinok. With the mentor's support of TCP she  found her niche and successfully manages her business. Today she is an active member of TCP and provides support to other young business women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This page has been developed under the project Learning Partnerships against Social Exclusion: Mentoring for Women Entrepreneurs, financed by the Socrates/ Grundtvig 2 Program.

 

The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Center of Women’s Studies and Policies and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Commission or the Socrates National Agency.