Richard Branson and Freddie Laker, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – most of the world’s best-known entrepreneurs credit a mentor for contributing to their success.

But it’s not only business luminaries who benefit from mentorship. According to a recent survey by Kabbage, Inc., a global financial services, technology and data platform, 92% of more than 200 small business owners agreed that mentors have had a direct impact on the growth and survival of their business.

Another study, conducted by UPS, found that 70% of mentored businesses survived more than five years, double the rate for non-mentored small businesses over that same period.

NDASA Mentorship

So, if you are starting a business in the drug and alcohol industry or are diversifying your existing work in the industry, why go it alone? Mentorship can provide you with an invaluable opportunity to be coached by successful industry veterans who’ve already been there and done that.

Owning a business in the drug and alcohol industry has unique challenges. We are a relatively new and ever-changing industry where no two days are alike. And, while we are guided by laws, rules and regulations, what happens in real time, with real people, often looks quite different from what is printed on paper.

Therefore, over the last 25 years, drug and alcohol testing professionals have tended to rely on each other’s experiences to develop business practices. They have built a multi-mission-dollar industry by helping each other and sharing their collective knowledge.

Now, the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association is continuing this tradition of sharing expertise through its Mentorship Programs for Specimen Collectors and Third-Party Administrators.

Based in industry standards and best practices, these programs offer members resources developed by a committee of subject matter experts in addition to one-on-one mentoring sessions with veterans in the field who have a wealth of knowledge they want to share.

The mission of NDASA mentorships is to offer fellow members support to grow successful businesses by providing:

1. Industry guidance that inspires and promotes professional growth.
2. Strategic recommendations that are focused on achieving optimum personal and business excellence.
3. Expert feedback on business practices.
4. Resources for individual business needs.
5. Answers to questions about processes and protocols.
6. Practical advice to take a business to the next level.
7. Access to a growing network of like-minded professionals.

By partnering with a mentor, NDASA members have an opportunity to learn from the experiences of their peers, avoid the mistakes their mentors made along the way and discover the practices that will allow them to make the best decisions for their businesses. Then, down the road, it’s NDASA’s hope that today’s mentees will pay it forward, becoming tomorrow’s mentors.