About SBMS

SBMS Experienced Business Mentors are part of the Small Business Mentoring Service. SBMS is an incorporated not-for-profit association that started its journey in 1986 with just 14 members. Today there are around 200 Mentors across Australia who have the skills and experience to help small businesses.

Grant Snowden | Chair

BCom, MBA, CA.(SA)

Ross Jennings | CEO

Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) Inc

Our Mentors have diverse and interesting backgrounds and have either owned their own small business or worked in an organisation that has had strong links to small business. They are extremely passionate about the role that small business plays in the economy and carry out their Mentoring work on a voluntary basis.  They acknowledge that it can be difficult, lonely and at times financially worrying running a small business.

SBMS is proudly supported by the Victorian State Government, and in particular the Minister for Small Business, the Hon. Natalie Suleyman MP and Small Business Victoria.

Our Mission Statement:

Our mission is to support SMEs to maximise their full potential.

Our Vision Statement:

To provide assistance for development, growth, increased profitability and employment to the small business community, by providing affordable and ongoing mentoring.

FAQ's

Do we research our mentoring activity?

From time to time, we ask our clients to complete a confidential survey on the mentoring that has taken place with them. This might be by email, mail or by telephone. We do this to ensure that we are always improving our programs, our mentoring performance and our client’s expectations. You can see the results of our latest survey on the Testimonials page.

Do we keep data records? 

Yes, we record our mentoring activity in a numerical database so that we are able to analyse our mentoring work. Your booking and session details are held on our database but are subject to the provisions of our Privacy and Confidentiality Policy which appears at the bottom of each screen.

Who runs SBMS Inc.? 

The organisation is strategically managed by a Board drawn from the volunteer members. This is headed up by our Chair Grant Snowden. Our CEO, Ross Jennings manages the day-to-day activities and develops our mentoring activities.

Is SBMS a Government department? 

No, the Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) is an independent, not-for-profit Association. SBMS is partly funded by the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) through the Victorian Government to deliver low-cost mentoring programs. However, it operates independently from Government.

How long have the SBMS Experienced Business Mentors been operating? 

The organisation started in 1986 with a few like-minded retired businessmen offering services to help small businesses. Over the years we have grown so that we now have around 200 Mentors, who volunteer their time to help small business owners to address issues and to grow their businesses.