Thank you for your interest in the Queensland Government's Mentoring for Growth™ (M4G) program, supporting Queensland small businesses for over 20 years.

The M4G program provides free and confidential mentoring with business specialists to help you get through problems in your business or to help it grow. When you fill in this registration form, you need to advise what areas of your business you need assistance with and the M4G team will match you to the business specialist who has the right type of knowledge to help.

M4G mentors can help you with a range of business challenges or opportunities including business planning and development, cash flow, finance and accounting, government funding applications, marketing, technology, intellectual property and long-term growth strategies.

Businesses are welcome to attend a free session with experienced and skilled mentors approximately every 6 months.

This registration form will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. If English is your second language and you need help completing the form. Call 1800 512 451 and ask for an interpreter.

As you will not have the opportunity to save your registration and continue at a later date, please have the following documents and information ready before starting to complete your registration.

Note: The following information will help us to best match your business needs with our business mentors, so please be as honest and clear as possible.

  • Business financials (approx. turnover, gross profit and net profit, and export value if you are exporting. Helpful information on this topic is here.)
  • Employee numbers (head count of employees, excluding contractors and management)
  • At least two sentences for each of the following topics:
    • Business description and history
    • Vision and goals
    • Products, services and customers
    • Opportunities
    • Challenges

If you have a business plan, you can also attach a copy to your registration, but it is not mandatory to do so. You can find information and resources about business planning, including a business plan template on the Business Queensland website here.

Note: A mentoring session can only be scheduled if sufficient information is provided in the registration questions. This information is supplied to the mentors involved in your session and helps us to best match a mentor to your business needs.

If you are finding it difficult to complete the registration form at this time, and/or would like to be referred to your local departmental regional office, please email m4g@desbt.qld.gov.au. 

Once we have received your completed registration form, we will start to organise a mentoring session for you.

Agreement to the conditions in the Mentee terms and conditions is required for participation in the program. You will be asked to acknowledge and accept these conditions before you can continue your registration. All of our M4G mentors have also signed a Mentor Deed Poll, which sets out the obligations of both mentors and mentees under the program and ensures confidentiality.

*IMPORTANT*

Never supply information which you have any doubt about giving. Your personal and company Intellectual Property is very important and should be treated as such. The department and its officers and Mentors are subject to obligations of confidentiality and must not disclose confidential information without your consent.

After registering

You will be contacted by a departmental officer to discuss your registration within 3 business days.
It is important to note that registering your interest does not automatically mean you will join the program.

Privacy

The department collects personal information from you to provide services in relation to our mentoring program which meet your needs and to communicate relevant and related government information and services to you (e.g. workshops, seminars, grant programs).  We will only use your information for this purpose. Your information may be shared with individuals registered as Mentors with our mentoring program, the Minister Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business, and other Queensland government agencies.  Your personal information will be handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.  It will otherwise not be used or disclosed unless authorised or required by law.

 
 
 



Mentee Online Registration Terms and Conditions 

To participate in the M4G program, all mentees are required to agree to the Mentee terms and conditions. All M4G mentors are also required to sign a deed poll document. For your personal records, you can download a copy of the Mentee terms and conditions here. A link to downloadable document will also be sent in the confirmation email when you submit this registration.

Terms and conditions

In these Terms and Conditions, I/we/me/us mean the person registering to be a mentee in the Mentoring for Growth Program.

1. I will not, through my conduct and participation as a mentee in the Mentoring for Growth Program be deemed to be an employee, partner or agent of the Department.

2. I release (to the full extent permitted by law) the Department and the Mentor/s from and against any claim, actions, proceedings or demands and in respect of any loss, death, injury, illness or damage (whether personal or property, and whether special, direct, indirect or consequential, including consequential financial loss such as loss of profit, revenue, goodwill or business opportunities and damage to reputation) which may be brought against or made upon or incurred by the Department or a Mentor arising directly or indirectly out of:

  a. my interpretation or use of any guidance provided by a Mentor or any act or omission made by a Mentor pursuant to the Mentoring for Growth Program, including any referral agreement I enter into with a Mentor or a third party;
  b. any default by a Mentor in the provision of services under the Mentoring for Growth Program;
  c. any infringement or alleged infringement of any intellectual property rights or moral rights as defined in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

3. I will not encourage or allow a Mentor to solicit for business from me prior to or during a Panel Meeting or mentor chat.

4. While attending a mentoring session, including but not limited to Panel Meetings, or Mentor Chats, my understanding is that the Mentor will draw on their knowledge and experience to challenge my commercial assumptions and offer strategic options that may assist me overcome challenges or achieve commercial objectives. The Mentor may also suggest the names of persons or organisations that may further assist me.

5. I warrant that, to the best of my knowledge, I do not and am not likely to have any conflict of interest in participating in the Mentoring for Growth Program. If a conflict or risk of a conflict of interest arises, I will immediately notify the Department and I will comply with the directions of the Department to manage such conflict or risk or a conflict of interest.

6. I will treat all confidential information of a Mentor or the Department (including any information generated as a result of the Mentoring for Growth Program that is marked as confidential or could reasonably be considered as confidential) as confidential and will not, without the prior written consent of the owner of the confidential information, disclose or permit the confidential information to be disclosed to any other person, except as permitted by law or to the Mentee's own employees who are under an obligation to keep such information confidential.

7. I acknowledge that title to, and intellectual property rights in all Mentoring for Growth Program material, vests in the Department. Title to intellectual property rights in relation to anything created by a Mentor in relation to my business, in the course of the Mentor’s participation in a Panel Meeting, vests upon its creation in me. A Mentor’s existing intellectual property rights remain with the Mentor as the current owner.

8. I will, as and when reasonably requested by the Department, provide progress reports in relation to my participation in the Mentoring for Growth Program.

9. These terms and conditions will continue for the duration of my participation as a Mentee in the Mentoring for Growth Program.

10. My participation in the Mentoring for Growth Program may be terminated by either the Department or myself on giving the other reasonable prior written notice of such termination. Subject to clause 2(b) termination may be effective immediately or at a time nominated by the party giving notice.

11. The Department may vary these terms and conditions on notice to you.

12. Unless expressly provided for in these terms and conditions, this arrangement is governed by the laws of the State of Queensland.

13. I have read, acknowledge and agree to the Department’s privacy collection notice.

14. I agree that when receiving a Mentor’s services under the Mentoring for Growth Program, I will not rely on any information provided by a Mentor and will carry out my own due diligence prior to considering whether or not the information is suitable for my business. To remove any doubt, I fully accept all responsibility regarding the use of any information provided by a Mentor under the Mentoring for Growth Program.

Definitions

Department - means the State of Queensland represented by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training.

Mentor/s - means the person/s that provide/s the mentoring assistance to the Mentee.

Mentor Chat means a one on one or small business discussion with a Mentor/s for the purpose of receiving the mentoring services either in person, by telephone or videocall.

Mentoring for Growth Program - means the “mentoring for growth”, “mentoring for investment” and “mentoring for export” programs (or other mentoring programs) offered by the Department.

Panel Meeting/s – an official Mentoring for Growth Program session.

 
By checking this box you acknowledge you have read and accept the Mentee terms and conditions*
 
 
 
 

Contact details


Ideally, contact details should be provided for the owner of the business, as they will be the one attending the mentoring session.  
Business Name*
 
 
 
ABN*
 
 
 
 
Salutation
 
 
 
 
First Name*
 
 
Last Name*
 
 
 
Job Title*
 
 
 
Email*
 
 
 
Phone number
 
 
Mobile number*
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contact details provided are for the owner of the business*
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Website and Social Media

 
Website
 
 
 
Facebook
 
 
 
Instagram
 
 
 
LinkedIn Profile
 
 
 
Other, please specify
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Physical business address

Please Note - Only businesses with a Queensland address are eligible to participate in the program. The address provided below will be verified against the ABN.

 
Address Line 1*
 
 
 
Address Line 2
 
 
 
Suburb*
 
 
State*
 
 
Postcode*
 
 
 
 
 

Diversity

 
What is your age range?*
 
 
 
 
Which of the following best describes your gender identity?*
 
 
 
Do you have a disability?*
 
 
 
Do you speak a language other than English at home?*
 
 
 
What language/s do you speak?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Are you an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander person? Australian South Sea Islander person?*
 
 
Yes, I am also an Aboriginal person
 
 
 
Yes, I am also a Torres Strait Islander person
 
 
 
Yes, I am also a South Sea Islander person
 
 
 
 
 
 
Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur?*
 
Yes
No
 
 
 
 
 
 

About your business

Please complete as many areas in this registration form as possible. This information is used to prepare a briefing document for mentors participating in your mentoring session. The information you provide is also used to match you with mentors to best help with your business’ challenges and opportunities and to make sure you can get the most out of your mentoring session.

Your personal and company Intellectual Property is very important and should be treated as such. Never supply information which you have any doubt about giving. The department and its officers and Mentors are subject to obligations of confidentiality and must not disclose confidential information without your consent.

Please note: If there is insufficient information included in this registration you may be asked to provide additional details prior to a mentoring session being scheduled.

 
Is the business trading?*
 
Yes
No
 
 
 
If yes, what year did the business commence trading?
 
 
 
 
Business Stage*
 
 
 
 
 
 
Does your business identify as working within the following sectors? Please tick all that apply.
  
Tourism
 
 
 
Artisan food or beverage
 
 
 
Social Enterprise
 
 
 
National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tell us more about your business

We recommend providing at least 2 sentences in response to each of the following questions that have a text field for responses. These details help you get the most out of your mentoring session as they are provided to your mentors well before the session to help them prepare.

If minimal or no details are provided in each of the text fields that follow, we won't offer you a mentoring session until you provide more information.

 
Business description and history*
 
 
Business vision and goals*
 
 
Products or services and customers*
 
 
Business opportunities*
 
 
 
 
 
Business challenges / issues

(please select 2-3 challenge areas for discussion in your mentoring session) 
 
 
 
Business Planning / Business Direction
 
 
 
Marketing
 
 
 
Social Media
 
 
 
Websites / E-Commerce
 
 
 
Online Operations (Chatbots, AI, Cyber Security)
 
 
 
Pricing
 
 
 
Sales
 
 
 
Finances
 
 
 
Human Resources / Management
 
 
 
Technology / Systems
 
 
 
Operational / Processes
 
 
 
Franchising
 
 
 
International Business
 
 
 
Intellectual Property
 
 
 
Legal
 
 
 
Sustainability / ESG
 
 
 
Other
 
 
 
Other
 
 
 
 
 
Brief details about these challenges / issues*
 
 

Organisation Structure

Please provide a brief overview of your management structure and employment growth. Outline the organisational structure, number of employees, ownership structure, business systems, industry accreditations etc

 
Business Structure*
 
 
 
 
Other business structure
 
 
 
 
How many people do you employ? (headcount excluding owners and contractors)*
 
 
 
 
Management Team (Approx 50 words)*
 
 

Financials

Please note - Financial information below would only be provided to mentors that you have approved and is used by mentors when providing suggestions.  Approximate values are acceptable. Please provide the year to date (YTD) value if a full year figure is not yet available. 

 
Turnover 2022/2023
 
 
Turnover 2023/2024
 
 
Turnover 2024/2025 (to date)*
 
 
Gross Profit 2022/2023
 
 
Gross Profit 2023/2024
 
 
Gross Profit 2024/2025 (to date)*
 
 
Net Profit 2022/2023
 
 
Net Profit 2023/2024
 
 
Net Profit 2024/2025 (to date)*
 
 

Exporting

Please indicate if you are currently exporting and if so the approximate value of your exports.

 
Exporting*
 
 
If yes, Export Value
 
 
 

Other

Is there any other information about your business that you would like to share with us?

 
Other
 
 

Business Plan upload

It is not a requirement for you to attach a business plan, but you can if you wish. The volunteer Mentors will gain valuable insight into your business with this information and enable you to get the most out of your mentoring session.

More resources about business planning can be found on the Business Queensland website here.

 
Business Plan Upload
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Privacy

The Department collects personal information from you to provide services in relation to our mentoring program which meet your needs and to communicate relevant and related government information and services to you (e.g. workshops, seminars, grant programs).  We will only use your information for this purpose. Your information may be shared with individuals registered as Mentors with our mentoring program, the Minister for Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business, and other Queensland government agencies.  Your personal information will be handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.  It will otherwise not be used or disclosed unless authorised or required by law.

Go to https://www.business.qld.gov.au/privacy to learn more about privacy and our CRM on the Business Queensland website.

 
Where did you first hear about the program?*
 
 
If Other, where did you hear about the program?
 
 
 
Register for seminars, training, networking events and the monthly Business Queensland Connect newsletter
 
Yes
No