What do Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and Batman and Robin have in common? They have all benefited from a successful mentor-mentee relationship, says Jackie Brennan. In a bid to encourage female entrepreneurs, her company FRESHIDEAS EVENTS has launched The Mentor Competition. It will give women the opportunity to have some of the UK's most high profile and successful businesswomen work with them to help them achieve their goals, offering invaluable insights from their own business experiences.  Mentors include female internet heroes Karen Darby and Karen Hanton. Closing date is Friday 17 October 2008. Anyone with a business idea or potential ‘gold-mine' business, who needs advice and experience to launch,  or anyone with a growing business that wants to get a step ahead can submit to the competition.
The mentor women that unquestionably  can help women to ‘Make A Difference' when it comes to female success in business includes:

• Karen Darby, inspirational entrepreneur and founder of SimplySwitch, which was sold to the Daily Mail in 2006 for £22m.
• Karen Hanton, Founder and Chief Executive of toptable.co.uk; Karen was named as one of today's top 30 entrepreneurs in New Business Magazine.
• Sumerah Ahmad, Co-Founder and Director of Club Asia Radio 963+972am and listed in Management Today's Top 35 Women Under 35.
• Jo Haigh, Author and Head of Corporate Finance of MGR, has bought and sold over 300 companies in the last 20 years.
• Kerrie Keeling, Managing Director of A Woman's Touch, won the Natwest Business Woman of the Year Award in 2006 and the BT Female Entrepreneur Award in 2007, while in 2008 Management Today named her as "one of the eight to watch".
• Kresse Wesling, Director of EAKO, Babaloo and Bio-Supplies won the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future award at the Real Business Awards in 2007.
• Saima Butt, Managing Director of Enterprise Business Technologies, has run her own business successfully for over three years. She now has a customer base of 35,000 SMEs and employs 22 people.

Business Link in London is supporting the competition. Fran Currie of Business Link in London said: "Mentoring can help people achieve their full potential which is why Business Link in London is a key partner of this scheme. We think such initiatives will make a difference by encouraging more women to start and grow their business and in turn, foster economic growth. If you don't have a mentor however, alternatives like having a good, impartial, business adviser can help direct you on the path to achieving your goals."

How do you enter?

To enter the competition, you must submit a short summary about your career, your business or business idea and detail how a mentor could help you achieve your goals and contribute to your success. Entries should include the following information: your current position, your business or business idea and what sort of progress you would expect to see in your career/business in six months if you were to have help from a mentor. See further at FRESHIDEASEVENTS.