Pip Lawrence did not leave her stand for a moment as potential customer after customer strolled up at a networking event organised by the Kent Foundation.

She approached the charity four months ago looking for help running her personal training and health business.

Since then she has had three sessions with her dedicated mentor and picked up a host of business cards at events like A Blast! earlier this month, which marked the organisation’s 30th birthday.

“The mentor sessions have been incredibly helpful,” said Miss Lawrence, who launched Maidstone-based DayOne Wellness in 2012.

“I found it useful that it wasn’t someone in my family, who all want me to do well but they also throw their two pennies worth in.

“It is great to talk to someone who has already been successful. My mentor asks ‘have you thought of this?’ and tells me to stop thinking with my emotional brain and to think with a financial one. It gives me focus.”

The sight of young people mixing with clients is one which makes Kent Foundation director Paul Barron very proud.

He said: “I tell everyone to get a mentor. It is someone to talk to and throw around a few ideas.

“You get a different perspective on your plans. You listen to everything everyone tells you and then use the bits you find useful.”

Things have not always been this way at charity, run by Mr Barron for eight years.

It was founded as a source of start-up loans for emerging businesses run by young people. However, that all changed when it carried out some research in 2006.

“The trustees recognised that wasn’t effective,” said Mr Barron, who has been a youth worker in various guises since 1978.

“There were some success stories but generally the trustees felt it wasn’t the most effective way of using our funds.

“We started to pilot programmes that would educate young people rather than simply offer them a loan without the support that needs to go with it.”

“Our mission statement is about helping young people to start a business so they can contribute to the economic development of Kent..." - Paul Barron, Kent Foundation

The charity stopped giving out loans and launched a new set of services in 2008, culminating in the introduction of its mentoring programme in 2010, which is now its main activity.

Mr Barron said: “We recognised that mentoring was our most successful service, giving people one-to-one support from volunteers.

“Our mission statement is about helping young people to start a business so they can contribute to the economic development of Kent.

“That has remained the same over the years but we have changed the delivery method.”

The charity, based at County Hall in Maidstone, receives about 60 inquiries a year from young people looking to set up their own firm, typically resulting in about 25 successful companies a year.

“We measure success by whether they are still going after two years,” said Mr Barron. “It’s a bit arbitrary but we are always asked for results so we give out that figure at the end of each year.

“Sometimes young people realise they aren’t cut out for business or they discover their idea isn’t going to work.

“They discover that with the support of a mentor before they start borrowing thousands of pounds to launch a product.

“Even if a young person decides not to continue, you could argue that is a successful outcome.”