Are you making the right decisions for your business? Are you on the most profitable path? What are your best options for success? What are your negative choices?
Being in business can be lonely and exhausting. This is where a board of advisers not only becomes helpful but may be an essential part of the operation of your business. Never think your business is too big or too small to seek advice from experienced and, more importantly, impartial advisers. The right advisers can help grow your business in a positive, productive and financially profitable direction.
These boards are separate from governance bodies. Whether there is a board of governors, a board of directors or no board at all, an outside advisory source is beneficial for a business. It is where business owners can speak openly and freely about their business concerns and issues. It is where they can get objective help to build on the strengths and look at weaknesses. An advisory board is your sounding board!
Advisory Board Benefits Include
- Looking at your business development opportunities
- Planning the strategy development of your business
- Getting an outside perspective of your business
- Looking at current performance and future outlook of your business
- Focus on and pinpointing the important issues of your business
- Jump starting new ideas and strategies for your business
Finding advisers
There are business consulting firms that visit your business offices or meet at their own. Meetings may be on a regular basis or as needed. These firms charge by the meeting, on retainer, or by the clock. This would be the more expensive option.
Advisory boards such as ourselves, Associated Senior Executives [ASE], offer mentoring services. As in our case, such groups operate as a volunteer advisory board. Our members give of our time in retirement, imparting advice based on our many years of combined business experiences and knowledge. Fees for these mentoring groups is minimal, in order to cover basic operating overhead. You and your business are the sole focus of the meeting.
An alternative is to be involved in various business to business round table groups. However these are not a one on one and generally involves group discussions. The focus is not on you or your business solely. This may be a sponsored group or have an association fee.
What to look for in an advisory board
- Your advisory board should understand your business and be able to find a different perspective of your business. In other words, you may be doing some things very well but an alternative approach can make those areas advance even further. Or you may boggled by a bad situation. You and your advisers can focus on a different direction and help pull you out of the problem issue.
- Understand what you can afford in an advisory board but remember that good advice will pay off in the end.
- Be prepared. Send your meeting agenda to the board before the meet up. Itemize what should be covered in order of importance. Financials are extremely helpful. Clarify so that no time is wasted, particularly if paying on a time basis or if there is limited meeting time.
- A good advisory board should know what it is like to run a company. Having the people with both the empathy and strategies to cope with the demands of entrepreneurship is a great way to become empowered and drive your business forward.
After meeting, you will likely be overwhelmed by the amount of information discussed but you should always feel that new ideas have been brought to the table and that there is homework to be done.
Whether focusing on many issues or just one, ALWAYS TAKE NOTES!
Doreen Levitz ASE