Finding Entrepreneurial Wisdom Small business owners have a number of options when seeking advice.
by Michele Janson
You’ve taken the entrepreneurial plunge and now you’re a small business owner. You’re suddenly responsible for your own livelihood and maybe that of others. Questions arise and you make the best choices with the information that you have, but how do you make sure that you know what you don’t know? One way is to tap into the experience of others.
There are many ways to tap into the knowledge of other successful business people — find a mentor, hire a consultant, create an advisory board, participate in a forum group or establish a formal board of directors. You may choose to use all of these, or choose to use none of these. As with everything else entrepreneurial, one size just doesn’t fit all. It’s your decision, but expertise is there for the asking, and gaining advice at critical junctures in your business growth is so much easier than going it alone.
What Comes First? Regardless of the avenue that you choose to pursue, first and foremost you must know what you want out of your business, what your personal strengths and weaknesses are, and what you perceive your needs to be.
You must be willing to listen and be open to new ideas. You are still the ultimate decision maker and, unless you’re reporting to a formal board of directors, any decisions and responsibility for those decisions are yours alone.
Communication is key. In many cases, individuals are helping you because they want to see you succeed. You don’t have to implement every idea, but you do need to communicate why you chose not to take their advice. Honesty is critical, so share both the good and the bad, and you’ll do yourself a world of good. You want people to help you with the options, not just people who are going to smile and nod.
Mentors Relationships with mentors are voluntary and non-paid, and usually occur as a one-on-one interaction between the business owner and mentor. Mentors will not directly provide you with the answers, but they will serve as a sounding board for you to discover what best meets your needs. They will also work with you to highlight areas that may need attention.
There is no right way to find a mentor, and you probably already have many mentors in your life. Mentors are simply people that you trust to open new avenues of thinking to yourself and your business.
Mentors want you to succeed, and invest something of themselves to make that possible. In the most successful relationships, the mentor becomes a trusted advisor and true friend, yet is not afraid to hold the business owner accountable for decisions. Advisory Boards and Forum Groups Advisory boards usually consist of 5-7 members with a wide diversity of thought and expertise. An advisory board does not have legal liability and guides the business owner rather than deciding for the business owner. The make-up of the advisory board is totally at the discretion of the chief executive and is not responsible to the company’s shareholders. Typically, meetings are held on a quarterly basis.
Often much of the value of an advisory board comes from the business owner preparing for the meeting and thinking through the issues that are of the utmost relevance.
Aim high in approaching people to serve on the advisory board, as the responsibility is seen as both flattering to the individual since they are viewed as qualified to help, and challenging because they are involved in helping a company solve its problems and grow.
Similar to an advisory board is a group of peers coming together monthly known as a forum group. Typically, there are 8-12 chief executives in a forum group and, due to the nature of information shared, no competitors are allowed within the same group. This is a structured small group environment where members share their strengths, strategies and experiences in an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality as they seek to learn and help others. Formal Board of Directors A board of directors has legal liability for the decision made within the company and is responsible to the shareholders of the company. Rather than simply giving advice to the company executive, they make binding decisions.
The board represents the stockholders and may not provide the support that the chief executive needs to move the company forward. Also, many small businesses are closely held and the board of directors consists of key employees and family members that may not have the diversity of thought that an advisory board can bring.
Above all, an executive should never hesitate to ask for help from trusted outsiders in working through issues. The relationships do require commitment on the part of everyone involved, but the rewards are infinite and definitely worth the effort expended. Michele Janson is executive director of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (HEMP), which matches seasoned, successful entrepreneur mentors with less experienced entrepreneur protegés. For more information, call (816) 235-6125 or send an e-mail .
