A Board of Advisors May Be the Best Thing You Ever Did!

For many privately held companies the thought of having a bunch of "strangers" meeting with you on a quarterly basis to look at your company and your financials and question what you're doing is almost unthinkable! Let me make this statement:


Not having a Board of Advisors was probably one the worst decisions I made when I owned my own business!!

I always said to myself "who knows the business better than me?" Answer: A lot of smart people.

I'm going to have a group of people tell me how to run my business? - YES!


Very briefly: with the correct people on your board, they can provide for you the following:

• An objective view of how your running your business
  
• An objective view of your strategy
  
• Share with you their own experiences dealing with similar issues
  
• Objectively evaluate your management team
  
• Objectively evaluate your strategy and make suggestions
  
• Provide contacts and experience in almost every area you may need for the growth of your business

In order to get the best out of each and every board member and every meeting, I recommend that you pay board members. Why? Because you always get what you pay for.

Here is some additioinal information on the mechanics of assembling an advisory board:

- Are there Empty Seats at Your Management Table?

-10 Tips on Setting Up an Advisory Board

Feel free to contact me with your questions about advisory boards and how to make one work for you.

Managing Your Assets

There are three very important assets that any owner must manage in order to have a successful business. Those assets are:

• Your Inventory


• Your Cash


• Your People

Your first reaction maybe "no kidding"! However, think about it for a moment.

• Is your inventory giving you the turns that you need to serve your customers without being too large?
• Are you making sure the inventory is clean, fresh and saleable?
• How many times do you check the physical to the book inventory to make sure you are getting the correct information?
• Are you watching your receivables to make sure no customer(s) get too far ahead of you?
• Are you stretching your payables without getting your vendor(s) upset with you?
• Are you managing your people so that they are giving you all that is required to be successful?
• Do they know what is expected of them?

Think about these questions. Spending some time answering these questions can pinpoint the areas of your business that can be improved for better results.

Here is some additional food for thought:

Do the 5 Minute Review of Your Financial Statements

Corporate Identity/Branding

What is "Corporate Identity/Branding"? I have always defined it as the "nonverbal communications" between you (the company) and your employees and customers.

Thirty years ago I attended an industry seminar where a presentation was made on the importance of a strong corporate identity. We were a very small company in a very competitive space - retail drug. I then decided if we were going to not only survive but flourish against our competitors we were going to have to do something bold!

I hired an international corporate identity firm. We discussed who we are, what we are and what we wanted to be in the marketplace. A whole new identity was created for us. It differentiated us from the pack. We were highly recognizable in our competitive area. We looked like a national chain! Our business grew rapidly!

We were the smallest client this firm ever had. It was expensive but worth every penny.

After we sold the drugstores to CVS, I bought a small chain of pet supply super stores. I did the same program of corproate indenty/branding. It worked just great! We became the largest privately held chain in New England. We sold it two years later, to PETCO Animal Supply of San Diego, and got a 10x return on my money!

Here is a document to take a look at: Protobrand 25 "New England's Most Powerful Brands". This link is an excellent example of how important branding is to a business.