Create an Advisory Board
Some small businesses create themselves an advisory board composed of people who are genuinely interested in seeing their business prosper. The value of an advisory board is that you receive expert advice and ideas.
Make it clear when you approach your board members that you’re not asking for a lot of their time—many advisory boards only meet quarterly. You can either pay them for their time or host a lunch or dinner for the meeting. You only need two or three people on your advisory board. Choose people you admire, such as other businesspeople or retired businesspeople.
Prepare a report and agenda for each meeting and distribute them ahead of time. Be honest with your advisory board so you get the full benefit of their management expertise. A novel idea I read about recently is to create an imaginary advisory board. Once again choose people you respect—either living or dead—and consult them when you need advice.
For example, if you need expert advice on management issues, you could have an imaginary conversation with Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence (1982) and The Brand You (1999). If you want an opinion on what to wear, you could ‘ask’ Audrey Hepburn or Madonna, depending on your personal style.
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