- Others can help your success by providing valuable business insight and oversight.
- A specific area of interest, e.g. entry into new market requires specialist advice.
- You are looking for early stage market validation.
- The flexibility of engagement appeals to you.
- You need help with succession planning and/or to become investment ready.
- You want your business to become more professional.
Below is an article that Debra Chantry, Our Principal & Business Coach, wrote the following article for The Icehouse…
Debra Chantry, Business Coach and Mentor at The Icehouse, sheds light on the importance of an Advisory Board – How an Advisory Board can impact your business, how your business can tell whether your Advisory Board is cutting the mustard, and what can happen businesses who choose to fly solo.
An Advisory Board is like having a Business Coach or Mentor, on steroids. Rather than one experienced person to help you with accountability and acting as a sounding board, you can have two or three that not only provide you with big picture thinking but the diversity that a single coach or mentor cannot offer.
The whole purpose of an Advisory Board is to drive a business forward – but when should a business start a Board? A formal Board of Directors usually comes once there are multiple shareholders in a company. Those who make up the Board of Directors are more often than not appointed by the shareholders to legally manage, direct and supervise the company.
However, there is a middle step for startups & SME businesses and that’s an Advisory Board. An Advisory Board is more often than not set up by the Owner/ Manager of the business, with these Boards existing to provide defined advice and information in an informal and flexible manner. There may be a number of reasons why your business or startup may be seeking out governance in the form of an Advisory Board: