The Board is  peer to peer business support group and is all about creating a support network of other business owners so that you have people to turn to who can take an objective view of your business.  As business owners we all face the same problems – employee issues, finance issues, customer issues etc – so this group brings us together, both face to face and online, to share, discuss and overcome.

The Board is for small business owners that want to grow their business and improve their lives.  It can be lonely running a business and The Board gives an opportunity to get support from like-minded business owners who can share their knowledge and experiences and offer ideas to overcome issues that you may be facing.

Each meeting will typically last 4.5 hours and will start with breakfast, moving swiftly into a masterclass interactive session.  This is followed by each member of The Board presenting a problem to the group followed by questions, challenges, idea sharing and stories of their own experience in similar circumstances.  One member of The Board will be the Focus of the meeting and have a longer time to present and get feedback for a significant business problem.  Each member of The Board will identify actions to progress with to support them in the achievement of their identified Goals.  Before the meeting closes, there is time for the group to share any successes that they have had by using the ideas suggested by the group.

Please complete our enquiry form on our About The Board page.  We will then send you full details of The Board including the price and where the meetings will be held. If you wish to go ahead then you will then be issued with The Board Membership Questionnaire to complete and return so that we can match you with The Board group that most suits you.

Please see our page on Why Join The Board – for full details. The Board is all about creating a support network of business owners so that you have people to turn to who can take an objective view of your business challenges.  You will gain from learning in interactive masterclasses, being given knowledge and experiences from other members when sharing your own business problems, and gain from the “feel good” of supporting and helping others.  The goal setting and coaching aspect of the Board will also help you to keep focused on planning to achieve your business vision.

The Chair ensures that the objectives of The Board are being met.  They manage the agenda and encourage full participation. The Chair facilitates the problem sharing aspect of the meeting and supports members of The Board to identify actions to achieve their personal goals.  The chair also will mediate any disputes in the group and deal with any issue regarding conduct. Finally, the Chair will come and meet you each business to undertake their 1 to 1 coaching.

At each meeting, one member becomes the Focus and they will need to prepare and deliver a presentation to introduce a significant business problem they are facing.  They will then actively listen to the questions, challenges, idea sharing and stories of experiences from other members of the group

Feedback is given in a way to encourage reflective learning.  None really likes being told what to do, so we provide guidance on how to give feedback to all member of The Board to ensure that they are challenging, yet supportive.  Honesty and openness is also an important part of the feedback process.  We follow the principles of Action Learning to make this a productive peer-to-peer learning environment.

We will endeavour to put individuals into group that we believe will “fit” and support the productivity of The Board, however, from time to time, there may be some personalities that clash.  The Chair of The Board will facilitate mediation where possible.  If this is unsuccessful, there may be an option to move to a different Board group.  We have a Code of Conduct for members of The Board, and if a member fails to follow the required behaviours and actions, they may be asked to leave The Board.

Before you sign up to become a member of The Board, you will be asked to complete The Board Membership Questionnaire.  We will use this information to create group that have a range of personalities, experiences and business sectors.  We believe diverse group give a great dynamic for knowledge sharing.

The members will be Small Business Owners, like you, who are keen to grow their business.  They will be from different sectors, backgrounds with a broad range of experiences.

The problems discussed can range from dealing with restructuring to buying a new company, recruiting good people to planning for retirement and selling your business.  You may share any problem that you are facing in your business and be confident that you are not alone in facing it!

Regular attendance at the board is essential for the group to work so we do want you to commit to 12-months. However only after you have been to the first meeting and have got a feel for the group.

We will not force you to attend every Board meeting, but we will certainly hope that you do attend.  By not attending you will miss out on the shared learning experience had within the meeting, and the rest of the group will miss your contribution.