💡 The Secret Weapon Behind Successful Solopreneurs (Issue 148)
Why Every Small Business Needs an Advisory Board
Do you have a board of advisors for your business?
If not, you should! It’s not just something for big, ol’ fancy corporations.
I run a few solopreneur businesses, and I have created a small, unofficial board of advisors for each one. They help me so much! For example:
Brainstorming new business ideas
Giving me feedback on a new strategy
Helping me understand the customer mindset
Being a sounding board for decisions
Providing insights and expertise I don’t have
Introducing me to potential partners
Referring customers to me
Your board should be about 3-5 people you can trust with your innermost business secrets. You don’t want anyone involved who could be a competitor or might disclose your business ideas to others.
But where do you find people like this? Well, here are some potential sources:
Past colleagues with whom you’ve had a strong relationship
Friends who have valuable skills, knowledge, experience, and connections
Online friends and acquaintances with whom you have built a trusting relationship
Your most valuable long-term customers and clients
Some of my best advice has come from great people who used to be my clients. They know me and my business. And they’ve seen it from the buyer's side. You’d be surprised by how often loyal customers want to help you grow and succeed. Some of them would be happy to be a sounding board for you. When I was working for eBay, we called this the Voices of the Community.
While your advisors are an excellent resource, don’t abuse the relationship and lean on them too often. Unless you are compensating your advisors, they are usually helping you for free.
I have been a paid advisor, and I have also played that role for free. When I was getting paid, I was happy to answer questions from the business owners more frequently. But, I also had a few unpaid advisory roles where the founders pinged me every single day. That’s not cool.
Would you like to talk more about how to build your own board of advisors? You can schedule a complimentary call.
Larry Cornett is a business coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! Check out his new Invincible Solopreneurs Daily Journal!
