New Paragraph
The Benefits of a Peer Advisory Board
April 7, 2021
While there are plenty of rewarding aspects that come with owning a business, it can also come with challenges that only other entrepreneurs are familiar with. A peer advisory board offers a way for business owners to connect with each other, share challenges, and brainstorm solutions for personal and professional growth.
Support Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
You work really hard to differentiate your business from the competition, and rightly so — but this also means you need support that fits your model and goals. Working with a group of peers that understands those unique needs can offer up great advice, without tipping your hand to let the competition know what you’re up to by asking someone else in your network for insight.
Look Beyond the Dollar
Of course there are financial benefits to seeking out help running your business, but a peer advisory board offers more value than just monetary. Finding a group of peer advisors who understand that work-life balance is essential to success and know that chasing dollars disrupts that balance, you’ll be able to clearly see advantages beyond the bottom line.
Give and Receive
Entrepreneurs are human too, and even the most successful business owners have some weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Joining a peer advisory board offers you an opportunity to provide support to others and help others with your strengths. This will also allow room for you to hone your leadership, mentorship, and facilitator skills, all of which entrepreneurs need access to at all times.
Watch Your (Mis)Step
If you’re a business owner who feels like they learn things the hard way by making mistakes, that’s perfectly fine. However, with a peer advisory board, you have a group of entrepreneurs who have likely already made those same mistakes before — which means you don’t have to. Your board will point out when you may be about to make a costly misstep.
Figuring Out Fundamentals
Even with different business models and across different industries, there are a few fundamentals that are ubiquitous when it comes to running your business. If you haven’t ever learned these basics or it’s been a while since you’ve revisited them, don’t overlook the role of a peer advisory board to help you get back on track and motivate you while you create new habits or change unhealthy ones.
Building Plan B
If there’s anything we’ve learned as business owners in the last year, it’s that we need a wide array of contingency plans in place to help keep our doors open in times of crises. With a peer advisory board, you’ll have a pool of insider-only resources and advice to help create those plans. That way you’ll be able to have some peace of mind when challenging times hit, instead of being reactive with no real strategy at hand.
Growing Self-Awareness
Your friends and family, and especially your employees, will try hard to be supportive, but that may mean you’re always hearing that your ideas are great or that those around you agree with every point that you make. This can be great for our ego, but eventually it leaves us complacent. Joining a peer advisory board may hold a mirror up for you to see a new perspective and force you to think about unconventional ways to grow personally or professionally.
Adding to Accountability
Telling yourself that you’ll make a change is one thing. Take it one step further by joining a peer advisory board and telling them that you have some goals you’re working on. You’ll get a sounding board and a cheering section to motivate you to stay accountable and acknowledge your progress. You are much more likely to keep tabs on yourself, and it opens doors to the other members of the group for you to be their cheerleaders too.
Networking Net Gain
The relationship-building benefits are likely the most valuable on this list. When you’re working so openly with peers with similar mindsets, everyone plays an integral role in each other’s success. That’s a relationship that stays with you forever and provides a consistent space where you can feel comfortable being vulnerable and discuss taking risks; both of which are also integral in your success.
Our peer boards are grouped to create the ideal mix of experience, common interests, and chemistry to best support one another. While your business may not be large enough to have an official Board of Directors, you still need the advice and support that comes with this type of organization — let us help.
