Creating a Board of Advisors
In Pitch Like a Girl: Get Respect, Get Noticed, Get What You Want, author Ronna Lichtenberg suggests that everyone treat themselves as a business — Me, Inc. — including forming a board of advisors. This idea intrigued me, so I did some additional research online.
According to an article on the NEW Entrepreneurs website, to form a board of advisors you first need to decide what kind of people you want on it: do you want cheerleader types, say, or motivational butt-kickers? Then you determine what areas of expertise you would like represented on your board. Some examples given in the article are:
- Marketing
- Business Management
- Long-Term Planning
- Finance
- Information Technology
- Sales/Distribution
- Public Speaking
- Spiritual Guidance
- Work/Life Balance
- Legal
Then, you ask people to be on your board and outline what you’re looking for in an advisor (in-person meetings? phone meetings? how often? what for?) and what they’ll get out of it. In many cases, having someone on your board won’t cost you more than an occasional restaurant meal.
This idea is interesting. I don’t have a board of advisors per se, though I do have a goal buddy who cheers me on, a personal trainer who forces me to lift heavy weights up and down, and a life coach friend who trades her life coaching advice for my writing advice. I wonder how much better I’d be doing, in business and otherwise, if I could add to my “board” a financial guru, a marketing expert, a health expert (beyond a personal trainer), and a writer/entrepreneur who is already at the level I’m striving for next?
Do you have a board of advisors? Who’s on it and how do they help you? [lf]
If you liked that post, you might also like:
Jan 27, 2007 Observations, Personal yammerings, Self improvement
I don’t have a board of advisors per se, but whenever I need feedback I post in my personal blog and get a wide range of opinions that help. For example, when I switched my website over to blog format, it was these people who pointed out glitches and things that I might never have seen. I also find that I get more stoked up and excited about something when I can blather about it to someone supportive, so I often have coffee with a good friend who can be relied upon to make a funny face when my idea is probably warped and to encourage me if she thinks it’s great. And when I was in a writing group (it’s funny how those peter out in this area, Silicon Valley) that was great support.
I ask my tax advisor about tax, but I have to pay her, so I don’t think that counts.
Especially when you’re a one-person business, it’s really important to not go it alone. I find I can focus better if I run ideas by other people, too. Otherwise, it does get a bit lonely sometimes. The important thing is to trust the person you’re blathering to and to actually listen to what they’ve got to say.