Monthly Archives: November 2010

The board has it!

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How would it be if you had a team of people who could help you move your business forward? You could discuss issues which were holding your business back and get a different perspective on problem areas? How would you feel to have a board of people working on your business rather than going it completely alone?

NRG offers two opportunities for business owners to have this ‘board room’ experience.

Before every NRG meeting we hold NRG Extra. This is an hour long facilitated session where members and guests can bring an issue they would like help to unstick. These sessions are incredibly powerful and everyone (both the guys whose issues are discussed and those who bring ideas to the discussion) gets great value out of the experience. Chatham House rules apply so confidentiality is guaranteed. And the best thing is that it’s free!!

Our NRG Extra session on Thursday was a case in point. Three business owners were able to get some really great help and advice from peer professionals, in a way which would have been difficult for them to get elsewhere, without real expense.

In addition to the NRG Extra sessions NRG also runs something called ‘Boardroom’.

If you would like a more intense ‘board’ experience Boardroom provides it. Members sign up for 6 months and spend one day each month in the company of their fellow ‘board’ members working on their businesses. Over the 6 months they get a very clear picture of each other’s companies, and the mutual help and support they can provide each other means their businesses move forward at a great pace.

Even if you are the sole director of your business does not mean you have to go it alone. Help and support is out there – you just have to know where to look!

Fiona 🙂

When you work on your own who supports you?

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I spent yesterday at a CIMA MiPs at Cadbury House in Somerset. Now, who CIMA MiPs are is a question only relevant and interesting to CIMA MiPs, suffice to say they are a group of people who do the same as me. The reason we lay on the day is to help fellow business people, in the same line of work, by offering support and education, and to share ideas on best practice.

The day got me thinking about how small business owners can get support. It can be lonely running your own business, and you often don’t have anyone to talk to about how you are feeling and what problems you are facing. You often can’t talk to your life partner because you don’t want to worry them – and they wouldn’t understand anyway. You certainly can’t share your worries with your ‘friendly’ bank manager! So who do you go to?

For me, the answer lies the network of contacts, made up of business friends, I have built up over the years. Within this network are people I trust and we offer mutual support and advice to each other. Just being able to say ‘Life’s a bit shit’ to someone when they ask ‘How are things going’ can be a real relief!

It’s equally important to have people you can share successes with. When we were employed and we did a good job, there were generally people around who could say ‘Well done!’. Who does this when you work alone?

So my advice is to find business people you like and trust who can do this for you. If it’s early days how about using a coach or mentor?

Finally, I would just like to say a big thank you to Tony, Nicky, Andrew, Liz, Fiona, David, Trevor, Jo, Debs, and the rest of the Bevan Financial Management supporters club!

Fiona 🙂