Being the owner of your own business can be a lonely existence. You could be a sole proprietor or the only senior member of your company with no-one to discuss important business decisions with or challenges that you inevitably face in running your business.
One solution to this problem is to meet regularly with business owners in a similar position to yourself and use their knowledge and experience to act as your board of directors. Though how can you reach out to these people that are in a similar position facing similar challenges to you?
In my experience I have found two channels to find the “board that you cannot afford”
Firstly you can contact a trade association for your particular business and find out if they have forums to bring members together to discuss issues and challenges.
Secondly you can look for groups run in your local area that bring together people from different types of businesses.
I belong to both types of groups as they both have their advantages. Last week I hosted my Accountants’ Mastermind group at our offices in Rochester. We openly share the success and challenges in our businesses as well as discussing the latest software solutions and what works well and what does not. The benefit of all of us being accountants is that we have all faced similar challenges so can offer some very specific insight and experiences and a very clear focus on issues. The disadvantage is that we can all have the same approach and not have a breadth of experience.
Therefore I also belong to Pure B2B in Rochester and the ABLE London CEO group. These sessions have members from very different business and can therefore offer different perspectives which you may not have previously considered.
The biggest challenge is often trust; am I willing to share my problems with people that are initially strangers, and can I allow myself to appear weak because I cannot solve all my problems? What you find is that everyone has the same thoughts and usually suffers or has had the same issues that you have. You just need to get over yourself and give it a go.
If you are uncertain about the benefits that you will get that why not come along for a trial session and find out if it works for you.
We are hosting an event at Topes restaurant in Rochester on Friday 11 September, and we would like to buy you, and a business colleague, lunch. Come and learn about profit improvements and to share the experience of a Mastermind Board with other Kent business owners.
The value of this event is £197 but we are so passionate that we are welcoming you as our guest. Places are limited however, so act fast visit http://aspirations.liquidtestsites.co.uk/news/upcoming-events/ to book reserve your place.
