Why Is Now the Right Time for an Advisory Board?

When cash is tight, the bank won’t increase your loan and the future isn’t yet clear, these are good indicators having an external advisory board will be valuable. An advisory board can be the bridge between what you need today and what the business can afford.

Five Questions Signaling Now is the Right Time to Establish an Advisory Board:

1. Are you preserving cash flow by either not hiring senior staff or not engaging consultants?
2. Do you have pressing issues but don’t know where to get the answers or the ones you’ve received aren’t useful?
3. Has the recession and now the recovery presented business opportunities you aren’t sure how to take advantage of?
4. Does your business strategy need tweaking given all the turmoil the recession has caused?
5. Are you simply worn-out from doing it all yourself and need additional brainpower to think through decisions?

For many advisors the fee they collect is at the bottom of the list for why they agreed  to serve.  Many advisors will start out serving for free.  So if you have identified a few individuals who could help you out and they aren’t people you would normally engage as staff or consultants, invite them for coffee and explore the possibility.  The worst they can say is no but it’s likely they will say yes.  During an economic recovery is a perfect time to start your advisory board.

Need more information on how to set-up your advisory board?  The Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board is now available.