Bay Area Business Women, August 2002

Harness the Power of the Group to Grow Your Business
By Frank Cioffi



If you ask entrepreneurs about their key challenges, a common response, “I feel isolated in my decisions making. I have nobody to talk to about the choices I face.” While larger enterprises have the benefit of a board of directors and a cadre of consultants, small business owners are usually on their own.  The owner of a local office supply store put it this way: “I cam out of the corporate worked where I had top execs giving me guidance and staff people providing support. In my own business, it’s all me.”

An effective way to deal with this isolation is through the help of a small business advisory group, a peer group of business owners who help each other solve day-to-day challenges and stay accountable to the goals they set. 

The power of these groups can be phenomenal. Annual surveys of business advisory groups members find that four oft of five achieve their goals – just the opposite of the failure statistics usually associated with small businesses.

The advisory group concept itself is simple. Under the direction of a leader, groups of 10 business owners (in non-competing industries) meet once a month for half a day. The meeting time is divided between tackling the problems brought up by the members, reviewing progress toward goals, and doing exercises to upgrade management skills.

“Diversity in a group is one of its strength,” says Mike Van Horn, president of The Business Group in San Rafael, and a pioneer of eh business advisory group concept. “With a mix of retail stores, professional and personal services, general contractors and small manufacturers, it’s hard to find an issue that someone hasn’t had to deal with.”

 “In a group setting, your perspective is heightened. We quickly recognize opportunity, mistakes ad successes,” says Eva Shoshany, owner of WIGT Printing in Mill Valley, and herself a business advisory group participant. “Everyone contributes and receives, and there is reflection that happens with a group that is validating. People find that they have a contribution to make and they receive positive reinforcement.”

Accountability is a central benefit for advisory group members. At the beginning of each year, members set an action plan for the coming year and present it to their group. Throughout the year, the group helps them stay accountable. Most business owners had not previously created a yearly plan, and the few that had didn’t stick to it.

“When a group member does an annual plan presentation, we find it stimulating rather than competitive,” says Shoshony. “We’re all motivated to make progress on our goals and share our enthusiasm on that level. This dynamic makes it easy to give and receive the frank input business owners need.”

Small business owners grapple with the challenges of growth, but rapid growth is not the only goal. “Some owners don’t care about frowning more,” says Van Horn. “They want to carve out more time for other things – without jeopardizing their business viability. Achieving this work/live balance is very common theme, and it requires owners to change their management style and the way they run their business.”

Overcoming entrenched management habits is another big issue addressed during group meetings, but it’s the everyday challenges and opportunities that get most of the attention. “One day a business owner came to the group all excited about what he thought was a really good idea,” says Van Horn. “The group was decidedly cool and convinced him not to proceed. Now he acknowledges that the group input kept him from making a $20,000 blinder!”

Small business advisory groups aren’t for everyone – you’ve got to value the give-and- take with your peers, and be willing to be a resource for them as well.  To harness the power of the group for yourself, you can pull together a circle of business owners to meet regularly or join an ongoing group that meets in your community.

In addition, there are books and manuals on group leadership as well as programs that you can license to provide the framework for structuring your group. It’s the closest many small business owners will get to having their own personal board of directors.

Frank Cioffi is a small business owner in Marin county. To contact Mike Van Horn, president of The Business Group, call (415) 491-1896 or email mvh@businessgroup.biz.