What to Look for Prior to Joining a Local Business Advisory Board

From a small business to a Fortune 500 company, every organization faces constraints in getting the expertise they need due to limited time, money, other resources, and middle management barriers.

Therefore, a Business Advisory Board —comprised of a group of outsiders to the business, who share their knowledge to help guide and grow the business, becomes crucial for companies of all types and sizes. 

 If you are reading this blog post, you are probably already considering joining an Advisory Board or creating one. You may also be actively participating in an Advisory Board. But is your Advisory Board operating at its highest potential?

Here are the prerequisites of a high-functioning Business Advisory Board. 

 1. It would help if you had the right people from diverse backgrounds on the Board.

 Of course, an advisory group is only as good as its members. Members on an Advisory Board should be carefully selected and have experience in a diverse range of domains.

For instance, a good Advisory Board should have legal counsels, accountants, marketing, and sales professionals, etc., on its board to provide specialized guidance in any particular area.

It is also necessary to have a healthy mix of industries. Diversity in all forms, be it the field of expertise, trade or industry, gender, generation (for instance, millennials and baby boomers), and even cultural and ethnic backgrounds, can make a massive difference in the quality and depth of insights offered.

2. An effective Advisory Board can provide expertise in all areas of your business.
A great Advisory Board can (and should) offer expert advice and guidance in all areas, including sales, marketing, finance, human resources, and operations, management, leadership, business strategy, and growth, etc.

Therefore, it is important to include individuals who specialize in all these areas. Having someone who specializes in a particular field present an outside perspective to any business challenge is invaluable.

An effective Advisory Board should look at a business from many angles and provide a 365-degree view of the company. 

3. Useful Advisory Boards test new ideas and challenge established assumptions.
"Every assumption we hold, every claim, every assertion, every single one of them must be challenged." This quote from General Mark A Milley, Chief of Staff in the U.S. Army, also applies to Advisory Boards.

It may not be about life and death, like in military warfare, but it is about the survival of a business. Amazon is an excellent example of an organization that challenged assumptions in its early years. 

Amazon invited third-party vendors to sell alongside them on Amazon even though these vendors could sell at lower prices and compete with Amazon. The assumption would have been that these vendors would eat into Amazon's profits, but Jeff Bezos challenged this assumption and turned Amazon into a $1.71 trillion company. 

Therefore, a robust Business Advisory Board will push you out of your comfort zone by compelling you to think about doing things differently. That is where growth resides. 

4. An influential Advisory Board is a sounding board for any business.  
One of the biggest reasons for a business owner to join an Advisory Board is because it is lonely on the top. When a small business owner has an idea, a business challenge, or an opportunity, it is often difficult for them to talk about it to their friends and family, and if they do, they don't usually get what they are looking for — an honest, outside perspective. 

A robust Advisory Board brings a sense of clarity in various scenarios and a sense of calm reassurance during tough times. It provides business owners the freedom to elicit an outside viewpoint safely.

5. An excellent Advisory Board helps fill in management capability.

Having a group of advisers can help fill in any gaps. In many cases, there is a gap in management's expertise. A comprehensive Advisory Board should fill any gaps, especially ’management' gaps to be truly useful. This can help a business in a multitude of situations. 

6. It helps provide valuable insights into business challenges. 

A sound Advisory Board keeps business owners informed of financial and market trends. This is where a diverse Board can make a big difference. 

7. It should keep abreast with business and financial trends.
A great Business Advisory Board is dynamic in composition and keeps abreast with current trends. It directs operations and provides guidance based not only on experience but the latest business trends.  

 8. It must add many years of combined experience. 
An ideal Business Advisory Board will add many years of experience, multiple facets of talent, and a diverse pool of knowledge to your business. 

9. An Advisory Board should have the generosity of spirit.
An excellent Advisory Board is generous in spirit and enjoys giving back to the community. Advisory Board members do not withhold great ideas and give freely. They should also be honest and not sugarcoat because the goal is to help businesses succeed. 

As a leader of your company, your employees look to you for vision and direction. Investors expect a high return on their investment. But when you approach a fork on the road ahead or an obstacle, you do not have the peer support you need. A Business Advisory Board can help you navigate unchartered paths and provide the guidance you need to make the best choices to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, and grow your business.