By Eddie Snyder and Renee Sweeney

Do you want fresh ideas, new business and community connections, a challenge to your thinking, and allies? Whether your company is a start-up looking to get a jump start, a small family-owned business looking to become well-known, or any company that could use some new strategies, consider forming an advisory board. Here are several ways in which an advisory board can benefit you:

• Big Picture View
• Focus on your vision of the company and where it is going by seeing the “big picture view” of the company rather than being stuck in day to day operations
• Serve as a reminder and advocate for the goals you want to achieve for your company
• Cheerleaders
• Great networking tools to develop new business relationships and obtain new customers
• An emotional boost through their support
• Knowledgeable Professionals
• Fill in the gaps of your expertise and capabilities, if you choose them carefully
• Propose ideas on how to run your business more efficiently
• Brainstorming Team
• Bring new and creative ideas to the company that is based off of their own experiences and knowledge
• Can serve as a sample target market. Differing ages, genders, and backgrounds give different perspectives that can be used when considering marketing strategies and product/service development
• Reliable References
• Lend credibility to the company by having other community members invested in what your company is doing
• Especially invaluable for startup or small growing businesses
• Impartial Support
• Have an objective point of view because they are not in the day-to-day trenches
• Serve as a reality check when business owners need it.
• Help in the decision-making process and mediate decisions between owners
• Inexpensive Consultant
• Most effective if compensated for time but can be non-paid
• Typically compensated for each advisory board meeting attended (two to four times each year)

Consider starting an advisory board for your company. It takes careful thought and consideration in choosing its members to maximize the impact they make to your company. This can make all the difference for the future of your company. We here at Snyder Cohn would love to help you get one started.