Owner To Owner Podcast

Louise Broekman from the The Advisory Board Centre on how business owners can benefit from advisory boards

Episode Summary

Louise Brockman has deep experience in owning and running small businesses. She has experienced the highs and lows, and draws on this experience to help other business owners via The Advisory Board Centre.

Episode Notes

Louise Brockman is the founder and CEO of the Advisory Board Center. She grew up in a small business family and started her first business at 19 years old. It's in her blood. She has experienced the absolute highs and lows. With this cumulative experience, she is on a mission to help other #businessowners take advantage of outside advice. In our discussion she talks about;

the big adventures she had when the family started a new business
her #firstbusiness was a #restaurant in #MissionBeach
when the family lost everything in a cyclone hit, and she couldn't afford to go to university
working in #corporatelife for a period of time but really missing #beinginbusiness
#starting and #growing a #software based #professionalservicesbusiness helping #SMEs with their #outsourcedhumanresources
wanting to grow it, needing to be cautious and deliberate in the decisions about what's next
second guessing the decisions made
misjudging the launch
having to sell everything that I owned, to keep the business going
realising a year later, that when she had the opportunity to grow that business wanting to be confident of not messing it up and put herself at risk
putting together her own advisory board
her life-changing moment
growing their business to 135 offices in eight countries in five years, and selling the business
being so grateful for what the #AdvisoryBoard had done leading to spending five years researching testing and validating the advisory board sector globally
put everything on the line
using her personal experience as a great foundation for building this current business
be open and willing to seek advice
the different levels of #advice available #smeowners
picking the advice that is fit the purpose for the situation you're in, the period of time, the market
#informaladvice - getting advice instance from #familyandfriends, people who know you and love you and want the best from you. It's very supportive and they want the best, who knew personally.
#peertopeeradvice - extremely informal, really supportive
#beertobeersupport - really important mutual support
#businessnetworkgroups, and #informaladvisoryboards, e.g. #chamberofcommerce or #businessgroups
the really important socialization of business owners - because it's lonely in business it's important to get out of our own bubble and socialize with other people that have this similar situation
why #Informaladvisoryboards is where the market has been - no one's paid, but generally they last for about six months and they kind of fizzle out
one on one relationships like a #businesscoach #mentor #consultant as targeted support for that for a period of time
the unrealistic expectations of one person having the answer to everything about their business
as mentors and advisors being really careful about where the boundaries are - when should we provide advice and when we should stop when it starts getting outside about entering expertise or knowledge.
using #formaladvisoryboard with a #chair and external advisors, a #charter so everyone's focused on some critical aspects of what's important to the business and #measuringimpact
#governanceboards with #boarddirectors - with directors becoming personally liable
The mistake of jumping straight to the ‘who I know’ component vs figuring out what the business needs and prioritising
The types and size of businesses using advisory boards
#projectbasedadvisoryboards
filling #knowledgegaps and #skillsgaps
not duplicating your management disciplines
not becoming a #shadowdirector
focusing on context, not content
#buildingtrust or learning to trust advisors
why #businessowners need to step up and do better #duediligence with regards to the way that they're evaluating their advisors - they're not all commodity providers
why you should interview them and make sure they are really curious about your business
#futurefocusssed advisors or mentors