I had never considered starting a business before moving here, although it had been a dream of my husband’s for decades. The thought of starting a business on my own was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. After some careful thought and discussion, my husband Gerard and I cashed in our NY chips and moved to Maine in 2003 to birth Gerard’s “baby”, his jewelry store Porte4.

For all of you self-employed, small business owners reading this, you know what I mean about the exhilarating / terrifying contrasting emotions that occur in the course of running your own business, don’t you? In fact, the exhilaration can turn to terror in the blink of an eye, feeling like the two emotions are inseparable.

But get here, we did and I found the resources the state of Maine makes available to small business owners and entrepreneurs overwhelming. If you are thinking about starting a business, want to buy a business or want to grow the business you already have, there’s no shortage of information here: SCORE, SBA-Maine, CEI, FAME, SBDC, Maine.gov, Maine Business Works. These are just a few. (2 other great sources of information is Entrepreneur.com and About.com. Happy researching)

What I found difficult was to convert all the information I found into usable and practical ‘how-to’ data. I didn’t know where to go to talk to someone about the real-world of starting the business. Things like:

• How do you balance the needs of everyone: customers, employees, family, self?
• When and how do you make the decision to hire your first employee?
• ..and then how do you recruite and keep great people?
• What is the right mix for marketing your small business? – Multi-media advertising, PR, speaking, event sponsorship, direct and e-mailing; networking; community involvement …Argh!
• Growth Strategies – How do you balance the need for growth & innovation yet keep the core of your business steady and strong?

Well? Who can you turn to for help in making critical decisions? Wouldn’t it be nice to talk to someone on a regular basis who 1) you could trust and 2) could give you feedback based on their experience?

If so, you should consider joining a peer advisory group (aka master mind group). Peer advisory groups provide small business owners a confidential environment to share with each other, helping each other by leveraging each other’s experience and knowledge. The benefits can be huge. Among them are:

• Reduce Costs: Small business owners often don’t have the budget to "re-invent the wheel". By learning what other businesses have successfully done, you can save time and money.
• Avoid Mistakes: Solving business problems on your own can result in costly delays and errors. Learning what others have done can help keep you moving forward.
• Find New Ideas: Get outside your own paradigm and see through the eyes of other business owners. They may give you a perspective that leads you to a far greater outcome than you could have achieved on your own.
• Improve Performance: When you look for best practices outside your own business, a wonderful thing happens. You raise the bar of performance and set new standards of excellence to propel your company forward

There are a number of organizations out there who sponsor peer groups, executive forums, master mind groups, etc. There are three I know of in this area and I think they are all good, but they vary in focus, price, content and personalization. Catering to businesses doing $5 million to $25 million in revenue is Growth Strategies out of Plympton, MA and Executive Forum, a franchise organization headquartered in La Jolla, CA.

From personal experience I know the challenges smaller businesses, sales under $5 million, have are as numerous and complex as many larger organizations. Therefore, Bold Vision is sponsoring peer advisory groups for small business owners called Ocular Forum. If you’re interested in more information visit our website at www.BoldVisionConsulting.com.

Larger organizations have their boards of directors and larger budgets. Small business owners should have the same advantage and now do through peer advisory groups.

Until next time, do BOLD Business. Remember, it all starts with a Vision.

E-mail this entry to a friend