Own a North Texas Business? Do You Sleep Through the Night or Are You Staring at the Ceiling?
The business owners I see break through usually aren't the smartest or the hardest working. They're the ones who stopped trying to figure it all out alone. For North Texas owners, a peer board offers what's hard to find anywhere else: honest advice, protected time to grow and business owner accountability that actually sticks.
Running a business is not for the faint of heart. Nobody warns you about the sleepless nights or anxiety. Nobody warns you about the isolation.
You start your business because you're good at something. Maybe you're a great electrician in Fort Worth, a sharp accountant in Plano, a techie in Frisco with a great idea or the person everyone in Dallas calls when their marketing falls apart. Then one day you look up and you're the CEO, the HR department, the collections team and the person who fixes the copier.
Your employees count on you for answers. Your spouse has heard about the cash flow problem enough times. Your friends who work for someone else nod politely, but they don't really get it. So, you carry the hard decisions around in your head, usually around 2 a.m.
Who do you talk to when nobody else gets it?
When eight or ten business owners sit around a table once a month, the walls come down fast.
They aren't competitors. They aren't customers or vendors trying to sell you something. They're people running a landscaping company, a technology company, a staffing firm and a machine shop, and every one of them has dealt with a key employee who quit at the worst possible time.
That's the gift of a real peer community. You get advice from people who've already paid for the lesson, and who have no reason to tell you anything but the truth.
Who holds a business owner accountable when there's no boss?
Most business owners don't have a boss, which means nobody holds them to what they said they'd do. That freedom is part of why we started a business in the first place.
We all have a list. Raise prices. Hire a sales manager. Finally build that budget. Take a real vacation. The list gets longer every quarter, and urgent work keeps pushing those items to the side.
Accountability changes that in a simple way. You tell a room of people you respect what you'll get done before you meet again. Then you walk back into that room 30 days later and give an update.
Nobody scolds you. They don't have to. Just knowing you'll be asked, "So, how did it go?" is often enough to get the hard thing done. When life does get in the way, the group helps you figure out what's actually blocking you. Usually, it isn't time. It's fear, or a decision you haven't made yet.
Coaching adds a second layer. Between board meetings, I meet one-on-one with owners to take what they committed to in the group and turn it into next steps for this week.
How do you work on your business when the phone won't stop ringing?
You've probably heard the phrase "work on your business, not just in it." It sounds nice. It's also hard to do when the phone won't stop ringing.
The owners I see grow are the ones who protect time to think. A few things tend to make the biggest difference:
Start with your personal vision. What does the future look like in five years? Does your business support that future?
Turn the vision into a written plan. Keep it simple. Pick a few priorities for the year and make sure someone owns each one.
Bring your hardest problem to the table. Don't bring the polished version. Bring the messy one you haven't solved and let people who've been there ask tough questions.
Look at the numbers every month. Growth you don't measure is mostly a feeling.
What happened when one owner got a board behind him?
Jon Lisko, a TAB member whose story is featured by The Alternative Board, started Lisko Environmental, an environmental consulting firm, in late 2016. His firm handles site remediation and due diligence work. He understood early that growing it meant surrounding himself with good people, both in the field and in the boardroom.
About two years in, he went looking for mentors and someone to hold him accountable. He joined a TAB board and got coaching support alongside it.
Over time, he got more confident making decisions, more disciplined about planning and clearer about where he wanted the business to go long term. His firm's revenue tripled. Profitability got stronger, and he built a workplace that's better for him and his team.
Notice what Jon did. He brought in people who'd been there, put his plan on paper and let others hold him to it. That's community, accountability and growth working together.
You can read Jon's story and a few others from TAB members.
Questions owners ask me about peer boards
How often does a peer board meet?
Once a month. Each board is 8 to 10 owners who don't compete with each other, and between meetings I coach owners one-on-one.
What kinds of businesses join?
Owners and senior leaders of privately held North Texas companies, usually somewhere between $500K and $12M in annual revenue. Industries vary, and that's part of the value. Someone outside your industry sees your problem from an angle you can't.
Is a peer board the same as a business coach?
No, and you don't have to pick one. The board gives you perspective from other owners. Coaching keeps you moving between meetings.
How do I know where my business stands right now?
TAB's free Business Snapshot gives you a quick first look. For members, I start with the Blueprint diagnostic before recommending anything, because I'd rather diagnose before prescribing.
Find your table
You don't need more information. Books, podcasts and webinars are everywhere. What most owners are missing is a small group of people who know their business, tell them the truth and expect them to follow through.
Community gives you perspective. Accountability gets you moving. Growth comes from doing the hard work month after month.
At The Alternative Board, we've built our whole approach around that idea. TAB North Texas, part of The Alternative Board, helps owners of privately held companies across Dallas-Fort Worth make better decisions through peer advisory boards, one-on-one coaching, and strategic planning. Whether you find it with us or somewhere else, please find your people. You've built something worth growing, and you don't have to build the next part alone.
Whether you're working through a problem or sizing up an opportunity, the first conversation is about your business, not a sales pitch. If you own a company anywhere in North Texas, I'd be glad to hear what you're working on.
Call 866-866-8731, or start a conversation with TAB North Texas. We'll find a time to talk.
