TAB in the News
Recent articles and segments on TAB have been featured in:
To read all our press articles and coverage, click here.
Vital Statistics
1994 - Moved corporate headquarters to Denver, CO area
1996 - TAB opens first U.S. franchise
1997 - TAB opens first Canadian franchise
2001 - Jason P. Zickerman joins The Alternative Board
2001 - TAB opens first international franchise
2003 - First annual small business index survey by The Alternative Board
2006 - "7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters" by Allen E. Fishman (McGraw-Hill)
2008 - "9 Elements of Family Business Success" by Allen E. Fishman (McGraw-Hill)
2009 - TAB launches in the UK
Industry Overview
Leadership
TAB UK is headed by Martin Allison, UK Chairman, and Paul Dickinson, UK Managing Director. Martin is an experienced media commentator and is available for comment on issues relating to the economy and SMEs.
Martin has been interviewed recently as an authority on small and medium sized businesses, British banking, sales management and business excellence.
He also speaks regularly at organisations such as:
History
TAB was founded in 1990 by Allen Fishman, who had earlier retired at age 45 after successful business ventures and was writing a nationally syndicated newspaper column, “Business Success” for entrepreneurs. Fishman’s own experiences and the hundreds of interviews he conducted with business owners across the United States on behalf of his column convinced him of the need for a business like TAB: bringing peer business owners together in advisory boards such as are available to leadership of large, publicly-traded companies. Fishman personally experienced the advantages of a board of directors after he had successfully guided a small private electronics firm to become a NASDAQ-traded public entity, which was eventually sold to the international leader in its industry. The business advice, ideas and motivation he received after the company went public remained an inspiration for him as he moved forward in creating a process to provide this service for owners of small and mid-sized private companies. The "board of directors" concept became The Alternative Board. The company’s innovative approach of having peers from non-competing businesses become board members for each other quickly allowed members to learn from each other’s experience and perspective and find new solutions through better business practices. The company was successful from the start and Fishman began franchising the concept. Fishman created a certification process to make sure the member board facilitators would be the best in the field. Today, the more than 300 TAB-Certified professional coaches are known for their highly successful and professional approach both in moderating boards and in one-to-one coaching for their member clients. Every month, across the United States, Canada and South America, business owners, presidents and CEOs are learning from each other, finding motivation, best practices and focus in confidential yet wide-ranging board meetings. Since its inception, thousands of businesses have benefited from the TAB process. TAB relocated its home base to Denver in 1994 from its St. Louis beginnings. The company is now helmed by Jason Zickerman, president; Fishman remains CEO. Fishman authored the acclaimed “7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters” in 2006 and the just released “9 Elements of Family Business Success” (both McGraw-Hill).
Testimonials: United Kingdom
"Sharing experience, knowledge, hope, ambitions and fears with a board of peers is enormously beneficial to my business and to me as an individual. Consultants can only go so far - nothing beats the real life lessons that a peer group of this stature can give. Give me real experience over books and gurus any day!"
- Ian Thompson, Thompson Brand Partners, Leeds
“The Alternative Board offers a secure forum for frank discussion; this security is very important as it enables members to share their experiences in an open and candid way. I know of no other organisation that attracts such high calibre business people who sit down together and engage in the quality of debate that I have experienced. The board offers positive advice to colleagues seeking assistance and is a supportive environment in which a healthy exchange of ideas flow."
- Jon Whiteley, ProAktive Risk Group, Doncaster
Testimonials: United States
“The benefits of joining TAB were significant and immediate. Within my first 90 days of membership, I not only identified, but addressed several issues that would have otherwise been missed due to the day-to-day demands of my business."
- Daryl Rossman, Merco Manufacturing Company, Placentia, CA
"At first when I was approached to join TAB, I felt like it was going to be "too expensive" since my business was struggling financially. After I joined, however, it became apparent that I couldn't afford NOT to be a member. In fact, within just a couple of months, I got one tip that saved me an immediate $16,000 and a lot of headaches. Each meeting and coaching session produces new awareness and keeps me on the path that is taking me in the direction I finally need to be on. It's like the MasterCard commercial: Cost of TAB sign up—$X, Cost of monthly membership—$X, Going to sleep each night feeling assured that my business is on the right track, and I have a great support system to back me up—priceless!
-Catherine Turner, Success Concepts Online, Denver, CO
Testimonials: Canada
“I belong to TAB because I had a number of failures in the past, and I didn’t want to repeat those failures. Even though I had some education in running a business, I knew I didn’t know it all and needed some means to keep my thoughts in check.”
-Bruce Der, President, A.H. Lundberg Systems Ltd, Richmond, BC
“It’s always difficult to bare your soul and let the skeletons out of the closet, but in the end that’s the great benefit of TAB in having that open and honest communication and straightforward feedback. When you are dealing with members on a TAB Board you have people who are really interested in what’s going on with your business, and often you cannot pay consultants to take that kind of interest in what you are doing.”
-Charles Wills, President, Zone Entertainment Inc., Richmond, BC
“It’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. We’ve molded with a group of people that I just connect with and it’s something I really look forward to each month. This business has turned around 180 degrees in just a year and a half.”
-John deJonge, President, Artex Fabricators Ltd., Langely, BC