Vital Statistics

1990 - Founded by Allen E. Fishman in St. Louis, MO

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 - The Alternative Board launches in the UK

 

Leadership

TAB UK is headed by Martin Allison, UK Chairman, Paul Dickinson, UK Managing Director and Jo Clarkson, UK Operations Director.    Martin is an experienced media commentator and is available for comment on issues relating to the economy and SMEs.  He 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:

•               -   Junior Chamber of Commerce
•               -   Leeds Metropolitan University
•               -   International Bankers Conferences
•               -   Institute of Directors

 

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 similar to those available to leaders 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 Kingdom, United States, Canada and South America, business owners, Dirctors 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 international organisation is now helmed by Jason Zickerman, International President; Martin Allison is the Chairman of TAB in the UK. Allen Fishman is still actively involved in the business, and facilitates his original TAB board each month in St Louis.
 
Fishman authored the acclaimed “7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters” in 2006 and  “9 Elements of Family Business Success” in 2008 (both McGraw-Hill).

Testimonials

United Kingdom

 “I was sceptical at first but now I have been converted to the benefits of TAB.

The network of contacts and the alternative ways of how other people tackle their problems has impressed me.  What I like most is that TAB members speak from experience not from a book of theories.  The forthright way in which problems are openly discussed is a revelation with some issues being so sensitive that I would be cautious about talking to my own board about them! 

It is not just that my fellow TAB colleagues have faced similar challenges to my own, but it is how they have gone about sorting them out that is so valuable.  There’s no fudging the issues or the answers!”

Mark Jones, CEO, Yorkshire Aggregates

 “Sharing experience, knowledge, hopes, 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!

The TAB process has made me do things that I needed to do in the business. Joining TAB is the most important thing that I have done in the last 6 months!”

Ian Thompson, Partner, Thompson Brand Partners

“I find The Alternative Board an easy environment to express issues; whilst it is still early days I am encouraged by my experiences so far.

‘Within my own business there is no other director dealing with the major financial issues of the company. Therefore, to get other people to share this perspective and the wider implications that go with it are really helpful.

‘Since joining TAB I have made a fundamental change in who deals with certain aspects of our sales process – this came directly from a TAB meeting. With hindsight it was a logical move, and deep down I knew it myself, but I had failed to act on it in the past. The impartial advice I received motivated me to do something positive about it!!”

Stewart Urquhart, Managing Director, North West Engineering

 “I find that the TAB board gives me the opportunity to debate difficult issues  – often things that are at an early stage in my thinking. Whilst they are generally things that I will discuss with colleagues I often find it helpful to know that I can talk in confidence to a group with very broad business experience and that I can trust implicitly.  Even more importantly, I have found that I now have the benefit of 9 new partners that have also become friends; have no particular interest in telling me things I want to hear; are supportive but brutally honest about the things I do need to hear!

“TAB meetings enable me to meet and talk with like minded people, gain new angles and fresh ways of thinking for my business. I meet bright, intelligent people each of who have made a success of their chosen businesses.  More importantly, they understand the trials and tribulations that every organisation, irrespective of size, is faced with every day. It is this hard won, practical experience that TAB brings together and which is readily shared around the boardroom table to the benefit of all.   Whatever problems arise it helps to know that I am not on my own.”

Bob Gomersall, Chairman, Virtual College

“I never get the impression that my fellow TAB board members are being critical; I also find it reassuring that without exception my colleagues have spent time at the coal face of business and have had to deal with similar issues to my own at some time or another.

The differing skill sets of my TAB board create a collective momentum of energy and realistic thinking. If a problem needs some radical action they are not afraid to punch it out but in a measured and constructive way".

Douglas Adamson, Director, The Learning Bubble

United States

“As the Managing Partner for a local CPA Firm, my TAB Board has helped me with the non-financials—marketing, human resources and customer service. I highly recommend TAB to everyone!”

-Robert E. Bertucelli, Bertucelli & Malaga LLP, Ronkonkoma, NY

"I have a list of benefits I gain from TAB membership, but I can boil it down to this: my participation helps me make well-informed business decisions. There are other options for getting advice, but none are as consistently useful as the feedback I get from monthly discussions with trusted business owners."

-Jeff Eastburn, Hoopes Fire Prevention, Inc., Newark, DE

“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

"Becoming a member of TAB has been very beneficial to me. It gives me an outlet of peers who I can take any business issue to, discuss openly, and get unbiased feedback. What I receive from the other members is truly in my best interest - they have nothing to gain from any advice they give. TAB Board meetings facilitate open discussion on the trials and tribulations of being at the top of an organization - we relate to each other. It's definitely worth the cost, time and effort."

-Jeff Mattson, Vibes Technologies, Brooklyn Park, MN

"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

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

“The structure, discipline, and focus I get from the TAB meetings and preparing for them works its way through the organization and shows up in improved efficiencies, better marketing and improving the bottom line.”

-John Buchan, President, Hub Engineering Inc., Surrey, BC

“The Alternative Board has given me a great opportunity to voice the concerns of my business in a confidential environment and receive constructive feedback that has helped me in many facets of my business. The part that was the greatest surprise to me is the benefit I get by just listening to the issues/concerns that the other board members have. It has resulted in changes I made to my business that otherwise would have never happened.”

-Ezio Traunero, President, Proficom Financial, Concord, ON

“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

"Being part of a TAB board has enabled me to see new opportunities to grow my business and become more productive through better investment of my time and capital. Also, my TAB facilitator has helped me to spend more time working in my business rather than working on my business."

-Jason Dubois, Vice President, Len Dubois Trucking Inc. Winnipeg, MB

“The TAB meetings give me a resurgence of energy every time. The other TAB members see my problems with a fresh viewpoint that is just not available from my own staff.”

- Jim Benedict, President, Quest Computer Consultants, Calgary, AB

“The TAB environment allows me to see many new potential opportunities to grow my business to a new level. Sharing ideas with owners from varied industries has given me a totally new perspective for my business, and you can’t put a dollar figure on that.”

- Giacomo Giuliano, President, PPM Fragrances Intl., Vaughan, ON