The Alternative Board Exeter
Improve your business and change your life with The Alternative Board
Start your TAB journey
Fill out your details below and we'll be in touch to arrange an introductory call.
Conquer your challenges and connect with fellow entrepreneurs.
Rick Dent is passionate about assisting business owners in identifying opportunities and overcoming challenges.
With TAB advisory boards in Exeter, he helps entrepreneurs unlock their full potential and achieve their goals.
Book a call with Rick today and take the first step towards realising your business's true potential.
Start your TAB journey
Fill out your details below and we'll be in touch to arrange an introductory call.
Make confident decisions and experience faster growth with TAB.
Our expertly curated community of business owners and leaders will connect you with a diverse board of advisors who understand your unique challenges.
- Gain fresh perspectives: Challenge your assumptions and discover blind spots with valuable peer input.
- Tackle tough issues: Break down obstacles and strategise solutions with a team of experienced advisors.
- Celebrate successes: Share your wins and motivate each other to reach even greater heights.
Join TAB today and take your business to the next level!
Start your TAB journey
Fill out your details below and we'll be in touch to arrange an introductory call.
Over 5x
TAB members’ sales growth is 5.5 times the national SME average
96%
Of TAB members said their advisory boards added real value to their business
91%
TAB members report improved ability to address personal and business issues.
Your Exeter facilitator
Get in touch with Rick
I am the owner of The Alternative Board in Exeter.
At heart, I am a small business owner. Both in terms of experience and temperament. I understand the intense rewards, and, also the frustrations, of running your own company. I empathise with anyone doing so.
For almost 20 years I was co-owner and Senior Partner of a London-based market research agency. Recently, I sold it to another agency. As Senior Partner, I was responsible for key aspects of the business, including planning, finance, sales and marketing, operations, and personnel.
My experience includes winning projects and nurturing key accounts with major MNCs like BT, RS Components, and Google, implementing a wide range of internal processes – enabling ISO compliance – and extensive mentoring of staff. I have degrees in Politics and Computing Science and am a Certified Member of the UK Market Research Society.
Having sold my business, I took time out and travelled with my family. When it came to my next role, I knew I wanted to help small business owners. The Alternative Board allows me to do just that. I saw at once the value of accessing peer board advice, private coaching and strategic tools.
One of my key motivations is for my family to be able to live in a healthy environment, surrounded by beautiful countryside and coast. I’m therefore delighted to be able to bring the benefits of TAB to the business community in and around Exeter. `
If you’d like to hear more about those benefits, please get in touch.
Discover the power of peer advice
Start with you
Focus on what you want in life and how your business can help get you there.
Increase profitability
Be held accountable to meet your business targets.
Improve decisions
Take control of your decisions through peer support and proven planning tools.
Make better time choices
Spend your time well by utilising the experience of others.
Become a better leader
Motivate your people with the guidance of peers and an expert coach.
Plan a successful exit
Get the best result for you with tailored, hands-on support.
What our members say...
Rick is simply a great coach and facilitator - impartial and yet incredibly supportive. After a session with Rick, you have a clear action list and feel confident in your decision-making. The growth of our business has no doubt been directly related to the work we’ve achieved and the accountability we have to our goals thanks to Rick.
Working with Rick has really helped me kick my business on. Highly recommended.
I've worked with Rick and other local business owners over the past two years as part of a TAB board. It has had a positive impact on our business and on my role as the CEO. Rick has been an expert facilitator of the board and has provided valuable guidance and support to me in one-to-one sessions, asking all the right questions to help me keep the company on the right track. The board has provided useful advice on various topics, from HR to marketing, strategy, and planning. I can't overstate the value of getting direct advice and challenges from people who have 'been there and done that'. I recommend Rick's services and the board to people in a similar position.
Working with Rick Dent and the TAB board has been a fantastic opportunity for myself and my organisation to gain clarity in our strategic planning.
Rick has a great ability to tease out information from you so you can formulate a plan moving forward. The one-to-one sessions with Rick provide structure and I always leave with a call to action list, these sessions are invaluable.
The TAB board provide a safe confidential environment to discuss any issues you are facing within your business with likeminded associates. You gain an insight into what works for others and provide each other with tips and tools to overcome any internal problems.
Personally, it has provided a clear pathway and my business has gone from strength to strength since I became a member of the TAB board.
I've been part of TAB with Rick as my facilitator since May 2021. Initially, I was sceptical about the cost-benefit of joining, but it's been a precious experience. Our group of business owners brings both a complementary and, at the same time, diverse perspective, and I always have at least one gem of an idea or knowledge. Rick is a great facilitator, keeping people on track and offering wisdom when necessary. The one-to-one meetings are also really valuable, ensuring that I step back from my business and view it objectively while keeping me accountable. Monthly meetings keep me on track, moving the business forward the whole time.
Personally, it has provided a clear pathway and my business has gone from strength to strength since I became a member of the TAB board.
Rick has helped me hugely through what has been an extremely difficult time for both the business and for me personally. When you're running a business, it's easy to think that you are the only one meeting challenges but being part of the board makes you realise that that is definitely not the case.
I have received some great advice on my pain points from the other board members and I find it so valuable to be able to put my ideas and problems to people working outside of the business and industry. I have put in place many of the solutions given to me by the board and I know we are a stronger company as a result.
Rick has also helped me to put strategic plans in place to focus on moving the business forward in a direction that is going to be good for me personally as well as for the business. The suite of online tools available help to keep me accountable and I am thoroughly enjoying being able to look back at the progress we have made so far.
Rick listens, guides and supports me in finding the right path to pursue both professionally and personally and I would highly recommend working with him and TAB.
Rick and The Alternative Board. Well, what can I say? He has a knack of putting together groups that support each other, hold each other accountable and raise each other up. They reflect all the best bits of yourself and help you grow, but give you space to just be when you're struggling.
In Rick's 121's, I'm able to go through everything so calmly and methodically, helping me to feel in control, and like everything is achievable.
On the boards everything comes together, and each person has an angle that allows them to step back and see your own challenge in a way that you cannot. Rick facilitates these effortlessly.
I was not ready for how much being part of one of Rick's boards would change my life, and the way I view myself.
Start your TAB journey
Get in touch with Rick using the forms on this page.
He will contact you to arrange an introductory meeting.
Chat about whether TAB is right for you and your business.
Attend your first TAB board meeting and experience the power of peer support.
There’s no obligation, only an opportunity to find out more.
Start your TAB journey
Fill out your details below and we'll be in touch to arrange an introductory call.
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