• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Submissions
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • May 23, 2022
  • Startup
    • Creating a Plan
    • Funding a Startup
    • Franchise Center
    • Getting Your Office Ready
    • Making Your Business Official
    • Marketing Your New Business
    • Personal Readiness
  • Run & Grow
    • Customer Service
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Legal
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
  • Leadership
    • Best Practices
    • Communication
    • Green Initiatives
    • Open Culture
    • Strategic Planning
    • People Skills
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Advertising and Lead Generation
    • Marketing Innovations
    • Marketing Plans
    • Online Marketing
    • Relationships
    • Sales Activities
  • Finance
    • Budgeting and Personal Finance
    • Payments and Collections
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Working with Investors
    • Working with Lenders
  • Tech
    • eCommerce
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Security
    • Tech Reviews
    • Telecom
  • Shop

SmallBizClub

Helping You Succeed

Home / Ask SmallBizClub / Starting a Business / What info can you provide on how to set up and manage an Advisory Board?
What info can you provide on how to set up and manage an Advisory Board?

What info can you provide on how to set up and manage an Advisory Board?

1323 Views

Sep 4, 2013 By Rick Gossett

What info can you provide on how to set up and manage an Advisory Board?

 
Answer: The setup and management of an Advisory Board will depend on the objectives and goals you have and what you can afford to spend on a Board.
Advisory Boards and Committees are often utilized by large companies; however, in some cases, more professional experience can also provide business ideas and help a small company to be successful. Typically a company identifies and seeks out the individuals it wants on the Advisory Board through direct contact, industry information, and business contacts (attorney, accountant, bankers, or other professionals). Whether your company needs or can afford an Advisory Board at this time should be evaluated by your owners and management. For example, an Advisory Board in addition to the regular Board of Directors may be a burden and management overlap. In fact, we have rarely found advisory boards to be useful in an entrepreneurial setting.  
 
Other considerations are the compensation, travel, and insurance costs of an Advisory Board. There is a risk to the individuals who sit on Advisory Boards and Directors and Officers liability insurance has become very costly, particularly for small, startup companies. You may find limited interest in your Advisory Board without this insurance. For example, we would suggest creating a simple agreement with standard compensation for the Board of Advisors and supplementing the standard arrangement with a specific consulting agreement for those advisors who perform additional services for the company. Our experience has consistently shown that business agreements work best when they reflect the substance of the business arrangement. To help evaluate how you may want to structure an Advisory Board for your business, you can review articles and suggestions like the following, which include these basic considerations:
 
1. Determine the Objective of Your Advisory Board
2. Choose the Right People
3. Set Expectations
4. Compensate Your Advisory Board
5. Get the Most Out of Advisory Board Meetings
6. Ask for Honesty
7. Consider Alternative Feedback Methods
8. Respect your Board’s Contributions
9. Keep Board Members Informed:
  • 10 Tips to Creating an Effective Advisory Board: stengelsolutions.com
  • How to Set Up an Advisory Board: forbes.com
  • How and Why to Develop a Successful Board of Advisors: web-site-evaluations.com
  • Harness the Power of an Advisory Board: about.com
  • How to Create an Advisory Board: nytimes.com
  • How Should I Compensate an Advisory Board: allbusiness.com
For consideration with your lawyer, you can review example advisory board/committee member contracts and related discussions at websites like the following:

  • Sample Advisory Board Member Agreement: unh.edu
  • Sample Advisory Board Agreement: foundersspace.com
  • Sample Advisory Board Consulting Agreement: washington.edu
  • W3C Process Document: w3.org


Links and references to sample and template documents have been provided pursuant to your request. Templates and sample documents can be very useful but businesses should exercise caution in the use of such documents.

 
Understand that not all templates are created equal, with many being created for a narrow set of requirements. A particular template will not be warranted to cover every provision that may be required by a particular set of business circumstances. Studying the language included in various samples and templates will improve your level of understanding related to the subject of your particular agreement and may help you articulate your business objectives related to an agreement, but be aware that many, perhaps most, agreements should be prepared by your lawyer to provide greater assurance that your interests have been protected.

Filed Under: Starting a Business

Rick Gossett

Rick Gossett

As COO of Tarkenton Companies for more than 20 years, Rick has been responsible for business software development, unique partnerships, business educational content and consulting, and more. Rick was the originator of Tarkenton Companies’s consulting service and initially handled all of the questions himself. Prior to joining Tarkenton Companies, Rick owned and operated a private practice as a CPA. Prior to that, he was a Senior Manager at Pannell Kerr Forster in tax and audit, as well as Principal in Ernst & Young's small business advisory group.

Related Posts

  • What is the best way to go about getting a loan from the SBA?
  • What are some resources to meet Angel Investors for funding a business?

Primary Sidebar

From the Editor’s Desk…

Small Biz Gems

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
A lecturer, poet, and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson was the leading voice of the New England Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century, which valued insight over logic while also advocating for humanity’s inherent goodness. This revelation comes from the closing paragraph of “Circles,” a chapter in his 1841 book Essays, First Series.

“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business.”  —Warren Buffet

 

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  —Thomas Edison

 

 

“You can’t ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”  —Steve Jobs

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Subscribe to our Mailing List

Run & Grow

Small Business Guide to AC Repair & Maintenance

May 20, 2022 By SmallBizClub

Why Dropshipping Can be The Hallmark of Outsourcing for Your Business

May 19, 2022 By Efrat Vulfsons

convert-non-commercial-space-into-an-inspiring-office

5 Reasons Why Your Physical Office Layout Matters

May 19, 2022 By Boris Dzhingarov

3 Most Devastating Small Business Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

May 17, 2022 By SmallBizClub

Footer

About Us

Small Biz Club is the premier destination for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To succeed in business, you have to constantly learn about new things, evaluate what you’re doing, and look for ways to improve—that’s what we’re here to help you do.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 by Tarkenton Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Privacy