Tips from the Top
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Greetings!

My groups just completed an exercise to establish goals for 2013 and identify their near-term business focus, giving each other feedback on them.  Consider what TAB can do for your business.  There are other peer groups out there but we specialize in small-to-midsize companies, making sure that our boards comprise members who truly are peers so that you're with business leaders and issues you can relate to.  Our costs and time commitments are easily half the cost of other programs; our monthly board meetings run 3-4 hours so you can put into play those ideas you get from the meetings that very day.    Plus our highly qualified facilitator/coaches here in the Twin Cities are all business owners , not employees of some organization.  We understand the issues you're facing in your business because we've faced them ourselves!

If TAB interests you or you know of a business owner who would benefit from what we have to offer, please contact me at 763-551-4777.

Mark Komen. Owner, TAB Minneapolis North/Central

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Management and Strategy: The 7 Questions of Simple Planning

Do you have a plan for your business next year? Better yet, do you know the right questions to ask so you can actually design a plan that helps you reach your goals? I recommend these seven questions below, which many of my clients have used successfully. For some, the answers are the starting point for developing a detailed plan. For others, they are the culmination of their entire planning process, and just summarize the results. For many, it is the total "long-range" planning they will do this year…

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Sales and Marketing: Sell Prevention, Not Just Cure

Maximizing the value of a service business can be challenging, especially if it is the owner’s hard work and expertise that is generating most of the value. When you leave your business, will the value leave with you? To eliminate this perception, restructure your service model so that you sell prevention rather than just the cure…

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Targeted Tips
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Software Selection Made Easier

I was recently researching project management software for my environmental engineering company. We did not need a high-powered (or high cost) solution, but did require some very specific functionality. In using the web to review recommendations, I came across Capterra, a compendium of thousands of software products that can be sorted by specific industry and/or needs. In addition to a list of software products and their pros and cons, Capterra can personally assist you by reviewing your requirements and making recommendations. When I made an inquiry through Capterra, I was assigned a "buyer adviser" who worked with me to narrow down our company’s requirements and match them with available software programs. The adviser also set up demos of various products for us. Although I had some excellent recommendations from others, I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. After working with Capterra, I felt more confident with my final choice. Best of all, it cost nothing to utilize the service.

By - Brent Kynoch, Kynoch Environmental Mgmt.
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Focus Your Advertising Dollars

We credit much of our success since the recession to our decision to more aggressively advertise the business. While there were several advertising options available, after significant deliberation we selected radio. We believed it was wiser to commit to one medium and exploit its full potential rather than "sprinkle" our advertising dollars around. The results have been encouraging. Recently radio’s penetration of the local market has peaked, necessitating consideration of a second medium, probably television. We believe that this focused approach will continue to maximize the ROI of our advertising dollars.

By - Dennis Broehm, Accurate Alignment & Frame
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COD Customer Cue

We reduce our credit risk by requiring 50 percent "initial" payments and COD final payments for new customers and customers in arrears. To ensure that we don’t accidentally start loading a project, we first check our shipping paperwork. For COD customers we use orange packing slips and labels so everyone knows they are to collect payment before the product is loaded. This simple visual cue guarantees that we receive payment from these customers as agreed.

By - Steven Johnson, General Casework
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Decoupling Your Wellness and EAP Programs

Look at the possibility of decoupling your wellness and EAP programs from your health care insurer. Both of these are widely available from freestanding providers. Then if you have to switch health insurance carriers, your employees won’t be stuck in the middle of a program.

By - John Wright, Padgett Stratemann & Co LLP
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The Alternative Board
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Mark Komen
Mark Komen

The Alternative Board

TAB Twin Cities
10400 51st Place North
Plymouth , MN
763.551.4777

www.kodyne.com

Business Coaching Twin Cities

 

 

TAB Membership Features

  • Experienced board members
  • Private coaching sessions
  • Professional Facilitator/Coach
  • Strategic planning tools
  • Business assessments
  • On-line member forums
  • Educational presentations
  • Over 80 local TAB member companies
  • Lots more!
TAB BOSS
Educational Series


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MORE INFORMATION
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ROI Resources The following are provided to help members get even more from there ongoing association with TAB.
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What Members Say
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Susan McPherson
President
Creative Communications Consultants
Minneapolis, MN
 

"I joined TAB for the accountability I felt membership would provide - having someone to answer to for my intentions and actions that is otherwise lacking when you're the owner of a company. I come out of every meeting re-energized for running my business."

 

 

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About The Alternative Board®
The Alternative Board® is comprised of members who are business owners, CEOs or presidents who run businesses in non-competing fields. During a TAB Board meeting, you receive the benefit of the collective experience of the board members, who offer practical solutions to your problems-not theories.
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You can learn more about TAB, which has been helping business owners succeed since 1990, by visiting www.kodyne.com and www.businesscoachingtwincities.com.

 

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