Information Session

 

Information Session

Dear Business Owner,

My name is Gary Linford, and I’m the owner of Blackbird Business Owner Support Service (B-BOSS), a company that provides peer and professional advisory support for working business owners. I currently work with business owners on southern Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, and will be expanding into Nanaimo in January 2015. 

If you’re like most of my clients, you built your business with hard work, dedication, and passion. You likely did not have the time or inclination to attend business school and learn the technical and theoretical aspects of business management. However, at a certain point, the success you’ve experienced could mean your business is outgrowing your capacity to improvise. Markets change, competition increases, your business plateaus, and profits slip. At some point you start to ask questions:

  • Why am I spending so much time ‘putting out fires’ instead of concentrating on long-range plans for my business?
  • Why can’t I take a holiday and have the company run smoothly without me? 
  • Is my current business experience strong enough in key management areas such as finance, marketing, investment analysis, human resources, and strategic planning?
  • Who can I confide in about employee or partner concerns?
  • How do I create a succession plan to support my retirement?

If you have found yourself reflecting on any of these questions, you are a good candidate for the B-BOSS Program. This program combines business theory, business coaching, guest speakers, and a monthly peer advisory board. It includes for­mal education designed exclusively for the business owner, and teaches you to become a better planner, business manager, and ultimately, profit generator.

The complete B-BOSS program consists of three services:

  1. Business Foundations – In 6 to 12 months we will clarify your strategic vision, identify your leadership team’s responsibilities and accountabilities, establish an internal meeting format and schedule that will build momentum, develop quarterly and annual reporting templates, and ensure ongoing traction for your business.
     
  2.  Peer Advisory Board – Once a month, you’ll join a facilitated meeting with half a dozen owners of non-competing businesses to share ideas, advice, and experiences. You’ll discuss complex management issues in an open and relaxed setting, essentially serving as each other’s board of directors, and holding each other accountable to do what you say you’ll do. Expert advisors are brought into the advisory board meetings on a regular basis to share current thinking on marketing, financial management, succession planning, and other topics. You’ll learn the latest theories and applications, and have an opportunity to ask questions about your own situation. You’ll also receive a one-on-one follow-up coaching session each month, to debrief the issues you raised in the meeting and identify next steps. Note that in research conducted by the Business Development Bank of Canada, 86% of Canadian business leaders said that having an advisory board had a significant impact on the success of their business. The areas of impact most often cited were company vision, innovation, risk management, and profitability.
     

  3. Business Coaching – Should you wish a more targeted approach, or would like to have your business partners or staff receive business coaching, this is also available on an ad hoc basis.

The fees for the B-BOSS services are as follows: Business Foundations averages $300/month, the Peer Advisory Board with guest speakers and follow-up coaching session is $500/month, and ad hoc Business Coaching is $120/hour. Each service can stand on its own but depending on your business it might be advantageous to start with Business Foundations and after six months join a Board. There are no contracts to sign; you simply pay as you go.

As your facilitator and business coach I offer more than 30 years of hands-on experience in the manufacturing, finance, marketing, and education sectors. My MBA gives you access to in-depth knowledge of business theory, principles, and practices, and as a former Dean of Business at Camosun College I know how to share that knowledge in formal, informal, and practical ways.

To learn more about the B-BOSS program I invite you to attend a briefing session in Nanaimo on January 14, 2015 from 8:00 am to 9:30 am at the Grand Hotel. The cost is $20 and for that you will receive breakfast, a copy of the business book ‘Traction’ by Gino Wickman, and an opportunity to network with fellow business owners. You’ll also meet some existing B-BOSS clients, and hear how the B-BOSS program can add value to your business.

It would be a shame in today’s challenging market not to at least explore the potential of this unique business support tool. Please take this opportunity to think about the unresolved issues, that if addressed, might bring you closer to your business and life goals. I know there are some and I know I can help you solve them.

I look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you on January 14th.

Sincerely,

Gary Linford
Owner, B-BOSS

 

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Payment of registration fees can be made, by cash or credit card, at the door.