Without TAB and Peter, Ian said he isn’t sure where he would be. When the management buy-out reared its head, he was terrified. The weight of being solely being responsible for other people’s livelihoods and the success of the business was huge.
This is what he said about how he feel now: “The TAB board has steered me through a scary period in mine and the business’ life. I don’t feel as lost any more.”
One of Ian’s goals was nothing to do with his business and is on track to achieve it. He wants to take his children to Disneyworld in Florida. Jovially, Ian claimed this made him feel ‘skint’ but on a serious note, Ian reiterated an encouragement from his TAB board that if you want to reap the rewards of being a business owner, you should, otherwise you may as well be an employee.
One of the other major things Ian struggled with was time management. At the start of the pandemic when Ian was mostly at home, his wife commented that he was working all hours. Whilst Ian will do some work out-of-hours, it is now a choice rather than a necessity. This was discussed at a TAB board.
In addition, Ian has done DiSC profiles in his business before, and he regularly uses TAB’s Business Builder’s Blueprint. He and his facilitator, Peter went through Ian’s strategic plan using the platform and as a result, he is setting more achievable targets.
When asked what he would say to business owners considering TAB, Ian said: “Some of the mine fields TAB has enabled me to negotiate, I don’t know how I would have done it without the board. At other networking groups, you play your cards close to your chest but because there’s that trust at TAB, it’s different.”
Ian has developed such a strong confidence in his TAB board that he feels like he belongs. He had felt on the periphery, but with so much encouragement and validation from his other members, he feels more confident in his own ability to give advice.
Ian would advise any business to give TAB a go.
Within Ian’s first three months with TAB, he got extra accountability on the business’ finances, he grew in confidence to deal with staff, and he received reassurance over what he had achieved with his business during the pandemic. Overall, he feels more like a business owner.
“The board is 4 hours, once a month and you need to be willing to share and contribute. Can you make time for things that are useful, and you enjoy doing? Do you watch more than two movies a month? If so, that’s all the time you’re giving to TAB.”
Ian was asked if TAB has a place in his business going forward, he noted that because of his ambitious targets next year, TAB’s support will be incremental.
Ian finished by saying this: “One thing that stands out is I took some ideas back to the business before Christmas and a staff member expressed their recognition that everyone in the company seemed to be going in the same direction. I realised I am doing ok here.”
As he continues to develop as a leader, Ian is looking forward to his business’ future with mobile app developments, apprenticeship grants and more.
