TAB Members continued to take their businesses to new heights last year. 14 Members achieved average 3 year growth rates of 460%+ on annual revenues of $2MM to $88MM - - making the elite 2010 INC. 500 / 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in North America.
TAB in the News
Recent articles and segments on TAB have been featured in:
Vital Statistics
1994- Moved corporate headquarters to Denver, CO area
1996- TAB opens first U.S. franchise
1997- TAB opens first Canadian franchise
2001- Jason P. Zickerman joins The Alternative Board
2001- TAB opens first international franchise
2003- First annual small business index survey by The Alternative Board
2006- "7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters" by Allen E. Fishman (McGraw-Hill)
2008- "9 Elements of Family Business Success" by Allen E. Fishman (McGraw-Hill)
Industry Overview
Leadership
Allen Fishman, Founder and Chairman
Fishman has been a frequent guest on television and radio programs such as:
He has also been featured in business articles in publications such as:
Fishman has presented to organizations such as:
Jason P. Zickerman, President and CEO
Zickerman has been interviewed recently as an authority on small-to-medium businesses by:
He has been featured in 2008 in
Zickerman is a featured speaker regularly at organizations such as
History
Allen Fishman, Founder and Executive Chairman of The Alternative Board ® (TAB) identified the needs of owners of small and mid-sized businesses to get the type of advise that can only come from others at the top of their businesses, but in a way that is affordable. He then developed methodologies and tools for forming and facilitating advisory boards of business owners who help each other solve their challenges and take advantages of their opportunities. To help with the implementation of the advice, his system includes coaching these members to move their companies to greater levels of success.
Fishman formed the first TAB advisory boards in 1990 with members who were each in non-competing fields. This requirement of non-competition of members, allows members to speak freely with one another. Members on the each TAB board collectively have an average of over 200 years of business experience.
In 1991, Fishman began offered training programs so that other experienced business professionals could use the TAB methods and tools to form and facilitate their own TAB advisory boards and coach their members. Since its inception in 1990, over ten thousand businesses have benefited from the TAB process.
In 1996, he formed a new company, TAB Boards International, Inc., which began franchising the TAB advisory board and coaching system. Today, hundreds of TAB facilitator/coaches facilitate TAB advisory boards and provide executive coaching for their member throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
In 2008, Fishman purchased an office building with over 24,000 square foot in which TAB operates its World Headquarters in Westminster, Colorado.
Today, TAB has attained Fishman’s vision of TAB becoming the world’s largest franchise system providing advisory board and coaching services to business owners.
As to the future, Fishman’s vision for TAB is for the TAB system to benefit business owners into all countries that allow privately owned businesses to operate.
Testimonials: United States
"I have a list of benefits I gain from TAB membership, but I can boil it down to this: my participation helps me make well-informed business decisions. There are other options for getting advice, but none are as consistently useful as the feedback I get from monthly discussions with trusted business owners."
-Jeff Eastburn, Hoopes Fire Prevention, Inc., Newark, DE
“The benefits of joining TAB were significant and immediate. Within my first 90 days of membership, I not only identified, but addressed several issues that would have otherwise been missed due to the day-to-day demands of my business."
-Daryl Rossman, Merco Manufacturing Company, Placentia, CA
"Becoming a member of TAB has been very beneficial to me. It gives me an outlet of peers who I can take any business issue to, discuss openly, and get unbiased feedback. What I receive from the other members is truly in my best interest - they have nothing to gain from any advice they give. TAB Board meetings facilitate open discussion on the trials and tribulations of being at the top of an organization - we relate to each other. It's definitely worth the cost, time and effort."
-Jeff Mattson, Vibes Technologies, Brooklyn Park, MN
"At first when I was approached to join TAB, I felt like it was going to be "too expensive" since my business was struggling financially. After I joined, however, it became apparent that I couldn't afford NOT to be a member. In fact, within just a couple of months, I got one tip that saved me an immediate $16,000 and a lot of headaches. Each meeting and coaching session produces new awareness and keeps me on the path that is taking me in the direction I finally need to be on. It's like the MasterCard commercial: Cost of TAB sign up—$X, Cost of monthly membership—$X, Going to sleep each night feeling assured that my business is on the right track, and I have a great support system to back me up—priceless!
-Catherine Turner, Success Concepts Online, Denver, CO
Testimonials: Canada
“I belong to TAB because I had a number of failures in the past, and I didn’t want to repeat those failures. Even though I had some education in running a business, I knew I didn’t know it all and needed some means to keep my thoughts in check.”
-Bruce Der, President, A.H. Lundberg Systems Ltd., Richmond, BC
“It’s always difficult to bare your soul and let the skeletons out of the closet, but in the end that’s the great benefit of TAB in having that open and honest communication and straightforward feedback. When you are dealing with members on a TAB Board you have people who are really interested in what’s going on with your business, and often you cannot pay consultants to take that kind of interest in what you are doing.”
-Charles Wills, President, Zone Entertainment Inc., Richmond, BC
“The structure, discipline, and focus I get from the TAB meetings and preparing for them works its way through the organization and shows up in improved efficiencies, better marketing and improving the bottom line.”
-John Buchan, President, Hub Engineering Inc., Surrey, BC
“The Alternative Board has given me a great opportunity to voice the concerns of my business in a confidential environment and receive constructive feedback that has helped me in many facets of my business. The part that was the greatest surprise to me is the benefit I get by just listening to the issues/concerns that the other board members have. It has resulted in changes I made to my business that otherwise would have never happened.”
-Ezio Traunero, President, Proficom Financial, Concord, ON
“It’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. We’ve molded with a group of people that I just connect with and it’s something I really look forward to each month. This business has turned around 180 degrees in just a year and a half.”
-John deJonge, President, Artex Fabricators Ltd., Langely, BC
"Being part of a TAB board has enabled me to see new opportunities to grow my business and become more productive through better investment of my time and capital. Also, my TAB facilitator has helped me to spend more time working in my business rather than working on my business."
-Jason Dubois, Vice President, Len Dubois Trucking Inc. Winnipeg, MB
“The TAB meetings give me a resurgence of energy every time. The other TAB members see my problems with a fresh viewpoint that is just not available from my own staff.”
- Jim Benedict, President, Quest Computer Consultants, Calgary, AB
“The TAB environment allows me to see many new potential opportunities to grow my business to a new level. Sharing ideas with owners from varied industries has given me a totally new perspective for my business, and you can’t put a dollar figure on that.”
- Giacomo Giuliano, President, PPM Fragrances Intl., Vaughan, ON