“TAB has helped me identify, focus and keep on track with the goals of my business.”

                                                                                                         - Eileen Levitt, The HR Team, Columbia, MD

“Being a small business owner with a growing firm, I often felt isolated and lacked relationships with similar business owners. I felt that having a support network to discuss key business issues with would definitely aid in the success of my firm.  I have been more than pleased with the results of being a TAB member and especially appreciate the one-on-one meeting with an executive coach.  The results have been seen in the management process as well as in developing a tighter focus for our services.  At first the monthly cost seems daunting, now after being a member for a year—it is one of the first bills to get paid!”     

                                                                                    - Vonda Peterson, Creative Access Inc, Ellicott City, MD

“In the first three months my board saved me $75k.  TAB is a great investment for any business owner.”
                                                                                                                        - Matt Ash, Al-TECH, Columbia, MD

“The TAB member make up is a key to the success of the overall process. Tina and Guy have done a great job in getting great people for TAB and developing a strong team.  It is great to have a group of TAB members who run their own business and are committed to helping everyone in the group.  The TAB experience is like a high tide, it floats every ones boat.      

                                                                                                         - Bill Evans, ICM Enterprises, Pasadena, MD

 
“Our TAB board has been very helpful in generating fresh perspectives for solving our problems.  In addition, providing much needed emotional support and validation when you are out there plowing through the wilderness.  It does not get much better when you have 6-8 business owners from varying industries either agree or disagree and provide alternatives to your business operation.  From our first 3 meetings, we have implemented at least one suggestion from each which have reduced our AR from over 60 to under  30, got us in front of the cash flow curve and prevented us from spending a good deal of money on something that was not necessary.  I think anyone would be hard pressed to find the expertise and knowledge freely offered from any business consultant or firm for the cost of our monthly membership.”
                                                                                               - Dean Ford, Confident Student, LLC, Towson, MD

“TAB is really the perfect fit.  In the middle of succession planning TAB helped me stay focused on the plan.  The facilitator is great because they help you stay focused.  It was very helpful when my daughter joined the executive part of TAB.  It is ideal to have a mentor for her that doesn’t have anything to do with the company itself.” 
                                                                                 - Brian England, British American Auto Care, Columbia, MD

“I find the board to be extremely helpful in helping me identify my role here with the company as well as to be able to work through issues that are employee related and to work through them successfully and amicably.  It is nice to have a board to bounce things off of or to vent to that understand the issues.  I would highly recommend TAB to anyone in a position similar to mine or to company owners.”               
                                                                         - Tracey Millings, Commercial Insurance Managers, Elkridge, MD

“In the 12 months since joining TAB I have been able to make progress towards both professional and personal goals.  If it were not for the focus and accountability which the TAB membership affords I know that these goals would not have been accomplished.  I have found that my meetings with the board and my coach each month keep me “on task” and working towards the strategic milestones that will ultimately result in our company’s success.  I wholeheartedly recommend TAB membership to other business owners as I have found it to be an excellent value.”                                                   

                                                                                                        - Kay Rosburg, Dever Designs Inc., Laurel, MD

“TAB provides me with a good sounding board.  All the members of my board have the same issues with our businesses and it is great to get to discuss them with others outside of my company.  I never get to step back and look at the big issues because I am too busy with the day-to-day activities of my business.  TAB helps me to step back and look at those issues and address them.  The seminars are great.  TAB has also helped me get organized especially in working on my finances.  It has been an overall good experience.”   

                                                                                                            - Chris Chapman, Loucon, LLC, Lothian, MD

“Although I have only been a TAB member now for just over six months, the warm welcome, solid advice from both the group and our facilitator along with the high degree of professionalism (and a healthy sense of humor) have been unlike any other business group I have been in. During these challenging economic times, I believe it to be especially important to have some outside perspectives to help us not only survive, but thrive.”
                                                                                    - Gerry Frank, Frank Strategic Marketing, Ellicott City, MD

“I have found The Alternative Board to be a useful sounding board as a source for advice and feedback, and as a mechanism to stay on track for the goals and achievements that I am trying to achieve for my company.  The facilitators serve as a valuable counselor to me.” 

                                                                 - Dennis Christmas, Enterprise Solutions Realized, Marriottsville, MD

“The way that I discovered TAB was Tina used my business as a vendor for her business.  I went to a seminar offered by a competitor of TAB, and although they had a speaker that made quite an impact on me, I realized that the reason they could afford such a speaker was because their monthly dues were much more expensive than TAB’s.  I realized that the concept TAB represents had incredible potential for my business at a reasonable price.  Tina is professional, talented and focused.  Her past business experience combined with these traits allow her and her business to offer a great deal to her board members.  The facilitator is very knowledgeable in the financial aspects of business and is helping my wife with that for my company.  There is good cohesiveness on our board.  It is well worth the value to be able to share my challenges with all of the different types of business people on my board.  We all have different lives but we seem to be able to help each other.  It is nice to have people help you with your problems using different thought processes.  The board is a nice peer group because we all bring different things to the table.  I enjoy the people, which is very important.”
                                                                                                        - Jack Ellis, Post Haste Mailing, Annapolis, MD

“TAB helps me keep some critical focus on the strategic, rather than just on the tactical. Before TAB we would consider strategic goals at the end of each year, and make plans for the next year. However, then the ‘fog’ of operations would force me to focus on day-to-day tactical issues, and leave me little time or energy to re-consider our strategic goals for the year and beyond. TAB now ‘forces’ me to address strategic issues at least 24 times each year — during my 12 board meetings, and during my 12 one-on-one meetings with my facilitator. The Alternative Board keeps me mindful of MY job — to be a strategic and visionary leader of the organization!”             

                                                                                            - Vince Marucci, Trusant Technologies, Columbia, MD

“Since joining TAB in the summer of 2008 the benefits I have received to date far outweigh any other professional organization I have belonged to since the start of my organization in 1990.  The meetings are professionally facilitated and there is level of respect and integrity that allows the process to accelerate.  The role of a CEO/Entrepreneur can feel isolating when running a small business.  There are few places to be vulnerable.  With TAB, a member can bring their whole self to the table for support, encouragement and growth.  There is always a balanced exchange of ideas and numerous referrals.  The coaching component attached to the monthly meetings allows a CEO to have focused time to formulate new strategies or enhance a current process because of the support of an objective observer.   TAB offers an important tool necessary for entrepreneurs to keep energized and growing through challenging times. “           

                                                                                                    - Betsy Cerulo, AdNet/AccountNet, Columbia, MD

“Every time I go to a board meeting I leave feeling great!  It is the only time I get to go and exchange ideas with other business people and find out that I am not as bad off as I thought I was going in.  I always leave the board meetings feeling much better when I leave than when I arrived.”               
                                                                                    - Bill Fulmer, Phoenix Concrete Cutting, College Park, MD

“As business owners we typically feel that we have no one to turn to, but TAB gives us that sounding board.  As a board we are an honest group, and anything anyone brings to the table one or more of us has been through it and it is great to have that resource.  We are all business owners who make decisions and we all know someone who can help whenever one of us in need of a resource for our companies’ needs.  We help each other out with our business philosophies and planning.  Tina Corner is fantastic-any question that I have ever had regarding my business she either has had the answer herself or she is able to find someone who can give me an answer.  All of the services that TAB offers are great.  I love the newsletter that I receive each month, and pass it on to the individuals that I work with.  I give The Alternative a raving thumbs up!  All businesses should have some kind of board to help them stay focused and to achieve success.”          

                                                                                                                 - George Hall, Questron Inc., Elkridge, MD

“We have been a member of TAB for over a year and have found it to be very worthwhile for our firm.  It's easy to get lost in the day-to-day demands of a business, but the TAB monthly meetings and coaching sessions help keep me focused on the big picture.  In addition, my fellow Board members often provide recommendations for ways to improve my firm's efficiency or address specific nagging operational issues.  It has been a pleasure to deal with the TAB professionals, who are very sharp and effective at facilitating meetings and getting at the heart of the matter.  Our participation in TAB has proven to be a wise business decision.”     

                                                                                                                        - Tom King, Synthesis, Columbia, MD

“I can’t put into words how much TAB has helped me. The people on my board have helped me in ways I never thought possible. Everyone works together to come up with ideas and solutions for everyone else’s problems. Since I’m still pretty young and in the process of taking over my father’s company, it really helps having other people on my board that are in the same situation or already been through it. When I signed up for TAB I really didn’t know how great it would be. I’ve only been a part of TAB for 6 months but I’ve learned more than I could have anywhere else.”          

                                                                                    - Sandi Weaver, British American Auto Care, Columbia, MD