"During the year and a half that I've been with TAB, Bob (my TAB facilitator) has gently, but firmly (and relentlessly) pushed me along to grow our company to a higher level. As a result, last year our profits increased 33 percent and the equity in our business increased over 20 percent. He confers to me a certain amount of self-confidence I wouldn't have had otherwise."
-Dana Whitney, PSI, Westminster, CA
"My TAB Board has been like business therapy. The process of thinking through other member's problems has helped me to clarify my own issues."
-Don Fielding, President, Greengard Inc., Lincolnshire, IL
"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
"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
"With TAB my fellow board member's livelihood doesn't depend on their relationship to me, so they are very free to speak their mind. With company meetings you don't have the same freedom. I like the results that come out of TAB."
-Mark McCooey, President, S.E.I. Industries, Delta, BC
"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
"Finding good reliable sources of advice is a challenge, I was skeptical until I attended several TAB meetings. Now, I'm glad I tried TAB. My fellow TAB members give me the practical and unbiased advice I want. I found TAB members make the best kind of friends, because we help and learn from each other."
-Phil Linden, Linden's Propane, LaGrange, OH
"I value my TAB Board because they consistently help me to understand my business and they hold me accountable to follow through."
-Bruce Der, President, A.H. Lundberg Systems Ltd., Richmond, BC
“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 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
"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
A member began his update portion of the meeting with the offhand observation that his shipping department was in a shambles and that he was looking for a good shipping clerk who could prescribe new procedures. Another member observed, “You will never find a shipping clerk at a clerk’s wage who has the ability to design a shipping department. UPS will come in and do a systems analysis and make recommendations for free. Get UPS to put the proper procedures in place, then hire a clerk to run the system.”
A member attended a group informational meeting and heard the facilitator relate an example of board members assisting each other where two members compared the build out allowance in lease contracts for fairly similar properties—one received $75,000, the other $25,000. The second was able to persuade his landlord to add $25,000 to the build out. This story provoked the group informational meeting attendee to ask for a build out allowance to pay for improvements to the building he occupied. He was successful and received a $10,000 allowance, avoiding this capital expense. He joined TAB saying that it had already paid for itself.
One member who runs a foundry operation was having difficulty making money. When the board examined his customers they found that there was onesy, twosy nature of the size of the orders and that most were needed well ahead of the industry lead time. The board suggested the member institute a rush charge for such orders. He received no complaints and the revenue from what the board told him was his "new product line" now brings in approximately $15,000 a year direct to the bottom line.