Get Help From Business Peers

 

Ever catch yourself wishing for a board of directors, just so you'd have more than your own opinion when it came time for hard decisions? Many chief executives of small businesses have banded together to form self-help groups and to informally share ideas and discuss problems. In order to encourage candor and freedom of expression, competing companies usually aren't allowed to participate in the same group.

One program, Executive Dialog, started by the Smaller Business Association of New England, has spread to, Syracuse, N.Y., Cleveland, and other cities. Another group, the Council of Independent Managers Inc., headquartered in Milwaukee, operates a similar program through its four chapters in Wisconsin and Minnesota. And the Executive Committee, which started in Milwaukee, has branched out to Michigan, Illinois, California, New Mexico, and Texas.

For information on how to start a group in your area, write: Julie Scofield, Smaller Business Association of New England, 69 Hickory Dr., Waltham, MA 02154; (617) 890-9070.