Where would I be?

I just came back from Colorado Springs for four days of being a member of a group called Business Networks.  Its not a leads group, its a group of restoration companies that are all about the same size in revenue.  We get together every six months and go to a different members location.  We spend the first day educating ourselves by having speakers about various topics.  The second day we spend 45 minutes on each company and review our goals, set new goals, discuss where we are at as a company, and we look at each others financial information.  What makes it special is we look at everything, owners compensation, direct costs, profit centers, net profit, gross margin etc.  The third day we interview all the employees, sub contractors, and owners of the company that we are at.  We look for two things.  One is that we find as a group and agree on 12 perceptions.  These are positive strengths that we see in the company.  Second thing is we find 12 opportunities.  These are things that we find weaknesses, or areas within their businesses that need to be improved or created.  However in order to suggest an opportunity we must be practicing what we are suggesting.  We then bring the suggestions to the whole company then meet with each part of the company to answer any questions they may have as to what the problems we see are, how to overcome them and implement the systems.

I wonder where I would be if I didn’t have a group to look at another company that does the same as me.  Why?  How am I supposed to know what a restoration companies margins are?  Or how to gain market share or technical advice from others that have been there and done that.  How is my company compared to others?  This group has some of my peers that push me to excel even harder than what I do normally.  They grow, fine tune, and become more profitable each month and every year.  If you don’t have a peer group you need to get one.  It’s what makes me a better business owner each and every time I go.

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