Every small business starts with a dream: a dream to own your own business, to work in a field you love, to provide jobs in your community, to do or make or build something better.
At some point, of course, you have to take a break from dreaming and formulate a plan to bring that dream to reality. But what do you do when you’re stuck in the dream and don’t know how to move forward? How do you develop a plan and follow through?
Having a Dream Is Only Step One
Only 30 years ago, it was normal—expected, even—for entrepreneurs to be dreamers who didn’t quite play by the rules. We started our businesses on a whim, didn’t have clear business plans, never wrote anything down, and stuffed all our receipts in a cardboard box.
Somehow, many of us “made it” flying by the seat of our pants. Somehow, our customers came back, our employees stayed on, and our CNC machine businesses grew.
But that approach simply doesn’t work anymore—especially not in the manufacturing industry.
Today’s machine shop management must meet an ever-growing list of demands, such as adhering to strict regulations and requirements and providing detailed certifications and inspection reports.
Before material certifications and inspection reports became the norm, it was possible to get by simply by being “good enough.” Mediocre shops managed quite well, in many cases, without social media to rat them out or Google Business ratings to reveal their flaws.
Those days are over.
Younger manufacturers know: you can’t build a sustainable business on a dream and a prayer anymore. Businesses still start with a dream, but they don’t advance any further unless the entrepreneur has a plan, draws boundaries, and outlines milestones.
Today, the dream is the very beginning of the very beginning—not the goal itself.
Why CNC Machine Business Owners Should Form an Advisory Board
So, how do small shops with big dreams move confidently into a prosperous future?
Lately, CNC machine business owners and leaders in our NTMA Connect community have been talking about the advantages of establishing a board of advisors. There was a time when only big companies like GE and Caterpillar had boards of advisors. Today, however, it’s wise for even the smallest shop to form an advisory board.
You probably have some preconceived ideas about what an advisory board looks like. Maybe you picture a big boardroom full of stern-faced executives in suits. But today’s machine shop management teams are establishing boards of all shapes and sizes—boards uniquely suited to help boost a small CNC machine business toward growth and success.
Your board may consist of only two to three people who can mentor, support, and guide you. And forget formal boardrooms; your board might gather on your shop floor after hours or convene at the local coffee house. You may meet monthly, quarterly, or only once a year.
All that matters is that you curate a trusted core of individuals who can help you develop a plan to bring your dream to fruition—and hold you accountable for executing that plan.
Accountability Is Key to Success
Whether you’re still breathing life into your first-ever entrepreneurial dream or you’ve moved on to dreams of manufacturing improvements and advancements, you deserve to have your vision validated and empowered.
But because dreams come from our hearts, we need objective input from outsiders who have our best interests in mind and can help us succeed in the manufacturing world of NOW.
So whether you call them your “advisory board” or your “best friends from college” or your “NTMA peers,” you absolutely must bring your dream before your advisors and ask them to hold you accountable, to push you in the right direction, and to speak up if you’re about to screw up.
If you have a dream but no plan, it’s time to remedy that.
Because a dream without a plan is just a dream. But when you respond to your dreams with goals and clear steps, your dream can become the life—and the business—you’ve always wanted.
Join NTMA and find your community of dreamers and doers!