Sig Biz Advisors often works with fellows, members and associates of the Institute for Independent Business. As a consequence we often get asked questions about the Institute. Here are a few details on the Institute for Independent Business and links to where you can find out more.

The IIB is the largest organisation of its type in Europe With over 1,000 Executive Associates having now been through our accreditation process, working with businesses mostly within the small to medium sized (SME) sector. Placing at their disposal mature senior executives to use as 'sounding boards' and support and mentoring whenever and wherever is required, drawing on one of the most comprehensive support infrastructures in the world, during which time issues arising within any aspect of the business can be addressed.

The IIB has five main aims:

• To bring to independent business the most practical advice and timely ideas from knowledgeable experts and business innovators; to open doors to important and profitable opportunities; to raise the professional standards of independent business practice; to enhance the image of business leaders and all other executives working within the independent business sector.
• To advance the understanding of the workings of independent business by research in relevant fields, alone or in co-operation with other interested and competent bodies.
• To provide research facilities pertaining to independent business for the benefit of and use by other persons or bodies.
• To disseminate such findings and information as may be useful to the operators of independent business by all means expedient, more particularly through training courses, educational programmes, conferences, journals and other publications or media.
• To educate and train those working within the independent business sector to such a standard that they may confidently work independently at the appropriate level.

Independent businesses often operate in isolation without the networks of contacts and information services available to large companies. They typically lack the fundamental skills in key aspects of management that are required to develop a truly successful business. The organisations purporting to supply help and information were poorly sign posted and inaccessible for most small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). They were also largely governmental, bureaucratic and remote in nature. The Institute attempted to fill this gap by offering a single reference point where SMEs could obtain relevant information and support.

The main means of disseminating information was originally by a monthly publication, Small Business Today which contained items of particular interest to SMEs including details of grants and loan schemes, and effects of changes in legislation. Management techniques used successfully in large businesses were reported on, modified for use by managers in smaller businesses. Regular articles covered training, finance and marketing. Although many commercial computerised databases were rapidly coming on stream - these were largely inaccessible to SMEs, who typically lacked the computer equipment and expertise to access the systems. The Institute, therefore, subscribed to numerous databases covering such matters as raising finance, obtaining government grants, sourcing materials and supplies, training and educational courses, and marketing information. We aimed to provide our growing membership with rapid centralised access to a wealth of information.

The Institute carried out a variety of ad hoc pieces of research into the needs of the independent business sector. This led to the introduction of a 'company mentoring scheme' whereby successful directors of established businesses undertook to act as mentors to owners, managers or directors of start-up businesses. In practice, the difficulties of matching skills with requirements in the right place and at the right time for both parties saw the eventual demise of the scheme. Equally, a business introduction service to facilitate equity investment by business angels into independent businesses was popular in concept but was rapidly buried under the weight of regulations and the difficulty in finding appropriate matches. Even with such encouragements as the Business Expansion Scheme, the Institute could not compensate for the lack of suitably entrepreneurial investment opportunities. The Advisor Scheme continued to grow at such a rate that it was soon necessary to publish a separate directory of specialist advisers. The Index of Experts was published early in 1989, and in 1990 a larger edition was published and circulated to over 25,000 directors and managers in independent businesses.

Further research, both by the Institute, and by several academic organisations, had indicated that the SME sector required not only information and advice in order to survive and grow, but also practical assistance, preferably from more mature business executives who had 'been there, seen it and done it'. In order to be effective, a practical implementation phase was also required. It was also evident that any sort of traditional consultancy was inappropriate as consultancy practices were generally unable or unwilling to fulfil this need as their cost structures and style were generally not appropriate to the SME sector.

All IIB Executive Associates who attend meetings with Managing Directors and Proprietors of businesses are themselves senior executives from any and every profession, background and industry imaginable. Almost all our Executives are experienced business men and women who have been Chief Executives, Managing Directors or senior managers themselves and have thus experienced first hand the pressures, stresses and joys of running a business. Some started up, run and eventually sold their own businesses and others having run some of the best known businesses in the world. In short, our Executive Associates have 'been there, seen it, and survived to tell the story'!

More details about the Institute for Independent Business and the many services it now offers can be found on their web site at

http://iib.ws/orgsite