Founded in 1989 and operating in 25+ countries worldwide, The Alternative Board (TAB) is one of the leading peer advisory and business coaching organizations for business owners & CEOs in the world. While we began by filling the need for business owner “advisory boards” where non-competing CEOs and owners act as each other’s Board of Directors, we now feature the Business Builder’s Advantage—the most complete suite of business tools in the marketplace.

We are the only company to offer this specific, integrated framework that combines five high-impact solutions: Peer Advisory Boards for collective wisdom, 1-on-1 Executive Coaching for intentional decision-making, strategic planning for leadership team strategy & alignment, management development training, and our proprietary Blueprint Platform for strategic execution. This evolution allows us to provide a total business transformation system that turns your aspirations into achievements.

For an overview of how we help business owners succeed, you can watch our video here: How TAB Works and What It Offers.

The TAB Membership Model is a comprehensive, five-pillar framework designed to align who you are as a leader with the results you want for your business and life. By moving through a strategic sequence of discovery and action, the model helps you answer five critical questions:

• Who Are You as a Leader? We use DISC Assessments, Driving Forces, and Personal Values to understand your leadership DNA.
• What Do You Want? We help you define your Personal Vision, Company Vision, and your organization’s Values & Culture.
• Where Are You Now? We establish a baseline using a Business Diagnostic, SWOT Analysis, and an identification of your Strategic Advantage.
• How Do You Get There? We build a roadmap through a formal Strategic Plan, defined 90-Day Goals, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track progress.
• Who Can Help? You execute this plan with the support of your Board Members, a dedicated Business Coach, and TAB’s global Tools & Network.

This model ensures that every aspect of the Business Builder’s Advantage—from peer boards to strategic software—is working in sync to achieve your specific vision.

The two main needs are 1) a sounding board of like-minded business owners & CEOs; and 2) having accountability partners of a peer board and a coach.  Being a privately held business owner is one of the most exciting, rewarding scenarios that anyone could be in. It can also be overwhelming and stressful. Having TAB’s full suite of services allows business owners & CEOs to make better decisions and have more confidence in all of their decisions and their team. TAB provides thought, comfort, security, and accountability – all the benefits that everyone has been able to share for decades. TAB changes the lives of its Members; you enjoy your life more while operating your business more successfully.

When you join TAB, you’re joining a proven system and process designed to match you with the right group of experienced business leaders. Each TAB Board is carefully assembled and facilitated by certified TAB coaches who ensure you’re paired with like-minded peers. During every meeting, you’ll have dedicated time to present any challenge or opportunity you’re facing. Fellow members will ask thoughtful questions to better understand your situation, then offer advice based on their own real-world experiences. You’ll gain diverse insights—not just on what to do, but sometimes on what to avoid. After considering all the suggestions, you’ll commit to your Board to implement or explore the best advice before the next meeting. Then, as your peers share their own challenges, you get to contribute as an advisor, drawing on your expertise. With every meeting, you benefit from the collective experience of your Board members—often representing over 150+ years of combined business wisdom. That’s one reason why TAB members typically stay for over five years. 

TAB Jersey Shore North Boards meet in-person once a month for four hours in the Red Bank, NJ area, either at a meeting facility or a member’s place of business.  We know that dedicating half a day can feel like a lot (FYI, it’s only 3% of your work month to work ON your business), especially with the daily demands of running a business. However, as a TAB member, you have the opportunity to share the weight of tough decisions with local business leaders who genuinely want to see you thrive in both business and life. Each meeting brings you together with a hand-picked group of leaders, who act as your sounding board and accountability partner for challenges and opportunities. You’ll leave with practical advice and actionable steps to implement. We’re confident your TAB membership will be the most valuable hours you invest in your business—and we guarantee it!  

Each TAB Board includes only one leader per company, but partners, co-founders, and co-CEOs can join separate, non-competing boards. In addition, we have examples where one partner/co-founder/co-CEO was on a board but the other occasionally attended the board meeting or the partners/co-founders/co-CEOs switched off each month.   And partners/co-founders/co-CEOs can be coached together or separately.  This process ensures that every seat is industry-exclusive, allowing members to openly share in a confidential and safe space. At every meeting, you benefit from a broad range of experiences and advice, all aimed at helping you make better decisions for both your business and personal life. If you’re seeking a trusted group of advisors to guide you to greater success, TAB could be the perfect fit. 

It includes the Business Builder’s Advantage, the marketplace’s premier integrated system designed to turn your business aspirations into achievements. Rather than relying on patchwork solutions, members gain access to a customizable, high-impact framework that combines five proven solutions: Peer Advisory Boards for collective wisdom, Leadership Coaching for intentional decision-making, StratPro for strategic planning and alignment for the owner and his/her leadership team, HI-MAP for management training for new managers or emerging leaders, and the Blueprint Platform for cloud-based strategic execution. This comprehensive suite ensures you gain the fresh perspective, team alignment, and leadership confidence needed to radically improve your company while achieving a better personal work-life balance. Experience the power of the only system that connects every piece of your business for predictable, transformative growth.

The average TAB Member over five years, with some staying over 20 years! This long-term commitment is due to the immense value members get from their TAB Board and coach, in addition to the full suite of services TAB offers members of all sizes and stages of their business journey.  Having a dedicated group of peers to discuss ideas and challenges helps members make better decisions and reduces the stress of running a business. While TAB Members often stay for years, there’s no long-term contract. You can leave with just one month’s notice, though we’re confident you’ll find the value, advice, and support compelling. We also have a 90-Day Performance Guarantee so you can “test drive” TAB membership to ensure the value is there (we know it will be!).  If you want to grow as a business owner or leader, joining a TAB membership might be the next step. Contact us today!

A typical TAB Member has owned or led their business for at least four years, has at least four employees with many years of experience, including multi-generational family businesses. The annual revenue of our members rabnges from $1M – $50M (and there are exceptions to this). Around the TAB Board table, you’ll find businesses from a wide range of industries—over 200 sectors are represented. When you join a TAB Board, you’ll be matched with leaders from businesses of similar size, all of whom hold key decision-making roles such as founder, CEO, president, managing director, or partner.  While there are many exceptions to the criteria above, the key factor we look at, without exception, is the mindset of the business owner or CEO. The best members are forward thinking, they know they don’t know everything, they value getting advice from other business owners, they can give as well as receive feedback and they want to be held accountable.  As a membership-based organization, we only invite business leaders who have this mindset so if this sounds like you, contact us today to learn more!

Government businesses are not really TAB’s niche, but all types of businesses are suited to benefit from TAB Membership. All Members receive benefits from the TAB community and their fellow TAB Members from the business they own. Every business field you can think of faces basically the same challenges.

The average retention of a TAB Member is almost five years. However, several Members have stayed for decades – some Members have been with TAB since its inception!

Members stay with TAB because of value. The advice they receive brings about bottom-line value to their companies and value to their lives. It is very important to have a place where business owners can have a connection with fellow business owners, which is unlike any other connection they will ever have.

Members can tap into TAB’s tools and processes and leadership where they are a part of a community where they can get advice, guidance, and opportunities presented from other TAB Members around the world. Why would anyone let that go?

TAB strives to perform such that the only time TAB Members do leave is because they have successfully transitioned their business and sold it and are living the full benefit of what every entrepreneur envisions.

TAB provides a secure, confidential space for business leaders to discuss their challenges and opportunities. With over 35+ years of experience supporting more than 25,000 businesses across 25+ countries, TAB has maintained a spotless record of confidentiality. Before any new member joins a TAB Board, current members are consulted to ensure no conflicts of interest. Every member, and any guests who attend a board meeting, signs a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement. If you’re seeking a trusted space to collaborate with successful business leaders, consider joining TAB. 

While we don’t offer a traditional “trial,” we ensure your investment is risk-free. Prospective members are invited to attend a board meeting as a guest to experience the TAB culture firsthand. We operate without long-term contracts—requiring only 30 days’ notice—and offer a 90-day performance guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with the value within your first three months, we will refund your membership fees, no questions asked.

TAB offers a wide variety of services, and because we don’t want to charge you for services you don’t need, we first meet with you to determine which solutions best fit your goals. The range of investment is:

• Coaching-Only: $900/month for two 1-on-1 sessions per month.
• Peer Board Package: This core offering—which includes your monthly 4-hour in-person board meeting and one hour of 1-on-1 executive coaching—ranges from $800 to $1,200/month.
• Strategic Planning Workshops: For businesses with leadership teams requiring intensive programs like StratPro, the investment can reach $5,000/workshop.
• Mangement Development training is $379/class.

Importantly, we do not believe in locking you into long-term contracts. We operate on a month-to-month basis requiring only 30 days’ notice, and every membership is backed by our 90-day performance guarantee to ensure you receive world-class value from day one.

Business owners quickly realize they aren’t alone; while 25% of your challenges may be unique to your specific company or industry, roughly 75% are universal regardless of industry or size. Members frequently use the board as a sounding board for opportunities in Sales & Marketing, Accounting & Finance, Operations, HR, IT, and Legal. You gain the collective wisdom of peers who have already navigated the same hurdles you are facing today.

Yes. We provide individual strategic planning for TAB members through our Blueprint Platform, a customizable framework to improve how your business runs. For owners with a leadership team, we offer StratPro, a high-impact workshop series designed to align your top performers around a shared vision, clear priorities, and disciplined execution to unlock your company’s full potential.

Yes we do.  Our program is called HIMAP –  – the High Impact Manager Accelerator Program, a real-world development track for new or inexperienced managers and emerging leaders. The program consists of 17 sessions across four “Paths”: Influence, Improvement, Team Action, and Talent. Led by certified Implementers, HIMAP combines group training with 1-on-1 private coaching to increase productivity, improve employee retention, and foster innovative thinking.

Yes we do. We utilize world-class behavioral assessments through TTI, including DISC (communication styles), Driving Forces (motivations), and EQ (Emotional Intelligence). These tools help you and your team understand how you work, why you are moved to action, and how to improve communication. These assessments are a standard component of our TAB membership to ensure every participant understands their behavioral style before diving into any of our services.  

Yes. TAB is an invite-only membership organization. We invite growth-minded business owners & CEOs to join an exclusive community of forward-thinking leaders who want to improve themselves and their companies. Because the success of our Peer Advisory Boards relies on a high level of trust and shared wisdom, we are very selective about whom we invite to join. Every potential member is carefully vetted and current board members are consulted to ensure there are no conflicts of interest, maintaining a confidential and high-caliber environment for all.

No.   Being on a TAB peer advisory board is not a paid board position. Unlike a traditional corporate board of directors, a TAB Peer Advisory Board is a membership-based service where business owners invest in their own growth. Your “payment” comes in the form of the collective wisdom, objective real-world insights, and accountability provided by your fellow members—a “brain trust” of peers who have no agenda other than helping you succeed.