Five years in, and business owners across the North are no longer going it alone

To The Summit Ltd marks five years since the founding of YAB (Your Affordable Board), the regional business community built on a simple proposition that hasn’t changed since day one: every small business deserves a board.

YAB was founded in June 2021 by Andy Henderson, who had spent years as managing director of a large business with a full board of directors around him. When he stepped into running his own operation, the gap was immediate.

Nobody asked him the awkward questions, challenged his decisions, and genuinely cared whether the business succeeds. He built YAB because that gap didn’t have to exist.

Five years on, YAB operates multiple groups across the North of England, with a growing membership and evidence of impact that’s hard to argue with. Ninety per cent of members say YAB reignited their motivation to run their business.

Andy Henderson, founder, YAB — Your Affordable Board, said: “I built YAB because I’d been on both sides. A large business with a full board of directors, then suddenly doing everything on my own. The gap is massive.

"Five years on, I’m incredibly proud of the community we’ve built and the growth we’ve seen across the North. But what gets me is the people.

"Business owners who walk in not knowing each other and end up being completely honest about their challenges within the hour. That’s awesome to be part of. You can’t plan for that. It either happens or it doesn’t, and somehow it keeps happening.”

YAB’s format is deliberately simple. Members meet monthly for a morning sessionrun along the lines of a proper board meeting.

The centrepiece is the mastermind: the whole room focuses on one member’s challenge, working through it together with the kind of honest, practical input that most business owners have never had access to. It swaps the usual networking sales pitches for exchanging knowledge, expertise and experience.

The membership spans every industry. Consultants, retailers, tradespeople, marketing agencies, professional services firms, and manufacturers sit in the same room because the problems that come with running a small business tend not to respect sector boundaries.

Cash flow looks the same whether you’re selling software or sandwiches. So does the feeling of making a significant decision with nobody experienced to check your thinking.

Full membership costs £99 per month with no contract. A trial month costs £29.99 and gives new members access to every group across the network.

 Richard Webster, founder of W4E and YAB Ribble Valley Group leader, said: "My business looks fundamentally different from the version I walked in with nearly five years ago.

"YAB has been the place I’ve tested ideas, shaped offers, and had thinking challenged by people who are just honest about it. The personal side surprised me more, though. I came in fairly introverted. I now lead the Ribble Valley group and run a full morning’s meeting every month. I’m not sure I’d have seen that coming in year one, but it’s probably the thing I’m most proud of.”

With multiple groups now operating and plans to grow the network further across the North of England, YAB’s goal is straightforward: more business owners with a board around them, fewer making every decision alone.

Andy Henderson added: “There are still thousands of business owners across the North doing this completely alone. There’s a seat at a YAB table for every one of them.”