Which Form 8865 Advisory 2023-2024

P>I love growing a company and building something where I'm creating jobs in my community. It excites me every day to come to work and do new things here at Steel Works. Steel Works Design is an engineering firm located in Peterborough, Ontario. We design and build tooling and automation for manufacturers, and we employ 27 people. In 2008, we lost half of our business in the recession. We had never experienced layoffs in our organization prior to the recession, but now we're faced with laying off half of our staff. Originally, we were about to make very emotional decisions. However, our advisory board helped us step back and make strategic decisions to ensure the company's sustainability through the recessionary period and to secure future job opportunities. Both my husband and I work in the business, and running a small company can be quite lonely at the top. However, with an advisory board, we have a professional sounding board to seek input and relevant experience to aid us in making better decisions. After downsizing our company, the recovery was fairly rapid and successful. However, due to depleted cash resources, it felt like a failure. During that period, having mentorship and guidance from the advisory board was crucial in reaffirming that the business was on the right track. Preparing for an advisory board meeting forces an entrepreneur to behave like a larger corporation. It creates a level of accountability where you're required to go through your decision-making process to ensure that your actions align with your strategic goals. Managing an advisory board is not time-consuming; it’s time well invested in your business. It only takes a few hours to prepare and execute, but the benefits far outweigh the time spent. One of the things I appreciate most about having an advisory board is having a...