INFORMATION FOR VISITING ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Thank you for serving on the Advisory Board of Texas' oldest business incubator, a self-funded, independent research facility for economic development via accelerated growth of our client companies. Your contribution of time and expertise is most appreciated.

Attached are a few guidelines to make your participation beneficial to our client companies and professionally rewarding for yourself.

I.  Your commitment, unless stipulated otherwise, is for one Advisory Board meeting, the second Wednesday of any month, from approximately 6:00 p.m. until approximately 9:30 p.m.  Please mark your calendar accordingly or inform your secretary or administrative assistant of this commitment.

II.  An Advisory Board packet will be mailed to you on the Friday before the second Wednesday. Under normal conditions, you will receive the packet on the Monday preceding the Advisory Board meeting. The packet contains a summary of the marketing, operations and administrative activities and a complete set of financial statements of the incubator client companies you will be advising. Please take the appropriate time to review these summaries. The copies mailed you are for your files. Please do not show these data to others. You may choose to make notes on the copies, as appropriate. The packet will also contain the evening's agenda, scheduled Advisors, scheduled clients and, if any, confirmations of startup entrepreneurs and visitors, such as yourself, for the evening.

III.  In the event you do not receive your packet by the Advisory Board meeting day, please call (713) 932-7495 x 11 and leave a message in the voice mailbox of the Center Manager, who will prepare a replacement set for you. In the event that you have not had opportunity to review the material for any particular client company prior to his or her presentation, you are excused from that presentation. In the event that you must be late to this Advisory Board meeting, please call the Center Manager, who will inform the Advisory Board Chairman.

IV.  In the event that you wish background or historical data on the companies presenting, please inform the Center Manager, arrive at the Center early and review the files of the companies you are to advise. These files are available in the Center library in a large lateral file cabinet marked "Current Participants." This is a self-serve file. Please return the files when you have finished with them.

V.   You will be contacted by a member of the Advisory Board who will brief you on the activity of the meeting, review this information, explain seating arrangements and will also debrief you when the meeting is over.

VI.  At the beginning of the meeting you will be asked to introduce yourself. Please make your introduction brief. Let people know who you are and what you do. Please avoid humorous or witty remarks. You are encouraged to obtain the business cards of those Advisors you may choose to speak with at other times about their business or yours or their business needs or yours. Business from client companies may be referred to you via the client's Mentors. You may also accept business directly from client companies after you refer any such inquiries to the Advisory Board Chairperson so that all are informed of the relationship and any future business to be conducted and the contract between you and the client company has been approved prior to your conducting any business.

VII.  During Advisory Board meetings your comments are encouraged, with the following suggestions:
A.  Make every statement positive or don't make it. These are our clients, who have engaged us for guidance. Please don't criticize, under
      any circumstances.
B.  Defer to the Chairman.
C.  Respect the time allocation.
D.  Use the Advisory Comment forms (available during the meeting) to make hard copy of your suggestions. Please do not be lavish with
      praise. To avoid it altogether is acceptable.
E.  In the event that you may differ with the suggestion, advice or opinion of another Advisor, please do not attack or belittle same. Preface
     your comment with: "Another point of view might be . . ." 
F.  Refrain from any side bar conversations with other Advisors during presentations.
G.  Keep your comments brief and specific to the item, issue or topic being discussed.

VIII.  Please send business cards, digital photo and a bio about you and your company or organization. (Two page maximum, please.) This information will be included in the mailing to other Advisors,  given to the client companies and posted on the Center web-space

IX.  You will be allocated a mailbox, located in the mailroom. Please check your mailbox upon arrival at the Center for any changes to the evening's agenda. Verify that your name, telephone, fax numbers and email address are correct on the web-space roster located at: www.servicesca.org/advisory-board.htm.
During the meeting, verify that your name and company or organization are correct on your place-setting card at the board table.

X.  Please wear professional attire to Advisory Board meetings; coat and tie for men.

XI.  A casual buffet dinner is available starting at 6:00 p.m. "Boarding House Rules" apply. If you have any special dietary restrictions, please inform the Center Manager: (713) 932-7495. Please do not take food to the Advisory Board rooms. However, beverages are permitted.

XII. Check List:
___ Have scheduled appointment for second Wednesday.
___ Have signed and sent non-disclosure agreement.
___ Have reviewed client company data.
___ Have sent business cards.
___ Have sent bio and digital photo.
___ Have called, faxed or e-mailed to confirm appointment:

For Economic Development Clients:
___ Have sent payment to: 9517 Long Point Road, Houston, Texas 77055-4266
(or paid by PayPal at www.servicesca.org/paymentsebc.htm )

(713) 932-7495 x 10 (Center Manager), (713) 932-7498-F, email: service@serviceSCA.org
Current Advisors - Previous Advisors - Remote Advisors