Institute for Independent Business
David Smulyan is an accredited Executive Associate of the Institute for Independent Business. The Institute for Independent Business (IIB) is a not-for-profit research and accreditation body established in 1984 to give independent businesses direct access to some of the country's top business people, and in so doing, bring practical advice and timely ideas to the business. The IIB is now the largest organization of its type in the world with over 5,000 fully accredited Executive Associates, in 20 countries worldwide, working with businesses mostly within the small to medium-sized sector.

Experience
IIB Executive Associates are senior executives representing every profession, background, and industry imaginable.  They all have personally experienced the pressures, stresses, and joys of running a business.  Many have also started, run, and eventually sold their own small to medium sized business.

Selection, Training & Accreditation
Any senior executive / business leader considering themselves suitable for accreditation must pass through the Institute's selection process, and then undertake the Consultancy Business Development Program.  This provides a framework for developing skills directed specifically at the small to mid-sized sector. The first program was started in January 1991 and to date over 5,000 executives have completed the distance learning and residential business school required to achieve the status of an accredited Executive Associate.

Continual Professional Development
Once accredited, Executive Associates continue to be supported by the Institute through monthly training workshops and an internet based system which provides a platform for exchange of information and the sharing of expertise. The exclusive network of Executive Associates which is the largest in the world, allows them to work together on assignments to ensure that supported businesses receive the highest quality service.

Benefit To Businesses
The Institute requires all Executive Associates who have been through its accreditation process to give free some time each month for selected meetings with independent business owners. Unlike some advisory services, the benefit of being supported by IIB Executive Associates is that they have 'been there, seen it, and survived to tell the story', and are sufficiently experienced to be able to provide practical advice that works.