DENVER, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- This has been a rough quarter for businesses: the Dow Jones and Nasdaq are roller-coasters, employment levels are fragile, banks like Lehman Brothers collapse, gas prices are uncertain, and an unusually polarizing election has business owners wondering what will happen to their taxes and trying to strategize for a very uncertain future.

Both McCain and Obama claim they will help small businesses, and congressional candidates promise the same. The Federal Reserve will continue to tweak interest rates to try to keep inflation at bay and the Stock Market functioning. But will any of the promises and talk actually make a difference to the small to mid-size businesses on Main Street?

Members of The Alternative Board(R) (TAB) -- an organization that provides small to medium-size companies with peer advisory boards and business advice, have overwhelmingly stated that it is the emotional support they receive from fellow business leaders that gets them through when times are tough.

According to a recent survey conducted by TAB to gauge the mood of small to mid-size business owners, 83 percent report receiving emotional support from their peers in addition to business support in the past six months, which may have something to do with the fact that more than 67 percent expect their businesses to grow, and the average TAB member has seen their business grow by more than 40 percent since joining the organization.

"Independent businesses are only as strong as the people within the company, so it should come as no surprise that businesses with organized access to emotional support networks are more inclined to flourish in a tough economy," said Jason Zickerman, president and COO of TAB. "Most business owners are almost entirely alone. That reality combined with economic crisis typically leads to either inaction due to fear, or hasty, faulty strategies to be embraced in a rush to do ... something. This is the very basis for why businesses involved in peer advisory networks enjoy prosperity that others believe to be an impossibility in market conditions such as these."

About The Alternative Board(R)

The Alternative Board(R) is an international provider of peer advisory and coaching solutions to leaders of privately held businesses. Over 300 TAB Boards are operating each month across the United States, Canada and South America. Headquartered in Denver, TAB was founded by Allen Fishman, author of 7 Secrets of Great Entrepreneurial Masters and 9 Elements of Family Business Success in 1990. For more information about the survey or about The Alternative Board(R), visit http://www.TheAlternativeBoard.com, or contact the local TAB-Certified Facilitator in your area.

     Contact:  Wendy Manning
               Volume Public Relations
               720-529-4850
               wendy@volumepr.com

SOURCE The Alternative Board