One of my favourite moments of the year isn't standing on stage, introducing a speaker or reading the event feedback afterwards. It's standing quietly at the back of the room and watching conversations happen.
Earlier this month, we brought together TAB members from across the UK for our annual 2026 Members' Event. Business owners travelled from all corners of the country to spend two days learning, sharing experiences and investing in themselves as leaders.
What struck me most wasn't what happened on stage. It was what happened in between. Within minutes of arriving, members who had never met before were deep in conversation. Some were discussing challenges. Others were exchanging ideas. A few were laughing about problems that only another business owner could truly understand.
As I watched those conversations unfold, I was reminded of something we see repeatedly at TAB:
Business owners need resilience. But they also need each other
Every TAB member benefits from their local board. That's where accountability is built, challenges are tackled and breakthroughs often happen. But there is something uniquely powerful about bringing together business owners from different regions, industries and experiences.
The conversations become broader. The perspectives become wider.The opportunities for learning multiply.
I saw connections being made that simply wouldn't have happened if those business owners hadn't made the decision to invest two days in their own development. That decision isn't always easy.
Business owners are busy people. There is always another meeting to attend, another customer to call or another issue demanding attention. But the best leaders understand something important:
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is step away from the business.
The theme running throughout the event was resilience. Not resilience as a buzzword. Real resilience. How to cope with setbacks. How to maintain perspective when things don't go to plan. How to look after yourself physically and mentally so that you can continue performing at a high level.
We deliberately selected four speakers who approached the subject from different angles. There was a risk in creating an agenda so heavily focused on personal wellbeing and resilience, but it proved to be the right decision.
Collectively, the speakers explored mental toughness, resilience, succession planning, health, wellbeing and the dangers of constant comparison. Despite their different approaches, they all arrived at a similar conclusion:
The health of your business is closely linked to the health of its leader.
If you want your business to thrive over the long term, you need to invest in yourself with the same commitment you invest in your team, your customers and your strategy.
The response from members was remarkable. The average score across all four speakers was 92%. For anyone who has organised events before, you'll know that's an exceptionally high number. More importantly, it confirmed that the content resonated because it addressed challenges business owners face every single day.
The event reinforced something I believe strongly about the TAB model. The real value isn't simply the framework, the process or even the coaching. It's the community.
Every month across the UK, business owners sit around TAB board tables and have conversations they often can't have anywhere else.
They can be honest. They can be challenged.They can share experiences without fear of judgement. And they discover that many of the problems they are facing are not unique.
Somebody else has been there before. Somebody else has found a solution. Somebody else is willing to help.
That sense of belonging is incredibly powerful. It's also increasingly rare.
At our TAB Members' Event, those relationships expanded beyond local board boundaries. Members met peers they would never normally encounter, creating connections that will continue long after the event itself.
For me, that's where the magic happens.
Whenever an event is successful, people naturally see what happens on the day. What they don't see is everything that happens behind the scenes. The venue selection. The speaker research.The agenda planning. The logistics. The countless conversations and decisions that shape the experience. Success is usually the accumulation of hundreds of small decisions made well.
My contribution was minimal compared to the incredible work delivered by the wider team. Every single person stepped up and played their part. And the result spoke for itself.
The overall event achieved a Net Promoter Score of 96%.
You don't get much higher than that. But for me, the most satisfying measure wasn't the score. It was seeing business owners leave energised, connected and better equipped to deal with whatever challenges come next.
If you're exploring franchise opportunities, it's worth asking a simple question:
What difference does this business really make?
At TAB, the answer is clear.
We help business owners become better leaders. We help them make better decisions. We help them build stronger businesses. And perhaps most importantly, we help them realise they don't have to do it alone.
Watching those conversations unfold over two days was another reminder of why TAB exists. Because resilience matters. Community matters too. And when business owners find their tribe, extraordinary things can happen.
That's the impact TAB Franchisees create every day in communities across the UK. And that's something worth being part of.
— Ed Reid