You own your own business and things are getting overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be nice to have somebody to talk to who can give you objective advice on decisions you have to make?

That’s what the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Iowa chapter did for Jason Berger, owner of North American Minerals Corp. and a past president of the chapter.

“It’s fantastic because as a business owner, you don’t have a peer group. You’re supposed to have the answers.” Berger said. “So once a month you meet with other business owners, and you throw out issues that you are facing in your life and business and everything else, and people speak of their experience. … Really, it’s vastly improved my business.”

To be a member of the organization, a person has to be the founder, co-founder or 30 percent owner of a business that makes at least $1 million per year in revenue. Annual dues are $1,500.

“You’ve got to have some skin in the game to be here,” Berger said “It makes for a really different environment.”

The Iowa chapter’s more than 30 members get together at six different monthly forums where owners can bounce ideas off each other and give advice in a confidential environment. There are also events at the chapter level focused on educating business owners about such issues as how to change a corporation’s culture.

The goal is to figure out “how can we create something that people can gain a lot of value to run their businesses that they wouldn’t have on their own,” said Keri Storjohann, a member who just finished a four-year stint as communications chair for the Iowa chapter.

There are also events at the global level, as the Entrepreneurs’ Organization has 122 chapters in 35 countries. Berger in the past attended an event in South Africa, where he was part of a group that had dinner with former president F.W. de Klerk.

The Iowa chapter has been around since 2000, but has often struggled with visibility, Berger said.

One way the chapter is trying to gain visibility is through a fellowship program started this year. Working in conjunction with the Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan competition, the organization is helping three student entrepreneurs from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa get their businesses off the ground by providing member advice and access to subject matter experts.