On this week’s edition of Money, I’m Home, Lynne is joined by two Consumers business services experts, Sandy Bloem and Shannon Dwyer to discuss the importance of building a solid relationship with your business lender.

 

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0:00:05.8 Lynne Jarman-Johnson (LJJ): Money, I’m home. Welcome in. I’m Lynne Jarman-Johnson with Consumers Credit Union. Thanks so much for joining us. This year we have some special series that we’re doing all year long to help you out, whether that be in fraud prevention, getting your first home or getting that perfect home. And also all of our businesses that we work with, we’re going to be doing a series on business services and how you can make sure that you’re connecting to the experts. And I’ll tell you that today, we have the experts on our podcast today. Joining us is Sandy Bloem. Sandy is the Business Services Sales Manager for all of Consumers Credit Union. She is helping us keep all of those balls in the air and helping businesses on a day-to-day basis. And Shannon Dwyer is a Business Development Manager, so she’s working one-on-one with the businesses that are out there growing in our marketplace, which is so exciting. Both of you, thanks so much for being with us.

0:00:57.4 Sandy Bloem (SB): Thank you for the opportunity. So excited.

0:01:00.3 Shannon Dwyer (SD): Yes, thanks for having us, Lynne.

0:01:01.5 LJJ: Well, you are welcome. And Sandy, let’s start with you. Today, what we are really going to feature is a little bit about both of you and what it means to be a business lender, especially in the marketplace today. Sandy, let’s start with you. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be with Consumers.

0:01:18.1 SB: Sure, absolutely. So, I was not the traditional student. I got married pretty young and had babies really young, but I was always good at math, and so I didn’t take the straight path to going to school for four years. It took me 12 years. I did the 12-year program, but I did an internship at Old Kent Bank, which is long since gone, but fell in love with working with businesses. I was just doing statement analysis at that point, but could see what the different lenders were doing, and it looked like a really exciting job to me because they got to meet with a lot of small businesses, learn a little bit about a lot of different things that were happening in the economy, and best of all, they were able to help a business go from point A to point B, and they were involved in some of their growth. And so that was one of the biggest reason that I got into business lending is just the ability to have a small part in the success of what a business does.

0:02:19.8 LJJ: That is so exciting. What growth. Oh my gosh. Old Kent, that’s dating us, isn’t it? It’s now Fifth Third, everybody. [laughter] I still have my very first checkbook checking account, because I was 16 and my dad walked me into Old Kent Bank, and I still have that because I just… It’s like an emotional thing, you know? [laughter] I don’t use it much, because Consumers is so amazing! But it is funny, how, you know, times in life. Hey Shannon, let’s go to you. You are out… I read it on the street, you are busy working with so many businesses in the marketplace. Tell us a little bit about how you started your journey.

0:02:58.5 SD: Yeah, absolutely. So, I went to school for accounting and thought that I wanted to be a CPA, which is a wonderful career, but while I was still going to school at Western, I took a job at Consumers Credit Union. I was actually working in our Member Service Center, started doing some deferred loans, and then actually our Business Services department was smaller at the time, we had one credit analyst who was leaving for actually maternity leave, so there was an internship opportunity. I applied and ended up getting that internship, so I started really on the commercial underwriting side, which… It pulled in some of my accounting background, and I loved it. So, our department continued to grow, which required more staffing, so as soon as there was a permanent position open, I got my way in there. And ever since, I did that for quite a few years, more on the underwriting side. But as I was working with our main lender, I realized that I really loved that side of things, interacting with the business owners, really being that face of the credit union and understanding their plans, their goals, initiatives.

0:04:11.5 SD: So, I transitioned into lending, I think, about five years ago and started in our Kalamazoo market, moved to Grand Rapids, which is where I’m at now, and there’s just… I mean, West Michigan is a great place to be, there’s so much, so much growth happening here. And we really focus on small to mid-size businesses, so I think, you know, making a lot of headway and building some great partnerships.

0:04:34.1 LJJ: Well, you know, what is so interesting is to listen to both of you and the different paths that you took to then all of a sudden grab a hold of what was your passion. And we’re so thankful at Consumers that you’re here with us, sharing that passion and that knowledge together. Sandy, you mentioned something that kind of brought a question to my mind, which is the importance of the person that you work with. When you started it, it sounded like you weren’t on a face-to-face time, but all of a sudden you realized what it could do to a business if that individual that they worked with was A, knowledgeable, but cared about their business.

0:05:14.4 SB: Absolutely. I feel like the relationship is key. Consumers is a wonderful place to work, but I think where we really pull in and we’re successful with our businesses is that one-on-one relationship with the business owner. You develop a friendship, if you will, with the business owner because you’re a key partner in their growth. You sit with them when they’re small, and as you see them grow, and the ups and downs that come with every business in every industry, you walk with them through the good and the bad, but you’re there to support whatever is going on in their business life. And, hopefully, as time goes on, you see them grow, hire new people, create jobs and just become a successful business owner. I will say it doesn’t always happen that way, but probably 98% of the time, that that’s the way that we see it go.

0:06:05.8 LJJ: You know, Sandy, when you mentioned that whole concept of that relationship, I’m going to ask Shannon the same thing… Have you seen where that relationship has changed a person’s life? Because a lot of times you had mentioned that we serve small and medium businesses, and that’s someone’s livelihood for their family.

0:06:27.4 SD: There’s a lot of really great stories, but just thinking of one in particular. I work with a daycare owner, where, when I first started talking to her, she owned an at-home day care center, which her family has trusted her so much, she really built up a wonderful reputation, but there’s less than 15 kids that she would watch, and her dream all along was to own her own center. She had a really solid plan in place, I mean, we’ve worked with her to really kind of get it in a really good format and worked with her on a 504 structure, which is great for businesses that need to reserve funds for growth. So anyways, today, her current center is over 100 kids, and now we’re looking at expansion of another building to double the size of the center, so it’s just a really cool success story where it’s like, you have a strong operator and you have a solid plan in place and everything went extremely smoothly. And here she is, now expanding again, so it’s been a cool journey.

0:07:35.7 LJJ: You know, that story is, especially right now, when you’re hearing about the childcare crisis that is happening for parents and for working parents, it is just a phenomenal success story, Shannon, and that’s the key. Sandy, when you look back on your career, is there something that you think of that you just went, “Aha, wow. This really was such a success, and I’m so proud to be in the field that I’m in?”

0:08:02.4 SB: Yes, and I will tell you, you know, Shannon mentioned the 504 Loan Program, which is an SBA Loan Program, and it’s important to have expertise in all of these different types of loans, but my success story may not be what you think, because I met with a business owner who had some wonderful dreams, he had a family that depended on him, and after we went through everything, we together decided that it wasn’t the right thing for him because it was too much risk, and it kind of changed his perspective on things, and he decided not to go into business. And so, I think we look at the successful businesses and the ones that grow, but also when we talk to potential business owners, helping them think through all of those risks and where they are and where they want to be, maybe the answer… The best answer is no. And I ran into this individual several years later, and they once again thanked me and said, “You know? I thought this was what I wanted. I want to thank you for taking the time and caring enough about me and my family to not approve this loan, because I think it would have been a disaster.”

0:09:21.6 SD: Wow.

0:09:24.0 LJJ: How can people find that right loan officer? For us at Consumers, do you suggest going online and searching through our business services to see what’s out there?

0:09:33.4 SB: Yes. And I would say it very much is a relationship, and so, online we do have our business development managers, but a business owner should actually interview several people if they’re at the beginning, because it is a relationship and you need to find someone that you feel like you can communicate well with and someone who cares about you as the business owner, and so… Just don’t go to the first person that says yes. Interview several people and find the best fit for you as a person.

0:10:03.5 LJJ: And it really does become that long-term relationship for success, whatever happens with the person that you’re working with. Shannon and Sandy, thanks so much. Another way that you can reach out to our business lenders, just walk into any of our offices. Or if you’re at a TellerPlus+ system and you touch the screen ask, “Hey, who is a business development person that can help us in Consumers?” and we will immediately connect you. That’s how simple it is! So, Sandy, Shannon, thanks so much for being with us today.

0:10:33.2 SD: Yeah, thank you, Lynne.

0:10:33.8 SB: Thank you.

0:10:35.2 LJJ: And I’d like to thank you for listening, taking the time. I’ll tell you what, if you have a topic you’d like to share, just send it our way. And thanks Jake Esselink for your production skills. I hope everybody has a wonderful week and make your business sing with Consumers Credit Union.