Independent Banker - April 2022 - 23

Next: What does it mean to go all in? 
support services is the result of a
cooperative local effort, primarily
through the Owatonna Area Business
Development Center, the City of
Owatonna and the chamber of
commerce. These three organizations
work together to assist new and
expanding businesses, says Steven
Grams, president and CEO of
Community Bank Owatonna. " We
work with customers and refer
business as their needs arise. "
The Owatonna Area Business
Development Center was formed in
1988 as a business incubator. Today,
it provides counseling services,
financial planning, help with business
plans, score referrals and rental
facilities. The City of Owatonna
has a grant and loan program to
assist businesses with expansion
opportunities. And the chamber of
commerce is actively involved in
recruiting and referring business to
appropriate agencies. " As a result,
we have all three organizations, as
well as bankers, working together to
meets the needs of new and existing
business, " says Grams.
A winning combo
Providing business advisory services
to small business owners is familiar
territory for $2.9 billion-asset D.L.
Evans Bank in Boise, Idaho. The SBA
programs have helped the community
bank, which is an award-winning
SBA Rural Lender in the SBA Boise
District Office, provide much-needed
loans to small businesses in rural
communities. " Our bank provides
access to capital for small businesses
that want to start or expand their
business by utilizing the Small
Business Administration 7(a), Express
and 504 loan programs, " says Jennifer
DeJean, vice president and SBA
manager for D.L. Evans Bank.
The community bank partners with
local organizations such as SCORE,
" There have been so many times when a
noncustomer comes to us with a transaction
request, and the result is a complete 180 from
where they first wanted to go. They become
a loyal customer of our bank, because we
showed them a better path. "
-JOE ALLEN, THE COMMUNITY BANK
the Small Business Development
Center and the Women's Business
Center. " These organizations aid
small business owners by coaching
them with their business plan, their
projections, their growth plans, etc.,
in preparation for the meeting with
the bank, " says DeJean.
Collaboration in the community
Another bank relying primarily
on local community expertise is
$1.6 billion-asset One Community
Bank in Oregon, Wis. " We don't
have a specific training or education
program targeted toward the small
businesses in our communities, "
says Steven Erickson, its chief sales
officer. " Instead, we partner with
the organizations that already have
a robust market share in this space,
and, as part of our onboarding
process, we start preparing our
client-facing colleagues with the
tools necessary to make a meaningful
impact in these discussions. "
One Community Bank has excellent
relationships with the nonbank small
business advisory programs in its
south-central Wisconsin market.
" SBA's SCORE program, for example,
whose advisors are well known to
us, have worked with several of our
clients in the beginning stages of the
entrepreneurial endeavors, " says
Erickson. " Likewise, the University of
Wisconsin-Madison's Family Business
Center has worked with some of our
more established businesses on the
growth and succession planning
aspects of their companies. "
The community bank is also a
member of the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corporation's Business
Development Loan Program, which
gives it the opportunity to assist local
businesses with their capital needs
while also providing guidance and pro
forma review prior to funding.
This philosophy of growing in
tandem with its business clients
has been part of One Community
Bank for decades. For example,
Mark Mortenson, owner of All-Color
Powder Coating, got his first business
loan from the bank almost 30 years
ago. " Since then, " says Erickson,
" we've grown our bank alongside [AllColor
Powder Coating], providing the
means necessary for the expansion
of [Mortenson's] business, as well as
the kind of partnership every business
owner desires during the recession
and now the pandemic. His company
is now one of [the town of] Oregon's
largest employers. " 
William Atkinson is a writer in Illinois.
independentbanker.org Q 23
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Independent Banker - April 2022

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