Technology appears to be one reason. “Frankly, community banks just haven’t been able to invest in new technology,” says Andrea Gellert, senior vice president of marketing at On Deck Capital, of New York [On Deck is one of the lenders on the Lendio platform].

Meanwhile, in my opinion, some community banks are simply making excuses. “Community banks still like to truly know their customer, so I would view the strategy as more of an entree to a comprehensive relationship,” said Trey Maust, co-president and chief executive a the $121 million-asset Lewis & Clark Bank in Oregon City, OR.

I think implying that online means impersonal is disingenuous.

What we’re not hearing in this discussion is the fact that only 10 percent of the small business people that go into their local community bank for a small business loan leave with the loan. Dave Seleski, president and chief executive at Stonegate Bank (SGBK), a $1 billion-asset bank in Fort Lauderdale, FL, says, “It’s all based on credit scores and on historical losses.” Some small-business lending opportunities don’t go to community banks because they are unwilling to lend to borrowers with “no business plan, no collateral and their income is not where you want it to be.”

Does that sound like a more “personal” approach?

We work with hundreds of traditional banks (including a lot of community banks and credit unions) along with non-traditional lenders like On Deck. Many of the small business owners that use Lendio do so after being turned down by their local community bank. Many Main Street businesses might not have a 720 credit score or three or four years in business, but they have the cash flow and the market share to make them a good credit risk for many alternative lenders. Taking a deeper dive into some of the other measures of business success seems like taking a more personal approach to me. What’s more, 85 percent of the business owners we see every day get matched to some kind of financing (the choice is theirs as to whether or not they take the loan)—that sounds a far cry better than the 10 percent mentioned earlier.

One small business owner I’ve spoken with recently talked about how frustrated he was after signing a large government contract. He needed some capital to get him poised to meet the contract obligations, but wouldn’t have the cash flow from the contract for somewhere around 45 days. His local bank, very impersonally, said no. He found the short-term financing he needed by working with us and connecting to an online lender.

I think the trend of online lending is good for small business owners. I also know of many community bankers that are looking at how they work with small business borrowers and doing a better job of reaching out to them and writing business loans. As community banks face more competition from online lenders they’ll be compelled to change the current paradigm and become more accommodating to the small business borrowers everyone acknowledges as the backbone of the U.S. economy.

Maybe it’s time to re-think what “personal” banking really means.

Recently I ordered 50 business cards from moo.com, an online business card company. I had a networking night coming up at the University of Utah and they got my cards to me quick without having to pay anything extra, which made me very happy. I was even more excited after I received the package with a simple sticker saying, “Yay!” Who knew getting new business cards could be so exciting?

How my business cards were supposed to look

I tore open the package like an eight-year-old boy on his birthday. The cards looked awesome! After further examination I noticed that half of the cards were blank on the front side of the card where my personal logo was (the picture on the left). This was unacceptable.

I shot their customer service an e-mail simply stating the problem:

I received my order of cards but half of them didn’t have both sides printed on them. I would appreciate a new batch of cards sent out with the same print to make up for them. If you need pictures or something to verify, I can do that.

-Mike

Later that day I got the comforting response to my problem:

Dear Mike,

 

Thank you for getting in touch with the MOO Team.

 

I am so sorry that your order did not print as expected. Unfortunately this happened because both the image and text files were uploaded in step number one while the details side was left blank.

 

Not to worry! I have now reprocessed your order, free of charge, and corrected the error for you.

 

In the future be sure to flip the card over and ensure the contact information is visible on the details side of the card.

 

You will shortly receive an email from Little MOO with your new dispatch information! I hope this helps!

 

Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions.

 

Best regards,

 

Angela G

MOO

I have dealt with many product problems in my life. Not all company representatives are as great as Angela was to me. She could’ve said I didn’t complete the order as explained online and I had to buy another set of cards. Instead she took care of my problem. She not only validated moo.com’s all around great brand experience but also made me a loyal customer.

Customer service is really an organic form of marketing.  It will make or break any business. It’s important to remember that it’s not about the one time sale but the lifetime customer, who keeps coming back and recommends you to all their friends and family.

In one of my marketing classes a professor explained to us, “A customer coming to you with a problem with your product or service is really giving you the opportunity to turn them into a loyal customer.” When you take care of a customer, even if you take a loss, it lets them know you care more about their happiness with your product not just the sale. After you take care of them appropriately they’ll walk away feeling good about your product, your company, and themselves, making them more valuable to your company.

What is something that your company does to let your customer know you care?

Mike Alder is a University of Utah business marketing student and marketing specialist at Lendio. Passionate about entrepreneurship, small businesses, and inbound marketing. Mike shows his passion by sharing stories of successful entrepreneurs and companies with small business owners on the Lendio blog. He makes these big success stories easy-to-apply in simple and easy to read language for the everyday small business owner and entrepreneur.

Follow Mike: Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+

Hugh Tyzack is the founder of

Anyone who has ever even considered starting their own small business knows one thing – it is almost always an expensive process. Many people save for years in order to be able to follow their dream, and even then, founding your company oftentimes requires obtaining a small business loan. While these loans were created to help small businesses succeed, acquiring them can be much more complicated than a simple personal loan. Here are five things that you need to keep in mind so you don’t make any mistakes that can cost you your small business loan:

Have a Solid Business Plan

You may know that your business model is bound to rake in the profits, but unless you are able to properly convey that to your lenders, how will they know? You’ve spent countless hours researching and understanding your new company – how can you expect them to get a formidable level of comprehension is a very short time? Through a solid, well prepared business plan. The point of this plan is to provide your lenders (or investors) with all of the relevant information needed to show that beyond a shadow of a doubt, your company will succeed and become profitable.

Get Your Credit in Check

Many times, entrepreneurs get so wrapped up in their business plan and how exciting and revolutionary their business model is, that they forget how much of a role their personal credit can plan in obtaining a loan. Unless you have substantial assets to offer as collateral for the loan, a new company’s credit worthiness will be judged by its management – you.

While you are planning to get your new venture off the ground, take time to ensure that your credit is at an appropriate level, and make improvements while you have time.

Choose the Right Lender

Not all lenders are created equal. Instead of making a decisions based on marketing, look at the qualifications of the lending institution and how they can help you. Business lending is much more intricate and complicated than traditional personal loans, and requires a much more specialized touch. Choosing a lender who is not ideal for your type of loan may end up costing a lot in fees and interest in the long run.

Bring Something to the Table

When starting up your own company, do not underestimate the importance of making a strong financial contribution. Oftentimes, business owners consider the blood and sweat that they pour into their businesses as substantial equity, and it is, but not from the perspective of a lender. When it comes to your small business loan, money and profitability are at the forefront of their mind. By bringing something to the table – an equity contribution to your business – lenders will consider you having much more of a vested interest in the success of your venture. This sense of commitment goes a very long way when it comes to obtaining funding for your start-up.

Don’t Borrow Too Much Money

One last thing to watch out for, which can cost you your loan and potentially your company, is to not borrow more money than you will need. Many new companies overestimate how much capital they need in order to feel “safe”, and also how much revenue they will bring in at first.

By borrowing too much money, these small companies are creating huge liabilities for themselves everymonth. When revenue isn’t at the level they anticipated, they may start having troubles making their payments. From there it is just downhill. Ensure that your small business loan fits into your monthly budget, even if sales start off lower than you hope them to.

Starting your small business can be a complicated and time-consuming process. By making sure that you’re prepared with your small business loan, you can avoid headaches, secure the funding that you need to get going and spend more of your valuable time with the aspects of your growing business that demand your attention the most.

“In a world with so much opportunity & change (and therefore, uncertainty)—nothing could be a stronger reminder to go back to the basics,” he says. “Whether it is taking on changes at work or life, approaching new opportunities, meeting new people etc. it’s been sage advice for me.”

This concept really resonates with me. Almost all of my colleagues at Lendio are several years younger than I am. One of the things this does for me is remind me that there will be no laurel-sitting. I need to be on my toes and performing at my best to keep up. Anand regularly asks himself three questions that we would do well to ask ourselves:

1. Would you make this decision differently (or make a different decision) if this were your first day in this role? I sometimes wonder if we allow preconceived notions fostered by previous experience to close our minds to new possibilities or approaches. I try to make it a point to regularly learn from the younger members of my team on a daily basis. I trust their opinions and look to their advice. I think it’s a mistake to offhandedly dismiss any ideas based upon from where they come. I think it’s good to regularly look at things from that perspective.
2. Are you taking someone for granted just because you know them well? Whenever I make the effort not to prejudge a colleague based on past experience, my mind is blown by what they can bring to the table. I once spoke with a project leader who had a very brilliant member of the team who performed acceptably, but not exemplary. After talking with him, the project manager found out he’d been doing the same job on every project for so many years—he was bored out of his mind. When a little variety was introduced into his job role, he became a different employee.
3. What are possibilities you are not considering given conditioning or acceptance of the status quo? I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard (and even said) “That’s never worked before.” Just because it hasn’t worked before or you’ve never gotten approval for it before, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Sometimes a good idea needs to be revisited. We can’t allow the current status quo or preconceived notions to limit how we approach what we do.

Needless to say, I’ll be visiting Linkedin Channels more often.

Location is something which is often overlooked when setting up a business because many people usually do not realise the impact that it can have on the success or failure of the business. The location of your business can actually deter or encourage potential investors. When considering location it is important to consider both the geographical location and the overall presentation of your business premises.

Tax Credits & Investor Incentives

If you are in a position where you can choose the city or even the state where your business is to be located, then you should look into some of the things that might attract investors. There are many cities and states which offer financial insentives which will not only help to attract possible investors but which could also provide your business with some additional funding.

It is estimated that there are approximately 3,000 tax credit and incentive programs available across the United States which are sponsored by state, local and federal governments in order to help drive employment opportunities and develop certain industries. If an investor knows that they could be eligible for a tax break in the state where your business is based it will make ivesting in your company much more attractive to them.

Choosing The Right Area Of Town

Even if you are restricted to running your business in your home town, there are still location factors to consider if you are going to attract investors. The first is to make sure that you choose premises in anappropriate area of town. This is especially important if your business relies on foot traffic. For example, a retail business needs to be in areas where shoppers are likely to visit rather then in an industrial area full of fatories. Similarly, a bargain style retail outlet is unlikly to thrive in a more upmarket neighbourhood and vice versa.

An investor is unlikely to invest in your business if they do not believe it will be profitable because you have not taken the location of your premises into account.

Choosing The Right Premises

Choosing your premesis can have an impact on the impression your business gives to customers, suppliers and investors alike. A cheap office in a run down building does not have quiet the same level of gravitas as a sleek modern office building. This is one of the reasons that many businesses choose to rent office space in an upmarket serviced office complex as it gives them access to services they would probably not be able to afford if they had to supply their own. These services might include access to meeting rooms and conference facilities, reception or conceirge services and other shared facilities.

This allows small businesses to present a much more impressive face to investors and customers. Even if the company consists of just two employees renting a couple of workspaces, they can use the shared amenities to host investors for meetings giniving the impression of a much more luxurious office.

In conclusion, it is important to think carefully when it comes to choosing a location for your business. No only so you need to consider whether it is more beneficial to choose a particular town, county or state, but also the appropriate area of the town. Businesses rely on being able to create a good impression so choosing an impressive office space can certainly help to so this. Serviced offices allow you to make the most of shared amenities at an affordale price with the added bonus of making your business look a little more up market.

Peter Slaugh is the president of Steelhead Capital who is heading upstream just like its namesake. They provide both commercial loans and apartment loans and Peter is excited to see investors and lenders, alike, getting back into the game after a long hiatus. As you can see, when he’s not pouring over spreadsheets, Peter lives for a healthy trout jumping on the end of his line.

2007 was a harsh wake up call for many of us in the commercial lending business. In the years before the bubble burst, frivolous lending practices led to an increase in acquisitions, construction, and the strongest sellers’ market that we’d seen in a long time. Thanks to Freddie and Fannie, CMBS, life companies, banks, and other private lenders who offered low interest rates – the general attitude was that anyone could get a loan and buy property. But once 2007 came around and rents started to decline it was evident that these loans were unaffordable to many investors and they started defaulting which led to the collapse.

Granted I’m only skimming over the reasons of the collapse and in truth there are hundreds of reasons that America is in the economic state it’s in, but it helps to paint the picture for where we are now – May 2013 where there are plenty of promising signs that show we many finally be in a stable lending environment yet again, and here’s why.

Multifamily Sector is Strong

A growing trend has happened for commercial investors and that is the strong support for multifamily residences. Backed up by a report by ULI for 2012, we’ve seen that lenders are much more likely to give funds for multifamily development. What this shows is a shift in both American investors, as well as buyers. Before the bubble collapsed, everyone was obsessed with owning, buying, and selling single family homes and private residences. The crash showed us that this is not sustainable and now we’re shifting away from that practice by investing in more stable, long term focused apartment buildings and urban villages.

Local Banks Getting Back Into the Action

While Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) still command the majority of the market share when it comes to multifamily lending; CMBS, life companies, as well as regional banks are starting to get back into the lending game. The fear to lend (which struck many lending agencies, especially small banks) stops money from going back out into the system. The cliché stands, you need to spend money to make money, and if you have no capital to spend and can’t get a loan from a bank, well you get the idea. We’ve seen a rising trend in late 2012 and in this first quarter of 2013 that shows an increase in the number and amount of commercial loans that small banks are making. They’re still nervous, which is a good thing because we don’t want another repeat of 2007, but they’re willing to help the experienced borrower who as the balance sheets to offset the market risk.

These signs point to a more stable lending environment that we haven’t seen in a long while. Pre 2007 we had a skewed version as lenders where giving loans to anyone with a pulse, and after the crash it was skewed in the opposite direction as lenders were unwilling to make loans. Now the water is warming up again but we need to be careful to not let the pot boil over again. Smart lending and investing means a steady simmer and focusing on long term, sustainable strategies.

Jeremy Kartchner is a Partner at Snapp Conner PR and has more than 15 years experience in both technology and sports PR.  In addition to his responsibilities with Snapp Conner PR, Kartchner also works with the Utah Jazz as a member of its Game Night public relations staff where he is responsible for tracking and providing game time statistics for local, national and international media and conducting pre and post game player and coach interviews. He’s a sports fan, golfer, father of three, husband to one hottie, partially bionic, cavity free, Olympics junkie and wanna be blogger.

My wife and I recently moved and for the last couple weeks as the weather has been warming up we’ve been outside more and have been meeting our new neighbors.  I introduced myself to one of the neighbors and we talked for a while.  After several minutes a friend of his walked up and my neighbor introduced me to his friend.  It was nice except he introduced me as Jeremy Marhcant, not Jeremy Kartchner.

I have a difficult last name that gets pronounced and butchered on a regular basis, but Marchant was a new one.  After the introduction by my neighbor I politely corrected the mistake.  My neighbor was slightly embarrassed and we laughed about it.  No harm done.

Several years ago my dad was presented with an honor at work and was given a new position within the company.  We knew in advance about the honor and my wife and I were invited to attend a special meeting to recognize my dad.  I knew the boss and had even gone to the same high school as his son.  There were two other employees that were being honored as well. Before the meeting began the boss went around the room and introduced everybody.

As he did this, the boss tried to personalize the introduction by highlighting some of the things he knew about each employee.  As he talked about my dad he talked about how long he and my dad had known each other and how they had coached little league baseball together.  As he talked about coaching together I looked at my dad and wondered, “Which kid did you coach?”  I only played a couple years of little league and he never coached my team and my brother played one year and he didn’t coach him either.

When it came time to present the recognition in front of the group, the boss stood up and introduced my dad as Jerry Callister.  My dad and I have the same last name, Kartchner.  Suddenly it all made sense.  The guy had no idea who my dad was.

I’ve found that getting somebody’s name wrong is more common than it should be.  In business I know and have seen several people who cannot get people’s names, the business name or product names correct.

In a business setting I think there is a certain amount of professionalism to getting a person’s name, a business name or a product name right.  A mispronunciation the first time is acceptable, but an ongoing inability to get the name right is unacceptable, especially when you’ve been told the proper pronunciation.  It shows a lack of interest, focus and general disregard for the person and, in my opinion, raises questions about their ability to produce the results desired if they can’t even get something as simple as my name, my business name or my product name right.

Like I said, I’ve got a difficult last name and have grown up having to correct people, spell my last name and tell people how to pronounce it.  I’m used to it and expect it, but I also expect that once I’ve told somebody how to say it that they’ll get it right moving forward.

As a PR person, I talk to a lot of people about our clients.  I refer to the company, the product or service as well as individuals within the company such as the CEO, COO, CFO and other executives.  I’m usually the media’s first introduction to our clients and their first impression of our clients.  The media demands accuracy, often asking people to spell their names and company names to make sure they are right.

I’ve seen PR people Tweet and add Facebook updates about clients that include inaccurate spellings of names. This, in my mind, is unacceptable and should never happen.  In one instance, a colleague referred to the CEO of a client and spelled his name wrong in a document.  The CEO caught the misspelling and politely pointed it out.  My colleague came back to him in our next meeting with the revised version of the document but still had not corrected the spelling of the CEO’s name.  This time, the CEO was not polite as he told my colleague that his name was STILL misspelled.

It really shouldn’t be that hard.  It requires paying attention to detail and focusing on what people are saying and telling you.  An inability to get names right makes you look bad and can cost you respect and business.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Last month’s Entrepreneur magazine shared her story and how she was able to acquire the funding she needed to grow her art school. Like most small business owners, Olya felt the credit crunch that followed the financial crisis in 2008.

“We needed to take out a small loan to build the business,” she says.  “The banks didn’t want to talk to us; we’d destroyed our personal credit opening the business. We’re renting our place, so we don’t have equity. What interested us about Lendio is that they didn’t look at equity; they looked at the cash flow. And we could show that.”

I don’t think her story is that unique.

Michelle Goodman does a great job telling the Losina Art Center story. You can also watch a video featuring the Losina Art Center success story.

To say it was an awesome trip would be an understatement, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.

We had a late lunch one day in a little restaurant in Kanab, UT, Houston’s Trails End Restaurant. I have pretty simple tastes, and really like these out-of-the-way roadhouse-type restaurants and cafes. The food reminds me of the meals my grandmother used to prepare and the service is usually pretty good. Our waitress Kaytee, was no exception.

I don’t know if there’s ever much formal training in one of these little diners. Sometimes the waitress is a more mature woman who has obviously been doing this for a while, sometimes it’s a young gal like Kaytee; I’ve even been served by an old guy in a cowboy hat wearing pliers on his belt. When asked about it he said in a deadpan you’ll only find in a small rural town, “They’re for irrugate’n. What else would they be fer.”

From the minute we sat down, Kaytee was delightful. I don’t think I ever even had the thought, “I wonder where our waitress is?” Before she was at our table making sure we were OK and had everything we needed. I’ve tried to think of what it was that made her such a great waitress, and wasn’t too surprised to recognize that it wasn’t rocket science:

1. She wore a pleasant smile—She seemed to be genuinely happy. Her smile seemed to say, “Welcome, I’m sure glad you’re here.” I’ve heard it said by those who should know a lot more than myself, that even if you’re on the phone, if you smile it comes across in your voice. My companions and I genuinely felt like she was anxiously engaged in making our experience at her restaurant the best it could possibly be. Isn’t that what customer service is all about.
2. She seemed to have a sense of ownership—We were in her restaurant. She wasn’t simply the waitress, she wanted to make sure we enjoyed “her” restaurant. Our experience was a reflection on her. You could tell she took pride in what she did and where she did it. She also knew that we were passing through, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to make a great impression. She knew that there were other options in Kanab and that she could make a difference in whether or not we ever stopped in again.
3. She liked her work, and it was obvious—I know that some jobs are more pleasant than others. Like most customer service type jobs, I’m sure she gets her fair share of complaints about one thing or another. Nevertheless, regardless of the type of day she’d had thus far, it felt like she enjoyed what she was doing—and was rewarded with a bigger than normal tip.

Although these three traits Kaytee so eloquently reminded us were important are pretty basic, I’m convinced they are the cornerstone to a good customer service approach. We’ll likely never have the pleasure of being served by Kaytee again, but she definitely made a good impression on us.

Listen to our interview with BBC Easy founders James Walter and Cory Ross

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BBC Easy founders James Walter and Corey Ross talk about what BBC Easy is doing to streamline the process for banks and other lenders to make it easier to lend capital to small business owners. The money supply may be easing up, but the challenge for lenders is the cost of the manual processes lenders are strapped with to process small business loans.

James and Corey share tips for helping better prepare for a visit to the bank and what you need to understand about your loan officer that might help you improve the odds of finding the financing you need.

Join us on Friday at Noon Central time for a live Twitter chat with James and Cory.