Protecting Community Banks From Consolidation

NEW YORK, NY (February 22, 2018) - Consolidation in the banking industry may reap rewards for investors, but it also restricts access to financial services for many communities throughout the United States.

Community banks support many geographic areas underserved by larger banks; more than 16 million people, or one in three counties, rely exclusively on local banks and have no physical access to large banks, according to American Banker. Local banks fund over 60% of small business loans, while holding only 20% of all banking assets.

“Community banks are not only more highly capitalized than larger institutions and therefore better equipped for economic downturns, but their local focus and accountability make them distinctly pro-consumer. These local institutions operate a relationship-based business model that incentivizes customer service and stewardship... [they] reinvest their proceeds into the communities in which they operate, promoting economic growth that begins at the local level,” American Banker reports.

Read the entire article here.

Establishing Credit History for Immigrants: Uncovering an Untapped Market

NEW YORK, NY (February 21, 2018) - Recent immigrants to the United States face an enormous hurdle to building a new life: a nonexistent credit history.

Credit cards, bank loans, cars and real estate all require a solid credit score, and yet immigrants arrive with a blank slate in the American credit score system, regardless of their financial history abroad.

“You could be a billionaire in Australia, come over here and try to apply for a credit card. You're probably going to get rejected if you have no credit footprint in this country,” says Lend Academy founder Peter Renton.

A number of FinTech companies have evolved to serve this overlooked market and maximize opportunities for foreigners to contribute to the American economy. Nova Credit estimates that 10 million immigrants in the past decade would be categorized as prime to super prime if their international credit records were accessible.

Read the entire article here. 

Integrating FinTech and Community Banks

CHICAGO, IL (February 20, 2018) - Community lenders are increasingly finding success in blending the speed and efficiency of financial technology with the personal connection and attention of community banks, according to a new article in American Banker.

"Small-business owners typically want to do business with local financial institutions. At the same time, they don’t want to subject themselves to a longer and clunkier process,” Joel Pruis of Cornerstone Advisors says. Small business owners are “on the go and like to do things digitally, but they also like to have that face-to-face option as well.”

Chicago’s Marquette Bank successfully digitized its lending process and saw its credit memo creation time shorten by 25%.

Read the entire article here.

NYC Program Provides Free Legal Services to Small Business Owners

NEW YORK, NY (February 16, 2018) - NYC’s Department of Small Business Services launched a free service providing legal advice regarding leases and real estate issues for small business owners.

“Small businesses are the economic heart and soul of this city and they deserve every opportunity to succeed. The Commercial Lease Assistance Program will give small business owners the help they need to resolve legal issues without driving them out of business,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Read the entire article here.

A Beginner’s Guide to SBA Loans

NEW YORK, NY (February 15, 2018) - Understanding the many financing options available is essential for entrepreneurs looking to expand their business. ForexTV.com presents an introduction to Small Business Administration loans, which can be a good option for business owners who have already been turned down for a loan application

Read the entire article here.

Entrepreneurship Program Launches to Support Latino Business Owners

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA (February 14, 2018) - The Mexican and Guatemalan consulates in California partnered to create an eight-week entrepreneurship program for Latino entrepreneurs in California.

“We’re told that we are a burden to this country,” said Guatemalan Consul Billy Munoz. “But on the contrary, Latinos are a huge help to the economy. And we are hungry to contribute to our adopted homeland that is the U.S.”

Read the entire article here.

Business Tips for Student Entrepreneurs

BROOKLYN, NY (February 12, 2018) - Starting a business as a student is an exhilarating challenge that requires a strategic approach. Entrepreneur offers a guide to smart financial tips for students starting out in the business world.

Read the entire article here.

Time-Saving Technology for Entrepreneurs

NEW YORK, NY (February 9, 2018) - Running a small business is a life-consuming career choice: one third of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week, and one fourth work more than 60 hours per week, according to a New York Enterprise Report poll.

GirlTalkHQ presents the latest innovative tools to run your business with the help of automation and artificial intelligence.

Surprisingly, email takes up more time than any other activity, the article reports. 32% of business owners’ time is spent on email, with unscheduled communication taking the longest. Smart email tools and digital assistants are two resources that can save hours of time each day so that business owners can focus on high-level tasks.

Read the entire article here.

Women and Minority-Owned Businesses are Thriving in Houston

HOUSTON, TX (February 9, 2018) - Minority and women business owners are on the rise and inspiring new business initiatives in Houston.

Women-owned businesses in Houston grew 70.4% in the last ten years, boosting their employment by 34.5%, according to the American Express State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.

A 2016 US Census Bureau study found that 30.8% of businesses in the area are owned by minorities, ranking Houston in sixth place of all metropolitan areas in the United States.

Numerous community and business organizations are stepping up to support this surge of small businesses. The Houston Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance offers seminars and courses and fosters community among women entrepreneurs.

“We want the small-business community to know that you’re not out there alone,” WBEA President April Day says. “There are organizations here to support you, and there are small businesses that are going where you’re going and have been where you want to go.”

Read the entire article here.

Small Businesses are Booming in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL (February 7, 2018) - Eighty-eight percent of Chicago small business owners plan to expand their businesses this year, up from 72% last year, according to the Chicagoland Small Business Economic Outlook Survey. 71% of business owners expect higher revenue in 2018 and 42% plan to hire full-time employees this year. However, top concerns include hiring skilled employees and managing healthcare and cybersecurity.

Read the entire article here.

Savvy Advertising Strategy for Small Businesses

NEW YORK, NY (February 6, 2018) - Advertising is essential for any company to spread brand awareness, and yet most small businesses don’t have an advertising professional on staff or understand how to maximize its use.

Forbes presents a guide to advertising for small business owners with a focus on doing a lot with a little - using resources and time intelligently and effectively.

“Creativity has nothing to do with size of your budget or team. As Vahbiz has seen with many of her nonprofit clients, being creative with where you spend what few resources you have is the key to success. Take the time to think about what you have and how to use it best to grab headlines,” Anuja Khemka writes.

Read the entire article here.  

SBA Study Calls For More Community Banks and Credit Unions

NEW YORK, NY (February 5, 2018) - A new study by the Small Business Administration finds that small business lending has grown significantly faster at small banks since the 2008 financial crisis, and encourages the establishment of more community banks and credit unions.

“Regulators should take steps to encourage the formation of new community banks, which are specialists in small business lending,” the study recommends.

Credit unions are also highlighted for their impact in the world of small business lending.

“Credit union lending to small businesses has more than doubled from 2008 to 2016, from $30 billion to $60 billion,” the article reports.

Read the entire article here.

Small Business Owners Have Low Confidence in Retirement Prospects

NEW YORK, NY (February 2, 2018) - A new survey by Paychex indicates that 69% of small business owners have little confidence that they will be able to retire comfortably.

Only 20% of small business owners confirmed that they were very confident in their retirement savings, reflecting a nationwide trend of low confidence in retirement security.

Read the article here.

Community Banks Key for Small Business in Rural America

WACO, TX (February 1, 2018) - The higher the number of local banks in a rural area, the greater the chances that local businesses have opened or expanded with the help of small business loans, a new Baylor University study reports. The study suggests that the local bank is key to economic development in rural communities.

“It allows local business owners in nonmetropolitan America greater access to the types of capital that often prove most useful and affordable to start and maintain businesses,” writes lead author F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D.

According to Newswise, the benefit of conventional loans “is that they allow businesses to be more flexible and weather sales downturns. They also do not require that business owners invest large portions of their personal savings. That enables owners to maintain a personal reserve to weather the early years of a new business, when profits tend to be small or absent.”

This raises concern due to the sharp downturn of local banks in rural areas - from 80% in 1976 to 20% at present day, as reported by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Read the entire article here.

Building Cybersecurity Awareness

WASHINGTON DC (January 31, 2018) - The increase in cyberattacks in recent years leaves America’s 30 million small businesses at risk - and yet many business owners are not taking adequate security measures, assuming that they are not a likely target. However, nearly 50% of the American workforce is employed by small businesses rather than larger high-profile companies, leaving millions of workers vulnerable.

“Small businesses are targets, and many are unprepared for cybersecurity challenges including ever-changing and increasing threats from malware, viruses and ransomware against intellectual property and company data,” writes Maria Roat in The Washington Times. “Nor are they adequately prepared to recognize or respond to an internal or external incident.”

Read the article here.

Financing Challenges for Minority Entrepreneurs

NEW YORK, NY (January 30, 2018) - The number of minority-owned small businesses has skyrocketed in the past decade, growing by 79% - ten times faster than the overall growth rate for all small businesses in that time period.

11.1 million businesses in the United States are owned by minorities; yet these communities are drastically underserved in the world of business financing. The Minority Business Development Agency at the Department of Commerce reports that minority-owned firms are much less likely to be approved for business loans, and receive lower amounts and higher interest rates.

“These discrepancies have made minority business owners more likely to not apply for small business loans, usually out of fear of rejection,” reports Jared Weitz of Forbes.

Read the entire article here.

Business Financing Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

NEW YORK, NY (January 29, 2018) - Women-owned businesses are expanding rapidly in the United States. In 2017, 11.6 million women-owned businesses employed 9 million people and generated $1.7 trillion, according to the American Express State of Women-Owned Business Report. Revenue among women-owned companies has grown 104% in the past decade and generates more than $1 million each year.

The number of female entrepreneurs applying for loans rose to 29% in 2016, according to Rohit Arora at Forbes.

“Borrowers who previously refrained from borrowing money for expansion or capital improvements re-entered the credit markets. Because the economy has been relatively strong and because interest rates are still quite low, women entrepreneurs have shown a willingness to take on more risk by borrowing money to grow their businesses.”

Arora provides a detailed description of the most popular sources of business financing for women business owners in the US.

Read the entire article here.

Achieving Success in the Online Business World

NEW YORK, NY (January 26, 2018) - Building an online business is an incredible challenge that requires a unique mindset and approach. 

Suhaib Mohammad at Entrepreneur offers seven ingredients that business owners need to thrive and grow a business in the online business world. “The arrogance of success," he quotes William Pollard, "is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow." 

Read the article here.

Coping with Stress for Business Owners

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (January 25, 2018) - Running a business can be an immensely satisfying experience, but the mental and emotional burden is heavy. Many entrepreneurs work independently or remotely, limiting social contact and sense of community. Business owners are responsible for their employees, paying the bills, and the success of the company as a whole.  

The business blog Real Business addresses the often-overlooked issue of wellness and stress relief for business owners, and steps they can take to improve their well-being.

Click here to read more.

Smart Marketing Hacks for Small Business Owners

NEW YORK, NY (January 24, 2018) - With so many responsibilities, small business owners often make marketing a lower priority. However, marketing plays a crucial role in every business - if people don’t know your product exists, they’re not going to buy it. TGDaily provides some excellent advice on how to streamline and maximize your marketing efforts.

Read the entire article here.