Small Businesses - The Life Blood of Our Communities

Introductions

Danielle 00:00
Hello. Welcome back to the A Plus You podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Johnson,

Amber 00:06
And I'm your co host, Amber Shanley.

Danielle 00:08
Amber was just commenting on the sunshine, and when you said that, I looked through this tiny little slot of a window, and I'm like, the sun is not shining. I don't know what you're talking about.

Amber 00:17
I feel like you're just messing with me now, but that's okay,

Danielle 00:20
Trust me, nobody wants the sunshine more than me.

Amber 00:23
I don't know if that's accurate, but okay, I'll win this competition. Danielle, just don't even.

Danielle 00:23
Is it a competition? I didn't know it was the competition seriously. Like, I like, when the summer comes, I'm like, don't talk to me outside. I have, like, a little shade protector for my computer so I can,

Amber 00:28
Oh, I don't have that, but that's because I come in and hang out with our awesome members and employees most days,

May is Small Business Month: Meet Jake Kuester

Danielle 00:46
Most days. Well, we are kind of carrying over our tradition from last, like, themed month of April, Financial Literacy Month, and this month we're talking about small businesses. So if you didn't know, May is Small Business Month, and so we've brought in someone who knows a lot about small businesses, our internal expert, Jake Kuester.

Jake Kuester 01:12
Kuester,

Danielle 01:13
Well, Jake, we're so happy to have you.

Jake Kuester 01:14
Thank you, I am happy to be here

Danielle 01:17
...Well, tell us a little bit about yourself and your role here at Affinity Plus with our small businesses.

Jake Kuester 01:21
Sure. So I joined Affinity Plus about three years ago, I actually just celebrated my three year anniversary, last week.

Amber 01:26
Congratulations.

Jake Kuester 01:26
Yeah, thank you. So my role is Director of Business Services, is to really oversee everything business and commercial related for the credit union, so everything from our deposit, products and offerings, our services, up through our lending; you know, from the first credit card all the way up through a commercial building,

Danielle 01:47
Wow. So if I were a, I mean, so really, if I were a small business owner, I could come to you for a checking account and a debit card, or I could come to you and say, I want to buy a space for my business -

Jake Kuester 02:02
Correct.

Danielle 02:02
And you can help with any of that kind of stuff.

Jake Kuester 02:04
Exactly. Yep.

Resources to start your small business

Danielle 02:05
Awesome, awesome. Okay, so let's talk about small businesses. It can be rewarding and a little bit overwhelming. So what are some of the biggest challenges you see some of our small businesses facing right now?

Jake Kuester 02:19
Sure; the most common question we get - the biggest challenge that we see is really businesses asking, "How do I get started? Where do I go to kind of get the ball rolling?" And the great news is, is that there's a ton of resources out there, and you don't have to do it alone, right? Take advantage of the resources that do exist.

The first, I would say, is probably the Secretary of State website there, you can find information about you know, 'what do you need to do to file your business,' 'Where do you get an EIN letter,' 'What documentation do you need for your account?' And they've got a lot of other great resources out there as well.

Additionally, I would point people to the Small Business Development Centers in Minnesota. We actually have nine regional offices that are located throughout the state. And so not only is their website fantastic on providing a ton of information about getting your business going and started, they also have physical offices. So if you are looking to go in and talk to someone about starting your small business, that can be a great resource. And with nine of them located across the state. There's probably one that's close by.

The third place I would go is the small business, business administration, the SBA. Sba.gov is the website for that. They've got a ton about small starting and growing your small business. They've got videos, they've got tutorials, they've got a ton of resources about growing your business, securing government contracts. So that's really a great place to go as well. With the SBA, they also have a local office, district office right here in the Twin Cities, and they're constantly putting on trainings, webinars, all kinds of resources for small businesses to go to to learn kind of what the next steps are in growing your business.

How Affinity Plus helps small businesses

Danielle 04:01
Okay, so, from what I'm hearing is you use your resources, you kind of figure out, like, how do I get established, I guess, essentially, as a small business, and then you kind of have to think about the transactional pieces of it. And that's where someone could come to your team, Jake, and get assistance.

Jake Kuester 04:19
Yeah, and not just my team, we actually have individuals trained in most of our branches that are familiar with our business deposit products. So, you can come in and meet with one of the trained specialists in the office. They know about how to get your membership established. Can walk you through what are the best deposit products to open for your account. Get you established with ordering your debit card, ordering your first set of checks, getting you into online banking. All the things you need, right, for your first small business membership and kind of, you know, what's that very first step in establishing a banking relationship. Beyond that, we also have business specialists that know how to - kind of that next level with credit, and whether it's a business credit card, a business line of credit, a vehicle loan, an equipment loan, all the way up to our commercial loan services, where we can do, you know, a first office building, an investment property, a small strip mall, if you were interested in purchasing something like that. Really from top to bottom, whatever stage your business is at, whatever your business need is, Affinity Plus has a product or a service that would fit your needs.

Danielle 05:27
So what I'm hearing too, is that, like, it's kind of like everything you would do for yourself as a personal banking member; flip it over and you do it as a business.

Jake Kuester 05:38
Yeah, exactly. I think that's one of the things that Affinity Plus is so proud of is, you know, these business members are also personal members within the credit union, and it's our responsibility, it's our duty as their financial institution to meet their needs. And if their needs are on the small business side, you know, we need to be able to offer the checking accounts. We need to be able to offer credit cards, lines of credit, vehicle loans, for their small business, because that's what we're here for.

Commercial Real Estate

Amber 06:09
So what other products do we offer for business members? Because it's not just the credit cards or the equipment loans. What's something that maybe stands out? And I'm thinking, maybe more real estate.

Jake Kuester 06:21
Yeah, I mean, we can do pretty much anything from a commercial real estate standpoint. So like I said, whether it's your investment property; so you want to buy a single family home to rent out a duplex, a triplex, a four Plex. You know, if you want to, you know your business is an attorney or mental health and you want to purchase a condo within a building and renovate it to meet your needs, so that you own your building, rather than having to pay month rent on a monthly basis. Those are all options that we have. All the way up to large apartment buildings, industrial buildings, large commercial spaces, warehouses, storage units, all kinds of things. Commercial wise, we can do pretty much any. One of the more interesting ones that we did is a house that has a burrito shop attached to it. So doesn't fit the normal idea of a mortgage right when you go in, but in the business world, that's absolutely something that we can do. So in fact, a very successful burrito business, very delicious burrito business, and that was a loan that we were able to get done for our members.

Amber 07:33
But I don't see samples for us to try and so...

Danielle 07:36
Our last guest brought cake

Jake Kuester 07:39
I was not informed

Amber 07:41
I think I said that in the email: we accept gifts.

Jake Kuester 07:43
Yes you did...

Amber 07:47
So really, we do, like, we have offerings from anyone who's, like, maybe very small just starting, maybe making something like soaps and selling on Etsy to all the way to home/burrito shop. There's, there's, like, everything in the middle of that.

Jake Kuester 08:03
Everything in the middle. Yeah, you're exactly right.

Amber 08:04
That's awesome.

Danielle 08:05
That's so cool. Because - small plug - my best friend from college, she started a dog walking business. She's been a member with us since she's 16. And I didn't even know this. This was, like, before I even worked here. And now she runs an entire dog boarding business. She- her commercial loan is through us, and she's like, all kinds of a big deal.

Amber 08:25
So, um, so Jake, you shared about the home/burrito shop,

Jake Kuester 08:31
yeah.

It's never too late to start your business

Amber 08:32
maybe that is your most memorable business story. However, like, what's a business member that maybe stands out, or a story that really like inspires you?

Jake Kuester 08:41
Oh, sure. So probably one of the most memorable businesses that I've worked with was a couple, a husband and wife, a few years ago, that had worked for the State of Minnesota for 30 years. He worked in IT. She was in healthcare, as you can imagine, 30 years working for the same employer, they had a healthy retirement savings built up and could have worked the last few years of their career, gone off into retirement and been just fine. But that wasn't her passion. That wasn't her dream to just ride off into the sunset, if you will. Her passion -what she wanted to do - was to start a daycare center in her late 50s, to open a daycare center offering quality care, quality education. And so it took a lot of planning, a lot of work, a lot of research, but ultimately, she cashed in her entire retirement savings plan and with the help of an SBA loan, we were able to help her get her daycare center up and going. It is thriving and succeeding today, and it's just such an amazing story. The risk, could you imagine getting to that point?

Amber 09:52
No!

Danielle 09:55
You're like, "yes, I did it. I'm here..."

Amber 09:59
Let's do it again.

Jake Kuester 09:57
Exactly... the "American Dream". Yeah, and then, and then putting it all on the line to pursue that dream. And she's successful, right? Like, that's the coolest part about all of it. I mean, it really shows that it's never too late, right? If you have a passion, if you have you know, something that you want to go after, you can. You can pursue it, right? It's never too late to pursue your dream of what you want to do.

Danielle 10:21
Wow.

Amber 10:22
I think that's interesting, because, um, to your point, I don't know if I could, I could do that.

Danielle 10:27
I don't know if I could work for 30 years and then start over,

Amber 10:31
Yeah.

Danielle 10:31
Like, literally, start over,

Jake Kuester 10:34
yeah...

Amber 10:34
yeah...

Danielle 10:35
wow. That's, that's inspiring. That is inspiring, for sure. And especially like such like a noble profession, like working with children.

Amber 10:44
Well, isn't that like part of being a small business owner? It's like you're doing something that you're super passionate about.

Jake Kuester 10:49
Yes!

Amber 10:49
Because if that passion is not there, maybe that wouldn't be as successful.

Jake Kuester 10:54
Yeah, that's That's exactly why I love working with small businesses so much. I mean, I'm kind of a geek when it comes to small businesses. I like nerd out on some of this stuff.

Amber 11:02
I love it

Small businesses are passionate

Jake Kuester 11:03
You know, I've been doing it for over 15 years now, and it's, it's exactly that, right: that the small businesses are so passionate about what they do. You know, whether it's a nonprofit looking to combat homelessness or a mental health provider or, you know, any number of businesses, attorneys, trades, workers, right. They're starting their business. They're taking that risk and doing something that they're passionate about, right. In so many ways, I'm jealous, you know. I come into my office every day, and I collect my paycheck every two weeks, and, you know, these small businesses are laying it on the line. And it's, it's recognizing that, that they're the they're the lifeblood of the communities, right? And I think one of the reasons that, you know, small business and Affinity Plus partner up so well together is that that passion for the communities that they work in, the passion for what they do, you know, and Affinity Plus is here to help thriving communities. So it just goes hand in hand.

Amber 12:00
I met a member yesterday, actually, and as we were doing their transaction, they had shared, 'yeah, you know, I'm my own accountant and, you know, I'm my own boss.' And I was like, Oh, well, tell me more. And he's like, 'well, I'm a small business owner.' And I was like, Oh, that's great. He's like, 'yeah, I just chose to take today off. It's like, I worked on Sunday, so it's all right.' And I was like, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. And he's like, 'I can now. Not when I started,' and I think that's exactly what you're hitting on.

Jake Kuester 12:28
Oh my goodness, yes.

Amber 12:29
Like, they are the lifeblood. But it's not, it's not like something where, while they get to set their own hours, they don't get to do a day, an hour a day. They have to-

Jake Kuester 12:37
yeah,

Amber 12:38
it's hard to get started sometimes.

Jake Kuester 12:39
Yeah, they're, always on right? Like, they may say that they're taking a day off, but we all know that-

Amber 12:45
He was totally on his phone.

Jake Kuester 12:47
Responding to emails. If that phone rings, he's still answering that phone call

Amber 12:52
For sure

Danielle 12:53
But, I think that the good point that kind of these small businesses are kind of the lifeblood of these communities...

Amber 12:59
Yeah

Small businesses are everywhere

Danielle 12:59
And I almost think - even for myself - like, take for granted those small businesses, right? Like, I think of you go to the grocery store and, like, grocery stores, while there are some Mom and Pop ones, it's usually a big one or something like that. But then you think about, like, I think about going to buy, like, a gift for somebody. Like, Oh, I really want to go to that really cute store, because they have all that really fun, unique type stuff. And I almost even forget that those are, like, local people who could very well live in my neighborhood.

Amber 13:30
Yeah, I think you're spot on. And I think that's where you may not realize if it's a small business just based off appearances only.

Jake Kuester 13:39
Right? Yeah. I mean, if you think about how many you probably interact with on a daily basis, right? I mean, hair salons, nail salons, the landscaping, tree services, garage door repair, painting- you know, it's just, it's, it's everything, and that is,

Danielle 13:56
As you named those. I thought of a business every single time.

Amber 13:59
I totally did too. Like, yeah, those garage door repair people are really brave,

Danielle 14:06
Yes. So, I mean, it's so- I didn't even think about it like that; until you're, like, labeling all of these different businesses, and I'm naming them as you go,

Jake Kuester 14:15
Yep, and each one of those is a small business owner.

Amber 14:17
What cracks me up, though, is literally, I have, like, magnets or stickers of the small businesses who have done work in my home, and that's the only way I know to call the right person!

Jake Kuester 14:29
You've got one on your electrical box, you've got one on your hot water heater, you've got one on your furnace, right? Each one of those is an example of a local small business owner.

Amber 14:38
So, Jake, you told us about an inspirational story with the daycare. What's another member journey that you are aware of, or maybe witnessed at Affinity Plus?

Small businesses grow from adversity

Jake Kuester 14:47
Oh, sure. We've got a small manufacturer here in Minnesota that they purchase fabricated metal pieces, right, as part of their manufacturing process. They go out to get that. And in 2020, COVID hit, right? And as we all know, that shut down a lot of production of goods and services. International trade became almost non existent, and so they were having a really difficult time getting the fabricated metal pieces that they needed. Importing from other countries became non existent. So they tried to look domestically and locally, but the local markets were so fragmented that they couldn't find a manufacturer that could make the specific pieces that they need in the volume that they needed. So they're kind of stuck. And they were to a point where they were either going to need to start up their own metal fabrication company, which they weren't really experts in, or they're gonna have to look to buy one that already existed. And they lucked out-

Danielle  15:46
That sounds scary...

Jake Kuester 15:46
Yeah, right, exactly. I mean, to be faced at your business in that position of like, what are we gonna do? We can't make the thing that we need to make if we don't have the pieces to make it, and nobody can give us the pieces to make it right? And so they got really lucky. They found a local metal fabrication company where the owner was looking to sell and retire after 30 years, and they bought it. They retrofitted it to meet the needs of their specific business. And for the first year, the only thing this new company did was produce the specific piece that they needed as part of their manufacturing company. As they kind of got into year two. After doing this, they were finding other companies that were in a similar situation where they couldn't find metal fabrication services. Still, we're only in 2021 - 2022 so

Danielle 16:34
We're still in COVID.

Jake Kuester 16:35
The world is still shut down. So other local businesses, local manufacturers that were also having difficulties getting this done. So they started to expand and started to offer metal fabrication, custom metal fabrication, for some of these other businesses. As part of that they needed to invest so they could grow. They had to buy more modern, more new equipment to be able to meet the needs of some of these other businesses. And they started to grow and take on more and more business. Now here we are: they're in year four, about to hit year five of their new venture, and over 50% of their business actually comes from outside companies that you know, just a remarkable story of growth and adapting and-

Danielle 17:19
Resilience.

Jake Kuester 17:20
Resiliency

Amber 17:20
That's an entirely new business model.

Jake Kuester 17:24
Yeah, you know, kind of talking about how Affinity Plus, can be here no matter where you're at in your journey, just so exciting that we were able to be on that journey with them throughout it, as they kind of evolved their entire business model.

Amber 17:35
That- that is a complete evolution a business model.

Danielle 17:38
Talk about, if I can't find him, I'll just do it, kind of, you know, kind of a situation.

Amber 17:45
I'll just make it.

Danielle 17:45
I'll just do it.

Amber 17:46
Yeah, I got this. I don't need your help. I got it. But, but they did need some help, it sounds like. And then they helped others, which is really cool.

Jake Kuester 17:56
They helped others, yeah, and just the journey has been remarkable. And we've been able to be such a solid partner for them, you know, especially now, even as they look to the future: they're just set for more growth.

Amber 18:08
That's amazing. And who would have thought that something like that, where it was so challenging at first, especially during COVID, and then to have something so beautiful come out of it and have, just such an expansion. Like, that's...

Jake Kuester 18:25
Well, I think we've hit it. We've hit on it a few times now. Like, that's what makes small business owners so special, is, you know, they don't get to go in and just collect their next paycheck, right? They've got to, they've got to figure it out, right, on the spot. The world shuts down, and they've got- they've got to come up with a solution, right? That no one's going to do it for them. They really got to have that go get it attitude and that risk taking attitude, right? Of, you know, well, let's just buy another company and make it work.

Amber 18:53
And try. Going into it with that mentality and resiliency of, we're going to try this and see what works.

Jake Kuester 19:01
Exactly.

Amber 19:02
That's amazing. That's a lot of mental resiliency, Danielle...

Danielle 19:07
It sure is.

Amber 19:09
I'm not a good small business owner. I have decided.

Danielle 19:12
Throughout this conversation, you're like, "you know..."

Amber 19:16
I enjoy, what I do.

What business would you open?

Danielle 19:20
Same. Okay, so before we wrap up today, I have a little activity for us. If you could open any small business, what would it be? Like, sky's the limit. Don't worry about funding. Don't worry about like, what is the thing that you would do? Or knowledge,

Amber 19:39
Or knowledge, right?

Danielle 19:40
Yeah, anything.

Amber 19:41
So I don't have to have a scientific background for mine.

Danielle 19:43
Nope.

Amber 19:44
All right. I need science. I will need some science.

Danielle 19:49
What is it? I'm on the edge of my seat.

Amber 19:52
Well, I need to create something to make the grass still look nice, but not have worms come out of the ground for my dog to roll in. Anything stinky, he is very, very much in tune to and wants to roll in it. So now he gets another bath today, because I informed that he was rolling in more worms.

Danielle 20:17
Oh my gosh.

Amber 20:18
And I was like, I don't like that smell.

Danielle 20:21
Ok so if you're listening out there and you have the answer. We Amber needs it.

Amber 20:26
Yes. Please help Captain, my dog, not rolling worms. I would be grateful, very grateful. So Danielle, what would your small business be?

Danielle 20:36
So I don't know exactly what the business would be, but I want to create the next sweet Martha's cookies, because I want to work at the State Fair for two weeks, prep for a week before, and then wrap it up the week after. And so I'm working one month of the year, and the rest of the time I'm doing whatever I want.

Amber 20:58
That was like the dream small business, like, one month a year-

Jake Kuester 21:02
exactly yeah

Amber 21:03
30 days, not really, but yeah.

Danielle 21:05
I'm sure they work more than that, but, like, just think of that concept, right?

Amber 21:09
We're paying the dream tax right now. But Jake, what's your small business?

Jake Kuester 21:14
I don't know if this would be like an app or an invention or or how it worked, but I would, I would start a business that solves the issue of my two teenage daughters fighting over clothes, over makeup, over who's going to do chores, right? Like it divvies it up. Because, you know, while they're they're 14 and 11, they're like, the same size they wear the same size clothes, they like the same makeup, they like, the same, you know, facial routines and all that type of stuff. And so it's the mornings are interesting at my house, right? The fights over who's wearing what shirt on what day, and I was gonna wear that today, and I just wore that the other day. And, like-

Danielle 21:52
they need, like, the clueless computer app... so when they take the outfit. So then when the next one goes to pick out the outfit, like that top is gone out of the inventory.

Jake Kuester 22:01
Of the inventory, yeah, yeah. And making sure that they don't, like- what they're wearing isn't too similar to what the other one's wearing, because then one's copying the other one.

Danielle 22:11
literally I'm hearing my future, because my girls are nine and six,

Jake Kuester 22:15
okay,

Danielle 22:15
and so, like, my

Jake Kuester 22:16
Yes!

Danielle 22:17
My future is like flashing by

Amber 22:18
I'm grateful I never had sisters. I only have brothers.

Danielle 22:22
If you could invent that like quick.

Jake Kuester 22:24
Yeah,

Danielle 22:24
It would be great.

Jake Kuester 22:25
Got it.

Danielle 22:26
Thank you.

Amber 22:26
Well, you have some time until her kids are in their teenage years. Doesn't solve your problem today, but gives you a test subject for today.

Danielle 22:34
Well, Jake, thanks so much for coming. It was so good to have you here. It's so good to talk about, you know, the lifeblood of our communities, these small businesses, and how they can- how we can partner with them to help make them more successful, and how we can be there as a resource for them. So thank you so much for coming in and talking about that.

Jake Kuester 22:53
Absolutely! Thank you guys for having me.

Amber 22:54
Thanks, Jake.

Outro

Danielle 22:56
Well, thank you for tuning in for this episode of A Plus You make sure you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and we will catch you on our next episode, which is the end of May. We'll be talking to our internal expert Kotchi about our Investment Center.

Amber 23:11
That's right. I'm looking forward to it.

Danielle 23:13
All right. Well, we'll see you next time.

Affinity Plus is federally insured by the NCUA.