Commercial
Relationship Manager
Redwood Capital Bank
Humboldt born and raised, BA in Business Management
from HSU, four years management training program with
US Bank, Humboldt Bank (now Umpqua Bank) for 14 years
with positions including commercial loan officer, assistant
branch manager, SBA business development officer, now
with Redwood Capital Bank primarily focusing on
commercial and SBA loans.
Five years in SBA lending and working closely with SBDC,
RREDC and AEDC has provided me with a lot of knowledge
in working with small business borrowers. My goal when
meeting with a client is to determine what is the best
alternative for them in terms of financing without putting
them through an exhaustive, unnecessary application
process if there are better alternatives for them. Having a
commercial lending background allows me to do this so
that I can act in the best interest of the borrower as well
as the bank.
My outside activities include SBDC board member, RREDC loan committee member, HSU business advisory member, Eureka Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Eureka Rotary Club member (also on board of directors), Humboldt County Fair Jr. Livestock Auction Committee, Humboldt County Cattlewomen member and Economic Fuel judge last year.
What I look for in a business plan
When reviewing a business plan, I like to see that the information provided demonstrates that the borrower has done their due diligence in creating the plan and that the business venture make sense overall. It’s also important they have a good understanding of the financial aspects of the business; that they know their working capital requirements, that they are coming in with some of their own funds and they’ll have a good accounting / bookkeeping system in place once the business gets underway.
Every
individual has areas they are stronger in than
others. Some of the most successful business individuals
seem to be the ones that recognize their weaknesses
then surround themselves with knowledgeable people
within those areas. Any noted weaknesses within the plan
should be mitigated, and an exit strategy should be
provided in the event the plan doesn’t come to fruition.
Generally
we’ll incorporate a bulk of the information in the
business plan into the loan approval process, therefore
the more comprehensive, thorough and well presented
the plan, the quicker and easier the loan process will be.
Writing
business plans can be a very time consuming,
cumbersome process and most people don’t enjoy
preparing them, however many people who go through
the process are grateful they did once the business is
underway. Interestingly, some entrepreneurs who’ve been
in business for many years continually recreate their
business plan because of the benefits it can provide.