This weeks blog is written by Joe Julius! Joe has been working in banking for 27 years with the last 17 being in commercial banking/lending. He has spent most of his career with small, community banks and started at NorthWinds last November. Joe is our Vice President of Member Services and Commercial Banking.
Running a business in 2025 is a different world than what it was 30-years ago. For most businesses, establishing and maintaining an online presence is crucial. Working with suppliers/vendors is a priority. Creating a work environment for others and finding qualified employees is an artform of than a skill. Of course, providing excellent customer service as well as growing your customer base is the engine that makes everything possible. While business owners come with a variety of skillsets, most of the time those skills are focused on the specifics of whatever the business offers. In a perfect world, business owners will have a variety of experts in house that they can rely on to manage the various functions that will help the business meet its objects. Specialists such as an accountant, attorney, banker, marketing, IT, etc., are all needed but realistically, not financially feasible to employ on day one and in many cases, are going to always be on some form of contract as the needs, while prevalent, don’t require you to pay someone a salary and possible benefits. This means that as a business ownership trying to grow the business, they still need to try and manage items that are outside their expertise and finance is a critical piece to this puzzle.
Of the issues small businesses face, perhaps the most unsettling issue is financial. If a product or service is the life of your business, the finance is the muscle that make things happen. If your cash flow is light, what do you do? If you bill your clients on terms, what do you do between the time that you bill for the service and the time you collect your payment? Are you losing out on discounts because you’re waiting to receive a payment? Are you using your available cash to stock up on inventory and if so, are you spending more than you need and unnecessarily draining your cash flow? Is there an advantage or disadvantage to leasing equipment or real estate rather than buying?
Utilizing your resources is important, but making sure you have the right resources is probably more important. An operating line of credit can prevent periodic cash flow crunches while still keeping your debt levels low and payment more interest than necessary. Having online services allowing you to originate ACH debits and credits can expedite billing and streamline your cash flow better. Having a platform where you can allow your accountant or bookkeeper to view your banking transactions online while limiting what they can see or do can keep your mind focused on growing your business. Have you ever made a financial decision in your life you later regretted due to not fully understanding all the aspects? Would it be helpful to have an experienced expert help navigate you away from making future regrettable decisions? If your job is to manage and grow the business, its going to work without the necessary tools and resources to be successful. As your credit union, we are in your community are here to help without nickel and diming you!
So, how I can help your business?
Joe Julius
952-358-9741
