Rachel DwigginsBKDPartner - Not-for-Profit & Government GroupAs a member of BKD National Not-for-Profit & Government Group, Rachel provides audit and consulting services for not-for-profit and governmental organizations, colleges, universities and charitable organizations.

Rachel is a 2010 BKD PRIDE Award winner for exemplifying BKD’s PRIDE values—passion, respect, integrity, discipline and excellence. Rachel works with clients in the real estate industry, providing audit and consulting services for real estate developers with low-income housing tax credit properties.

She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants, where she serves on the Governmental Accounting Committee. She has also spoken at local Association of Government Accountants meetings regarding various Governmental Accounting Standards Board topics.

Rachel is a member of Junior League of Springfield, holding various leadership roles through the years, and a past board member of Habitat for Humanity in Springfield. She is a 1998 magna cum laude graduate of Missouri State University, Springfield, with a B.S. degree in accounting.

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Stephanie HutchinsonEDWARD JONES Financial AdvisorStephanie Hutchison joined Edward Jones in 2007 after earning a degree in Business Management from The University of Missouri - Columbia. Stephanie started in the Rotational Development Program at the Edward

Jones Home Office and then soon transitioned to a Financial Advisor role in Kansas City, MO in 2008.

During her Edward Jones career, Stephanie has held a variety of regional leadership roles, including serving as a Field Trainer, Mentor, Secondary Recruiting Leader, Hiring Team Member, Client Solutions Leader, and is currently serving as Recruiting Leader.

Stephanie and her branch team member, Gretchen Maisch, strive daily to provide the ideal client experience. Their branch vision is to take a personal approach to a solutions based business. They truly make a difference in the lives of their clients and have developed strong client relationships that have turned into personal relationships.

Darcy HoweFOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR KCRise FundFor more than 30 years, Darcy Howe has been an adviser to multiple generational families on wealth transfer, succession planning, capital markets business exit strategies, and asset and debt management. Growing a successful entrepreneurial

business within a Fortune 100 company, Darcy was named a Barron’s magazine “Top100 Women Advisors in the US” and Worth magazine’s “Top 100 Wealth Advisors in the US.”

A founding member of the Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group, this division of Merrill Lynch has grown from 30 advisers to 350 with $240 billion in assets under management and more than $1 billion in revenue.

A 20-year veteran angel investor, Darcy was a founding member of Women’s Capital Connection, a network of accredited investors who invest in women-led, early stage businesses. Darcy was appointed by the Mayor of Kansas City, Mo., to lead AdvanceKC Financial Services Sector cluster made up of the city’s largest financial services companies.

Darcy is the founder and managing director of the KCRise Fund, a for-profit venture capital co-investment fund to invest in local early-stage businesses.

Darcy is a graduate of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and has served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees including Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, The Kansas City Ballet, The Nelson-Atkins museum audit committee and United Way of Greater Kansas City. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum.

PANELISTS

PANELISTS

MODERATOR

TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN KANSAS CITYWOMEN IN FINANCE

TABLE of EXPERTS

Robin WellsCOUNTRY CLUB BANKSenior Vice President/Commercial Lender Robin Wells is the Senior Vice President/Commercial Lender of Country Club Bank, a $1.3 billion commercial bank with 19 locations in the Kansas City area.

Continuing her lifelong ties to the Kansas City area, Robin joined

Country Club Bank organization in March of 1996. Robin’s commitment to Kansas City is further reinforced by her commitment to helping many local businesses with lending over the past 30 years.

As a commercial lending officer, Robin focuses on business development as well as managing loan portfolios, and overseeing government lending programs. Throughout her career in lending she has seen many changes in Kansas City and is proud to be a part of many of them.

Her public service includes Advisory Director for the Academy of Finance at Bishop Ward High School, Board Member of Heartland Business Capital, Camp Enterprise in conjunction with Bloch School and Rotary Club 13, and Volunteer for Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri.

Robin attended the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She resides with her husband, Barry Wells, in Raymore. They have two grown daughters. In Robin’s free time she enjoys playing golf, gardening, traveling, and doing home renovations.

Debbie SwearingenLEAD BANKMarket President, Kansas City Debbie Swearingen has more than 25 years of banking experience along with business development, staff mentorship, leadership development and community outreach experience.

She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and is a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA) and serves as the market president of Lead Bank in the Kansas City Crossroads, where she ensures operational efficiency within the bank’s strategic plan and fosters community relationships between the bank, businesses and civic organizations.

She oversees banking activities and establishing bank policies, strategies and objectives while also developing new products and services designed to meet the client’s needs.

Debbie’s area of emphasis is helping small businesses through programs that ensure their abilities to expand their capacity or improving their capabilities to grow their businesses. Overseeing the partnership with the City of Kansas City, through the For Change Initiative, Debbie helps businesses do business better. Assisting entrepreneurs has always been a mainstay of Lead Bank, and Debbie works closely with those businesses to assist in the commitment and growth of those businesses in our community.

Carrie O’Connor COMMUNITY AMERICA CREDIT UNION Chief Lending OfficerCarrie O’Connor currently serves as Chief Lending Officer for Community America Credit Union with an extensive background in lending, operations, accounting and finance. Carrie was recently named to the Consumer Financial Protection

Bureau’s Credit Union Advisory Council and also serves on the Membership Committee for the Credit Union National Association’s Lending Council.

Carrie is deeply involved in the local non-profit community with a particular passion for animals and foster children, volunteering whenever possible. She is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Overland Park and currently serves on the KVC Health Systems General Board as well as their Foundation Board. She is also a member of the Central Exchange and the Women’s Association of Credit Union Leaders.

What makes a good financial adviser or banking partner?Not surprisingly, gender has

very little to do with it, according to area experts in the financial services industry. Business owners would do better to look for financial partners who value a personal relationship with their clients and strive to fully understand their clients’ needs and goals.

This was just one of the many topics covered during a recent discussion moderated by Darcy Howe, founder and managing director of KCRise Fund. The panelists—all women—touched on a range of issues relating to business and finance, from where to find capital for startups to how to create a succession plan for a small business.

Darcy Howe of KCRise Fund: We have several bankers represented in our panel. What is the fastest growing segment for business loan requests?

Robin Wells of Country Club Bank: That would be small business without a doubt, if you define small businesses as businesses of less than 100 employees. The Kansas City metro region has almost 49,000 small businesses and a metro population of 2 million. Small businesses also provide over 31 percent of the private sector jobs in the area, so they’re very important to us and to the local economy.

Carrie O’Connor of Community America Credit Union: Within that small business segment, women-owned businesses are growing very rapidly. According to KCSourceLink’s website, they’re growing at pace of just under 30 percent right now (2007-2012), which is really significant in just a 5-year period.

What was striking in the research was that women-owned businesses were significantly lower in producing revenues and number of employees than their male counterparts. This aligns with other trends we’re seeing. Perhaps it is a lack of access to capital or experience drafting business plans? We’re committed to finding answers to these questions and seeking solutions that will narrow the gap.

Howe: Or is it just a lifestyle choice? Are women owning businesses as a way to “have it all” or have balance in their lives?

O’Connor: Right, those are great questions. We are trying to find out whether there are ways that we can better support women or provide more information. Women are looking for information and resources to help them plan and set up their businesses. So what’s different about them or, like you said, is it intentional? Understanding that would be helpful to all of us.

Howe: Debbie, are you seeing some of those same trends in the Crossroads area, which has grown tremendously in the past few years?

Debbie Swearingen of Lead Bank: Absolutely. That small business activity is actually one of the reasons that Lead Bank opened in the Crossroads. Finding those businesses sources of capital is very, very important. Several alternative lending programs are starting, which is great.

Howe: Tell us about the kinds of lending available for small businesses?

Wells: The first option you explore is conventional loans. If you can go conventional, terrific. If not, then you can step back and look at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. If the business doesn’t fit in that mold, there’s also Justine PETERSEN, a lending program available here in Kansas City. Justine PETERSEN is based in St. Louis, but they’ve partnered with the SBA to do micro-lending. Their micro-lending is typically under $50,000. About 60 percent of their loans are to women and the average loan size is only $10,000. It’s a great resource for a small business or an entrepreneur that doesn’t meet the traditional loan options.

Swearingen: We are seeing more not only Justine PETERSEN but also chambers of commerce are coming out with these microloan programs. They help businesses get to the point where they are bankable so they can transition to a bank. Lead Bank is actually starting to do some venture capital lending, too, which is completely new.

O’Connor: I’d like to mention two other opportunities. One is figuring out how to compete with some of the online lenders that are out there. Small business owners now have a lot of online opportunities to get unsecured loans up to $50,000. Those aren’t always the best options, but they’re quick, easy and available.

The second opportunity is educating small businesses about the pros and cons of some of those loans. Our institution is primarily consumer-based, so we offer loans under $50,000 as a normal course of business. This is in addition to larger business loans, and while we don’t call them out as micro-

loans that is the need they are meeting.

Howe: It sounds like the three bankers around the table see value in finding a good banking partner for your businesses as opposed to just doing it online and being on your own. How do you find a good banking partner and what makes a good banking partner? Why would they come to brick-and-mortar lenders instead of online lenders?

Swearingen: I tell everyone you shop for your banker just like you would shop for anything else. You shop around and find what is best for you. You need to shop around for your banker, attorney and accountant because it truly is a partnership.

Howe: But what should be the deciding factors? Your gut feeling? Terms of the loan?

Wells: Terms are important. But do they understand your business? Are they willing to take the time to understand your business? At Country Club Bank we take real pride and ownership in the business relationships we develop. We don’t want to simply be their lending partner, we want to work with our clients on truly understanding and meeting all of their financial goals.

O’Connor: Is your lender willing to come to your site and spend time with you? Are they willing to help you make connections? Let’s just say you have a member who has a wedding dress business and another member creating greeting cards. Can you create that connection to help them both grow? Can you put them in touch with a CPA or another business that gives them the

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WOMEN IN FINANCEexpertise they need?

Howe: Rachel, what do good advisers mean to a small business?

Rachel Dwiggins of BKD: I agree with what the other panelists have said. It’s somebody that takes the time to get to know their business. They’re not just producing a commodity but developing that relationship, that adviser relationship, and not just helping them in one facet but really understanding the business.

Howe: Tell us about BKD and how you approach small business?

Dwiggins: We really focus on industry expertise. Differences may exist between a small business and a big business, but similarities exist within industries. That’s the approach we take, which allows us to communicate relevant industry information to our clients in a timely manner.

Howe: Are there opportunities, as Carrie mentioned, to connect people within the same industry?

Dwiggins: Very much so. And by knowing the industry, we can share and communicate best practices.

O’Connor: We often see businesses that are really great at what they do, their core function, but they are less certain of the financial part, the accounting and the bookkeeping. That’s when they need a really good partner to be able to optimize their business and be

as successful as they want to be.

Howe: Stephanie, let’s turn to the investor side of financial services. There’s so much information available to investors and so many investment choices online. How do you add value to a client’s financial decisions?

Stephanie Hutchison of Edward Jones: I add value to a client’s financial decisions through that personal, one-on-one relationship with them. It’s important to make sure that I truly get to know my client on a personal level and really figure out what their financial goals are. Whether it’s saving for retirement or planning for college education, it’s really important that you fully understand what that client’s financial goals are. From there, we add value by assessing their risk tolerance, which can’t necessarily be done online without having that active conversation with them.

Howe: You are in a traditionally guy business. When I started 33 years ago, only 12 to 14 percent of financial advisers were women. Now, it’s all the way up to 18 percent—not too different 30 years later. What does that mean to you or how does that change either how you do business or who you do business with? Why did you go into a business knowing you may be in the minority?

Hutchison: In Edward Jones, 19

percent are women, so we might be a little bit above that average. I actually look at that as a competitive advantage. I know that women typically live longer than men. They often are in control of the finances in the end. Personally, I do attract those widowed women. Some clients find it easier to trust or prefer to work with women.

I got into the business through one of my sorority sisters. Her dad has been with Edward Jones since the late 1970s, and he kept telling me that I should do this. I started with Edward Jones right out of college, and I’ve never looked at it in terms of men and women. Age was a bigger factor.

When I first started at 21 years old, I had a lot of older men as clients and I had to prove myself. I wore fake glasses and my hair in a low bun to make myself look older. The day I turned 30, I was ecstatic because I could tell my clients that I was in my 30s. But I think that being a woman in this industry is very rewarding and exciting, and we definitely need more of them.

Swearingen: That’s funny you would say that because when I turned 30, I remember saying the same thing, “I’m finally in my 30s!” I always had to prove myself over and over even though I knew what I was doing. I was doing a great job, but most of my clients were older men, and they just didn’t think young women belonged in that role.

I do think it has changed, but it really depends on the client. You handle

everyone the same way. You are who you are, and you have to be real to who you are and give the advice that you would give anyone.

Sometimes, that advice is not doing business with me. I do what’s best for the client. I actually referred someone to Community America recently because you guys had a great home equity program, a hybrid home equity program, and it was a perfect fit for this customer. I believe she did close a home equity loan with you. But by doing what was in her best interest, she sent a business loan to me later that was three times the size of that little home equity loan.

Howe: I love this. I didn’t realize there was some cross collaboration.

Swearingen: Absolutely and there needs to be, because our focus, at least my focus, is always to do what’s best for the client and sometimes that is not doing business with me.

Another bank referred a customer to me because the business loan was too small for them. You build relationships within you industry. You work with those in other banks who you feel comfortable with and you take care of the customer. That’s what banks are for. That’s what advisers are for—to make our community better, at least that’s my goal.

Dwiggins: In public accounting, it’s about 50/50 men and women entering the profession. But if you look at partner or

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leadership levels, it drops to 20 percent or less.

Howe: Why do you think that is?Dwiggins: I think there are a myriad

of reasons. One is that when you have fewer females at that partner level or in those leadership roles, you have fewer role models for those younger females. It almost becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that they tend to doubt themselves, “Can I do it? Do I have what it takes?”

Life balance, obviously, is not a gender-specific issue, but I do think the societal norms of home responsibilities and work responsibilities still exist today.

Howe: How can the accounting world have all of this wonderful talent coming in and then leaving? How does the accounting world counteract that brain drain?

Dwiggins: In our firm, we have what we call our SKY initiative, which is a firm-wide strategic plan to create a diverse talent pool. A lot of it is education—really having everybody be aware of the unintentional or the inherent biases and experiences that we’re providing. It’s human nature to gravitate toward those most like us. For example, if you’re a male executive, who are you inviting to go to the networking events with you? Who are you taking to the client golf tournament? Are you providing the same experiences and

opportunities to both women and men?

Howe: Would you give different advice to men and women entering your industry?

O’Connor: I don’t know that it would be different. I would tell them to work hard and learn as much as they can on their way up. Just have that dedication and persistence. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas. Find a mentor.

Hutchison: I would definitely tell both men and women entering the field to work really hard. That’s what it takes. But make sure that you don’t have a Plan B. The dropout rate for financial advisers is really high, unfortunately. You have to believe it is going to work, that this is your only option

I would tell them to make sure that they play hard as well. “Work hard and play hard” is definitely my motto. Reward yourself for the hard work that you were doing.

Swearingen: I agree. Play hard, too. If you work, work, work and you don’t enjoy life, you’re missing the whole big picture. If you’re happy with yourself, that just flows into everything that you do.

Wells: Look carefully at the financial institution as a whole to see if any one area really peaks your interests and once you have identified this area do everything you can to research and educate yourself to become an industry expert.

Howe: Would you focus right away?

Wells: I would get a broader view. This wider view allows you the ability to gain a good overall perspective and ultimately evaluate what areas your strengths and aptitudes align with best to determine a well-aligned career goal. Perhaps find a mentor within the ranks who is willing to help you and learn as much as you can and be available to network.

Howe: Did you have a mentor and how did you find them?

Wells: Actually, I had several mentors. They developed through natural work relationships. They were gracious enough to include me in their decision-making process and took me to networking events where I got to learn about banking.

Swearingen: I got involved in organizations I truly had a passion for. If I was going to donate my free time in the evening, I wanted to be doing something I enjoyed.

It’s crazy where you can get business. Networking happens everywhere. It doesn’t have to be a chamber event. It doesn’t have to be a business function. Put your efforts and time into things that you have a passion for so that you’ll want to do it, you’ll do it well and business just comes.

Be real. I tell my daughters this all the time. Be able to look in the mirror and like who you see because there are always people out there who don’t like you for whatever reason. They may not even know you. They just don’t like you.

That’s just life. But if you like yourself, and you know what you’re doing is right, at the end of the day, how can you not be successful in whatever you put your efforts into?

Howe: How do you find mentors or sponsors? I think of a sponsor being a little bit different from a mentor. A mentor is somebody who gives you the attagirls and here’s how you might do things. But the sponsor actually says, “I am going to put my reputation on the line to help get you promoted.” Have you had sponsors and mentors in real life?

Dwiggins: I have had multiple mentors. I’m fortunate. My company has a formal coaching program in which you are assigned an informal mentor in the early stages of your career and a formal coach throughout your career. The coach is more like the sponsor you mentioned and focuses on helping you create and achieve career goals and maximize your potential.

Swearingen: I never had a sponsor but I’ve had mentorship opportunities through several professional organizations, such as CREWKC (Commercial Real Estate Women). In their mentorship program, more experienced women mentor younger women coming into those industries that are predominantly male. That’s when it’s great because we can share things that we’ve learned through the years. It’s just great to see them grow in their role and then how did they start to network and

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Member FDIC

Owner. Executive. Wife. Mother. Aunt.

Robin WellsSenior Vice President Commercial Lending

816-931-4060www.countryclubbank.com

We know you have many titles. At Country Club Bank we understand the value of a balanced life. Let Robin and our team of professionals assist you on your financial journey. We work hard to build lasting, long- term client relationships that exceed your expectation and simplify your life.

interact with others.

Howe: How do you measure your own success and what do you find the most rewarding? Sometimes women are more modest about the idea of measuring success financially.

O’Connor: There are certainly financial metrics—we’re always looking at whether we have we met budget, where we are in terms of market position and those types of things. But I think on a personal level, one of the things that is the most rewarding for me is knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life whether that’s an employee or whether that’s maybe a business or a family or someone who we’ve helped through the credit union, knowing we’ve had a part in changing their lives or the lives of the people around them.

Wells: I can share an example on a personal and business level. I recently assisted an attorney starting out on her own. She came back to the bank president and said, “Without the bank’s assistance, I would not have been able to provide for my family”. Okay. Wow! It is very gratifying to know that the work we do every day is making a difference in our client’s lives and providing necessary businesses in our community. That is success in my book.

Swearingen: Every bank basically offers the same products and services. So it comes down to people wanting to do business with you. You want to like

who you’re spending that time with. Of course, I want to make a profit for the bank. We all want to do that, but I want to make a difference in that client’s life—help them start a business, help them understand the financial part of it or to make the bank less intimidating.

Howe: Rachel, do you have a way to measure your success?

Dwiggins: Personally, I suggest setting goals—both long-term and short-term goals. And they could be

financial goals or a promotion or a new opportunity or more personal such as volunteering or community service goals. My approach is setting goals and then working toward achieving them.

O’Connor: When you think about it, there are just so many things that you impact on a daily basis. For example, you may have a business owner who is struggling and sometimes it is as simple as looking at how they are doing their financial statements. Are they manually putting them together or using a system?

Are they watching the trends and outcomes every quarter or just annually?

Again, connecting them with the right partners and providing them with milestones: “If you can get here, then I can help with this part.” When they’re able to get through all of that, and they come back to you and say, “Guess what, we’re ready to buy a building now.” That’s the coolest thing ever.

Howe: How do you measure success and what do you find most rewarding about the work that you do?

Hutchison: For me, helping a client reach one of their financial goals is most rewarding. For instance I just had a client in his late 50s who was a school teacher and coach. He was not planning to retire until his mid-60s. He inherited some money from a family farm. After working with him and figuring out what his goals were, we were able to decide that he could retire now. It is truly exciting to know that you helped this person.

Obviously, my own life is going to change the more successful I am. I get rewarded through fees and that is an aspect of my personal success as well. It’s also about gathering assets. The more assets I bring in, the more reward I get.

In addition, I am a recruiting leader for Edward Jones. I’m responsible for recruiting new financial advisers here in

ANDREW GRUMKE

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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the Kansas City area. So again, part of my success is measured by whether I’m meeting our goals.

Dwiggins: I help a lot with recruiting as well. I find success when somebody I coached or mentored along the way achieves success. To me, I’ve succeeded when I help someone else achieve their goal.

Howe: Let’s talk about bringing a new client onboard. What are the primary things that you want to learn in understanding their financial situation and their goals?

O’Connor: I want to understand their goals and their dreams, what they are trying to achieve. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer to that. You may think someone should be saving for their child’s college education or they should be getting ready for retirement, but that’s not always the case. Maybe their goal is to travel the world or to provide their daughter with a Disney princess wedding. Whatever it is, let’s understand what it is they’re trying to accomplish and what’s meaningful to them, and then let’s figure out what the steps are to get there. We understand, too, that as lives change, goals change. They are always evolving.

We want to meet members where they are, and create trusted relationships so they feel comfortable coming back for help when the next thing happens, whether it’s good or bad.

Hutchison: I also want to figure out what their goals are, what their needs are, what their dreams are. But you want to make sure you document it so that they know that you heard the exact thing that they said to you.

I document it, and then their goal shows up on their statement. We put

both the goal and their risk tolerance level on the statement so it reiterates to them, “Stephanie heard what I said.”

From there, you need to make sure you review it as often as needed. The last thing is to make sure you set the expectations for how often you will be contacting them.

Dwiggins: In addition to finding out their goals, I want to know what keeps them up at night, what makes them the most nervous about the business and what are the risks that they perceive. Then, I figure out what I can do to help alleviate their fears or find a way to manage those risks.

Swearingen: I always ask, “What’s your ultimate wish list?” If you could have anything you want, what do you want? I start there because I had one client say, “One day, I want to own my building because that building can become my retirement later.” I said, “Then, why don’t you own your building?” He said, “I can’t afford to have my own building.” I said, “But you pay rent every month. What makes you think you can’t afford to buy a building?” He hadn’t thought about it because he was focusing on his business.

Howe: You’re thinking aspirationally for them?

Swearingen: Right. I ran all his numbers and I said: “Yes you can buy. This is what you can do and this is what we need to do to get you there.”

Carrie, you made a good point about setting milestones. There are times I have to say no, but I always call it a soft no. I’ll say, “I can’t do this right now for you, but if you do this and this, then I can get you to that point and I can help you.”

I take the extra step to educate them because we just can’t help some people who walk in. We just can’t. But I want to tell them what they need to do so I

can help them. Then we are doing our job. We shouldn’t be just coming for the paycheck. We should be making things better for everyone and helping businesses grow.

O’Connor: Exactly and I think everyone can have a plan even if they have more steps in their plan than someone else. We can help them define what that is. Like you were saying, sometimes, they don’t know or they think it is unachievable.

Howe: They’re focusing on the day-to-day operation. They’re not looking at the big picture but I love what Rachel said about asking them what keeps them up at night. I’m going to start adding that. If you can alleviate something that’s causing them stress, we’re going to be helping in a good way. That’s a great point.

Wells: Typically, I need to know their goals. As a commercial lender, those goals are usually outlined in a business plan. However, small businesses don’t necessarily have any of that. They have an idea. Often, I’ll then refer them to KCSourceLink or Kansas City SCORE so they can start creating a feasible plan and make it a bankable deal. I can’t do that for them. They need to come to me with that plan, but once they have that narrative and have those projections or if it’s an existing business, have the financials, then we can address their business needs.

Wells: Kansas City is a hotbed for resources. We’re so fortunate. We’ve got SCORE, KCSourceLink, the Kauffman Foundation, the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, the Women’s Business Center and several other organizations designed to help businesses grow.

Howe: How can you help them integrate those resources into their

businesses?O’Connor: It has to be a hybrid

approach. You can connect them with those resources and wait for them to come back, but we can sometimes help in other ways. Often, it is more along the lines of financial education—helping them figure out their credit and their budget, getting them positioned financially to take this leap whatever it is and getting their own financial house in order. By doing some of that handholding and working with them to improve their personal balance sheets, they are better positioned to use outside resources to move forward.

Swearingen: Find a banker or lender who will do that because some won’t. We know that some of our counterparts won’t take the time because they are working on the big deals. Find the ones who will and start building that relationship.

Hutchison: Exactly. From the financial adviser side of it, I usually don’t work with small businesses as early as you guys do. But I always let my business owners know a great way to keep quality employees is to offer good benefits. That’s one way I can help from the advising side. I can guide small businesses with offering retirement plans.

Dwiggins: I predominantly work on the nonprofit side, so it is probably a little bit different perspective. But Kansas City definitely has a plethora of resources for the nonprofit community as well.

Howe: Let’s focus a little bit on nonprofit because nonprofits are businesses. Tell us what might be different or parallel in the nonprofit world.

Dwiggins: Nonprofits need to make a profit in order to grow, but that’s not their primary motive. They have

ANDREW GRUMKE

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a mission, so the goals that they are setting are not always dollar driven. That’s one of the differences.

O’Connor: From a lender qualification perspective, sometimes it can be a little bit trickier because their financials aren’t necessarily showing the kind of debt service and other information that we normally review. We have to look at those financials differently and really understand how the cash flows are moving and what reserves they have and what reserves are restricted.

Howe: What has changed if anything in the not-for-profit world in terms of the financial side? Are there fewer government grants, fewer foundation grants, more of something or another that has changed the landscape of the not-for-profit world as it relates to financial services?

Dwiggins: It’s very competitive for every dollar out there whether it’s private or public funding. Government funding is not increasing for the most part, so there’s increased competition for the dollars that are out there.

Howe: How do you advise your clients then as these shifts happen to stay healthy? You talk about avoiding the risks and addressing what keeps them up at night. I’m guessing that funding keeps some executive directors out there up at night. How do you help advise them to change their mix?

Dwiggins: You look at the revenue mix and make sure that you have some diversity in revenue streams and that you’re not completely dependent on one source, whether that’s grants, federal funding, fundraising events, or anything else.

Howe: Before we close, are there any other areas about your industry you would like to discuss?

Swearingen: I think that small businesses need to invest up front in succession planning. What happens if something happens to a primary person in the business? I often see small businesses that don’t have a plan in place in case something happens to the main person.

Hutchison: That is a No. 1 concern. A lot of business owners tell me their retirement plan is selling their companies. I tell them that’s fantastic, but your business is only as valuable as someone is willing to pay for it.

And a lot of times, the owner is the business. So succession planning is an important piece for a small business.

Swearingen: We need to educate them to make them realize that succession planning is as important as having that great accountant. It may cost them upfront, but the long-term return for them is so beneficial.

Howe: If you asked the spouse of a small business owner what keeps her or him up at night, my guess is that succession planning is one.

Wells: SBA loans require life insurance on the key people. With conventional loans, that may or may not be the case, but it should be in the forefront of the business owner’s mind to provide for the business as well as family should something happen to them.

Dwiggins: It’s important for them to have a whole team advising them—a banker, a CPA, an attorney. And they all

need to sit together because otherwise, it’s like playing a game of telephone.

Howe: The team ought to know each other. I think that’s a very important part.

Wells: Frequently, I see small business owners get ready to sell and are surprised to learn that their businesses are not going to sell for anything near what they think it should because they haven’t “managed the financial statements.” If they talk with their accountant or their attorney earlier, they may be able to realize a higher sale prices.

O’Connor: Another area we have not yet covered is how to serve the younger generation. What’s unique and different about them? The amount of student debt they are walking out with definitely affects how we serve them. The average student debt is $27,000. As a result, they’re waiting longer to buy homes, to engage in investing and to get married. We need to figure out how to help that generation.

Howe: How do we do that?O’Connor: I certainly don’t have

all of the answers, but I think we need to look for different ways to provide education and advice in faster, smaller sound bites because they aren’t going to come to an hour-long seminar, for example. How can we get that information out?

Also, how can we structure products and services that work better? How can we design first-time home buyer programs that are maybe a little bit more flexible? Maybe have lower payments, no mortgage insurance, relaxing the underwriting standards, or helping them figure out how to restructure some of that student debt—those kinds of things to allow them to achieve their financial goals. Or how can we help them avoid going into debt to begin with?

Howe: Yes. Shame on parents and colleges who let students get into debt. They received poor financial education from their parents.

O’Connor: The majority of situations point to a larger problem, which is the rate at which tuitions have quickly risen over the years and a lack of access to knowledgeable resources. Most parents simply want to get their children into a better situation than they had, and it’s especially intimidating for families sending a child to college for the first time. Their parents may have no idea how to navigate any of that because they didn’t go to college. How do they figure out and avoid some of those pitfalls? What amount of debt is appropriate? Some level of debt may be okay. But if you are going to graduate and only ever make $45,000 a year, you should question an equivalent debt load.

Hutchison: Research shows that millennials still want face-to-face education on the basics of investing and how to manage their money, and I think that’s really important.

Swearingen: But I think it has to start younger. It can’t start after they’re already in that position. I don’t know whether teaching the importance of managing your money should start in junior high or high school. I’m amazed when I hear people say they don’t know about having a checking account or know what it is.

Howe: That’s part of being a parent. Your parenting responsibility never

goes away. Swearingen: I remember my

daughter coming home from college. She said in one of her classes the professor asked everyone who had a credit card to raise their hand. She didn’t raise her hand because she didn’t have a credit card. He didn’t believe she didn’t have credit card. She said “My mom won’t let me have a credit card.” I waited because she was a freshman or sophomore in college then.

She was a junior or senior before she got a credit card, and I placed a limit on it, which you can do. You don’t have to abuse what they give you. You can actually go and put a limit on it. But her professor refused to believe that she didn’t have a credit card because everyone had credit cards.

Howe: When my children applied for their first credit card, they signed a paper agreeing to pay it off at the end of every month. It was automatic.

Swearingen: It does come down to the parenting. It comes down to what you teach your children. If you are around children, you have the responsibility to teach, too. That’s what we do.

Wells: On the Missouri side, high schools are required to teach personal finance. It’s a start in the right direction to teaching responsible finance to the younger generation.

Howe: Knowing what you do now,

what advice would you give yourself at 22 years old? What advice would you give those who are just starting in your business?

Swearingen: Take the risk. I look back on my career and there are so many times I didn’t act on opportunities because I told myself I wasn’t ready. And I should have taken the risk. As a result, it has taken me longer to get where I am.

Wells: Don’t second guess yourself. Take the risk.

Dwiggins: Seize any opportunities that come your way.

O’Connor: One of the things for me more personally was just figuring out how to bring people along. When I was younger, I had a tendency to rush toward my goals and was willing tokeep slamming against the wall until the wall fell down.

I wished I had realized that there were less painful ways to do these things. Bringing people along and working more collaboratively, even though the process might be slower, is much more effective.

Hutchison: For me, it would be two things. First, don’t take your foot off the pedal. Just keep going as hard as possible for as long as possible. Second, learn how to manage people. Not having any managerial experience was challenging. Maybe ask for help when you have a gap like that.

Swearingen: Yes, don’t be afraid to say you don’t know. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know but I will get the answer for you and get back to you.”

20 JUNE 17, 2016

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