It is hard to think about Kansas City without thinking about the championship Chiefs. After all, football is a regional obsession. When I think about nurturing a championship team, I often see parallels with nurturing and running a successful business.

As a business owner, you have put considerable thought and energy into building a strong team. You have recruited top talent and invested in training and development. You’ve developed your bench, your utility players, and your specialists.  From a leadership perspective, you might be fulfilling both the role of general manager as well as the ownership group. 

And, just as baseball brings in coaches with particular expertise focusing on specialized areas of the game such as strength training and conditioning, pitching, and hitting, it is important for you as a business owner to bring in specialized knowledge to help your team flourish.  You need a team of trusted advisors ---lawyers, accountants, commercial bankers, and others – that can offer the best coaching and guidance to help your team optimize their performance.

There is much to consider in selecting a commercial banker to be a part of your team to help with commercial real estate loans.  Having a trusted advisor is about looking ahead to future opportunities and being prepared should you encounter tougher times.   Here are some questions to ask yourself in building your lineup.

Does your banking partner know the region and are they invested in its vibrancy?  MBC has been serving our community since 1906 as a trusted adviser to nearly 10,000 business owners. We are the St. Louis region's second-largest locally-owned bank with over $2.5 billion in assets. Like you, we are part of this town and are dedicated to helping our regional communities thrive. By banking locally with Midwest BankCentre, $95 out of every $100 deposited locally stays in the St. Louis region.

Is your business prioritized and valued?  Does your Banker answer the phone or do you have to navigate a series of prompts only to leave a message? Do you have your lender’s cell phone number?  Do they get back to you quickly? You want a banking partner who is knowledgeable about your industry and understands the intricacies of your business.  As Bankers, our job is to listen to our clients, provide customized financial solutions, and help them get to where they want to go.

Does your banking partner help open doors for you?  What starts as a handshake at the beginning of a business relationship grows into valuable business connections and mutually beneficial business partnerships.  The goal is to build connections that open doors, so Bank clients can do business with one another.  These introductions are often the foundation of relationships that have proven very powerful, allowing clients to tap into the expertise willingly shared by other Bank customers who have encountered similar situations and possibilities. 

At Midwest BankCentre, we believe that the success of our community relies heavily on the success of its businesses through the possible help of a usda mortgage or commercial real estate loans.  For us, the pennant race is about seeing our regional communities thrive. That is the work we do in partnership with local businesses.

Where you bank matters.

Originally published in the Kansas City Business Journals Ask The Expert Column on 6/21/2024 by Trey Cunningham, President – Kansas City.