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Community Response: Oakley Brothers’ Distillery

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Community Response

So many small businesses are struggling through the “new normal” after the outbreak of COVID-19. Here at Bankable, we are doing our best to provide as many resources as we can. We are starting a new series of blogs where we focus on clients who have shifted their product into something new. Here is just one story:

Oakley Brothers' Distillery

Just like many small businesses, Oakley Brothers’ was caught off guard by the mandatory closing of all gathering spaces. In the beginning, the distillery closed its kitchen and stopped allowing patrons to congregate in the tasting room and started to focus more on bottle sales. Then, Oakley Brothers’ saw how they could help when it comes to mass shortages of sanitary products.

Oakley Brothers’ found a way to make FDA approved hand sanitizer from scratch and started to give it out to the public for free. “At first, we were just trying to keep up with the demand,” Lisa Oakley, Controller, shared, “we couldn’t keep up so we started asking for monetary donations as well as donations of ingredients and other supplies. We were extremely lucky that people reached out and helped us keep the process going.”

The distilling team at Oakley Brothers’ has been a big part of getting this project up and running. “Our distilling team has been working around the clock to produce more alcohol as well as donating their time,” Oakley stated, “We couldn’t ask for a better work-family.” Because of Oakley Brothers’ hard work, they have been donating to different groups around the community from nursing homes to law enforcement and even to individuals. Oakley Brothers’ is truly living its philosophy of “every aspect of what we do is built on a foundation of pride and passion.”

Make sure that you check out Oakley Brothers’ social media pages to see when they will be releasing more hand sanitizer to the public.

Community Response: Circle Kombucha

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Bankable's Response

So many small businesses are struggling through the “new normal” after the outbreak of COVID-19. Here at Bankable, we are doing our best to provide as many resources as we can. We are starting a new series of blogs where we focus on clients who have shifted their product into something new. Here is just one story:

Circle

Circle first saw the effects COVID-19 by the numerous cancellations across their clientele. They are used to selling kombucha out of farmers’ markets, partner locations (like dine-in restaurants), and other community events. This led them to have to reevaluate their business structure. Now, they offer pre-orders for pickup from their facility. Komal Sheth, Manager of Marketing and Culture, stated that “we are committed to supporting our community in any way we can right now by offering enjoyable, accessible, and nutritional beverages through our curbside sales.”

There was a new mission in all of this. It was to give back to the people on the frontlines: the healthcare community. Circle is founded on four pillars: health, taste, community, and environment. For every three cases that are bought, Circle has promised to donate a case to healthcare workers. Curbside sales launched for the first time last week, and they were able to donate 33 cases! They distributed to six healthcare providers such as IU Health, Methodist, Community East, Eskenazi, St. Vincent, and one other small healthcare clinic.

This idea stemmed from how many hospitals already carry Circle and they recognized that hospitals currently need all of the help and supplies they can. Sheth ends with sharing that consumers can do their part by staying home, being balanced, and shopping local when they can because giving back to the community is important: “It’s a full Circle and we’re in it together.”

How to Support Circle:

  • Check out more about Circle here!
  • You can pre-order any kombucha to be picked up on Saturday.
  • Lastly, Circle has a list of all of its partners who are being affected by COVID-19. Check out this list to see other local businesses that need support.

Brand Consistency

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How To Be Recognizable

Running a small business is hectic. Business owners are responsible for so many different things between keeping track of expenses, selling products, forming decisions about how to continue to grow, make money, etc. The list goes on forever. So, it’s not surprising that small businesses put little time into their brand.

As a graphic designer, my goal when working with clients is always to help them create a cohesive brand, but what exactly does that mean? How can a stressed-out business owner accomplish this?

First of all, let me explain what I mean by a cohesive brand. You know exactly what they are, you just might not know it yet. A few great examples are Target and McDonald’s. These brands are consistent and recognizable. Their message is always the same and you know it’s a McDonald’s ad even if their logo isn’t present. These brands have a few really important things in common, and I think that small business owners can learn a lot by taking a quick (I promise we’ll make it fast) look at how these successful companies market.

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The first thing these successful brands have in common is that they know their audience. They understand their typical customer and they know the type of people they want to attract. They target their audience through the colors and with the messaging of their ads. Target, for example, uses its logo in fun ways, typically with people who are unique and enjoying life. Their target markets are families and young adults and they target that group of people by being trendy and highlighting that their products are worth the expense.

Once a successful brand establishes a logo and colors that they think appeal to their target audience, they are consistent. They don’t change their colors or their messaging every couple of weeks when their favorite colors change. This is where the brand personality and voice come into play. People start to recognize a brand when they hear the same thing over and over. Have you ever seen an ad where McDonald’s used colors other than red and gold as their primary colors? The McDonald’s brand colors have been introduced and then reiterated over and over again since each and every one of us started watching TV or looking at billboards. They have been consistent for decades and the results really show.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, you don’t have the reach of McDonald’s and you still feel like you don’t have time to add another thing to your to-do list. I hope what you take away from this is that anytime you show off your brand, whether it’s on your website, on social media, on an advertisement, or on your storefront, that you think about keeping it consistent. It may not seem like a top priority, but it can really go a long way. You don’t completely change your personality every time you meet new people, so why should your brand?

Bankable would also love to be a part of your journey to brand consistency. Feel free to reach out to your point of contact, check out our Growth Ready program, or email us at marketingadmin@bankable.org.

Written By: Haley Heath, Graphic Designer

Google YOUR Business

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Picture this: you’re in a new city for the day and looking for a comfortable coffee shop to work remotely. Likely, the first place you’ll turn to is Google/Google Maps to get a search of shops in your area. What are some of the characteristics you take into account when choosing a spot? Is it the reviews, proximity, photos, or if they make your go-to-drink: a large white chocolate mocha?

Your customers are doing the same thing for your business. 97 percent of people found out more about a local company through the internet in 2017. This means your small business needs a presence online if you want to take advantage of that visibility. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fancy term for how visible your website is when someone searches a topic and has been proven to have a better ROI than social media, yet many dedicate less time to it comparably.

Google My Business (GMB) is a user-friendly platform that helps put your website at the top of someone’s search (on Google specifically). The better maintained your online presence is here, the more likely your page will be found and the more traffic you will have at your business. This is a great place to start for someone with limited time, money, or experience with SEO. This is free, takes less time, and requires less SEO understanding to make your business stand out.

Benefits of Google My Business:

  • Accuracy- When you claim your business on Google, you are in control of the information displayed. When a potential customer searches for your business, you don’t want a lack of a phone number or store hours to be the reason you don’t get their business.
  • Online Presence- Registering your business allows it to appear in Google Maps, as well as in searches when someone is looking for something similar to the product or service you provide.
  • Build a Reputation- Not only will your business information show up when someone is considering you, but Google reviews will accompany it. A high review rating gives customers confidence that you are the right choice for them. Just think about how you shop online – how influential are the reviews when making your decision?
  • Increase Engagement- When your business information is in more places, more eyes will see it. Consider adding this to your arsenal of advertising tactics and measure its engagement success like anything else. You might be surprised by how effective it is.
  • Free Stuff!- This makes GMB a no-brainer. Marketing your business any other way will come at some cost to you. All this requires is your time. What do you have to lose? If you ignore it, you’re saying “no” to one of the largest companies in the world offering help.

This can certainly be intimidating. You may be wondering where to start. If you’d like, our team at Bankable would be more than happy to help our clients with this sort of thing. Reach out to your loan officer or point of contact and we will help you set up your own GMB profile.

Check out another blog about GMB we wrote: https://bankable.org/guide-to-google-business-profile/

 

Written by: Caleb Sorrell, Digital Marketing Specialist

Give Me All the Money: How to know that you are asking for the right amount

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You find Bankable’s website and see that you can apply for a loan of $250,000. Wow, your mind is racing with all the ideas and possibilities of how you could spend that money. You think to yourself, “I could buy that building, pay off that line of credit, rebuild my website, etc”. Sure, you could apply for that full $250,000 and see if you get lucky, although luck has nothing to do with it. Instead, you could take the following two factors into consideration before deciding how much financing your business really needs. 

First, think about what your business really needs money for (sounds obvious, right?). While working capital is a legitimate need, it may not be helpful to pay interest on cash that’s just sitting in your bank account. Strategize what will actually help your business and provide a long term solution. If you aren’t sure what could be a strategic use of funds, Bankable would be happy to give you some feedback before you apply!

The most important factor that should influence your loan amount is your global cash flow. Global cash flow includes your personal and business cash flow. Your business cash flow will tell you how much cash goes in and out each month and how much of your ‘net income’ is actually cash left to use. If you have $10,000 left at the end of the month after expenses, but add back in your depreciation expense of $5,000, then your business could afford a $5,000 monthly repayment easily. However, you need to know what your total debt service is. If you already make $10,000 in loan repayments each month, then you should not get a loan amount with a $5,000 repayment because your total debt payments will eat all your cash. If you want to understand more about global cash flow, here is a quick read: https://claytonmckervey.com/global-cash-flow-importance/

The same goes for understanding your personal cash flow. If you own more than 20% of the business, you will likely be signing on the loan with a personal guarantee which is very common. Sometimes being asked to personally sign on a business loan is surprising to people, but really it’s almost standard anywhere you go. This means that if the business can’t pay the loan back, then the signer is personally liable to make payments. Because of this, we look at your monthly income and your monthly expenses. In general, we add an additional $500-$1,000 to your credit report payments. If you have a high enough salary to support yourself but not to have extra spending money, then think about how you would be able to pay the loan back if your business is not able to.

Now you know two important factors when you are trying to determine the loan amount to apply for, and that Bankable certainly looks at them in the credit analysis process. Of course, this is not a free ticket to getting your loan with any lender as underwriting involves so much more. So don’t be surprised if for one reason or another you are approved for a different loan amount than what you applied for. Regardless of the loan amount, Bankable wants to establish a relationship with your business so it can then help strategize how to get your business ready for traditional financing.

Written by: Emily Franks

Make Tax Time a Breeze for your Small Business

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What a small business should do before visiting their CPA

As soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the countdown begins for thousands of small businesses to file their W-2’s, 1099s, and ultimately their State and Federal Income Tax Returns. More often than not, taxes are an afterthought to the daily requirements of running a business and tax time is a frantic stretch of weeks gathering documents and answering dozens of seemingly unrelated questions. 

What can you, a small business owner, do in advance of this hectic time? What can you do to reduce the cost and headache of filing your taxes? 

Here are four things you should do before even handing your documents over:

1. Read your engagement letter and organizer.

Yes, I mean that pesky long letter your tax accountant sends out every Fall. It never gets shorter. Some years it’s as thick as a book. Besides describing the legalities and limitations of the work to be done, this long letter often lists the information an accountant needs in order to properly file your return. It’s like an instruction manual, laying out the pieces required to put a puzzle together and telling you how it’s to be constructed. 

If you provide your accountant with all the necessary pieces of the puzzle (your business and financial information) the puzzle (your return) will be solved quickly and without mishap. Read the letter and learn what is expected of you. Carefully gather the information yourself. Don’t pawn it off to your employee who doesn’t know squat about your business’s financials.

2. Clear up your books.

Tax professionals are not auditors. They prepare tax returns based solely on the information business owners provide. Make sure you prepare accurate and understandable records. Don’t provide a copy of your books with negative liabilities or cash balances you know are wrong. This will cost you more in the end because your accountant will have to take more time to clean up any messy bookkeeping. If you don’t know how to correct an accounting error but are aware of its existence, let your accountant know so they can address it quickly.

3. Provide Documentation.

You can never provide too much documentation. If you purchased equipment or property, provide the receipts or the financing agreement. Also, provide an adequate description of what you bought. If you closed a loan, provide the closing documents and determine your outstanding balance was as of 12/31/2019. Be sure to separate your payments between principal and interest, otherwise, you will miss out on a deduction. Here at Bankable, we are often called upon to give this information and are more than happy to provide it.

 If you were required to issue 1099’s, provide your copies for confirmation and reference. 

Gather these documents as you make the transactions and store them in one folder. When tax time rolls around, you won’t have to wait until your accountant asks for them. Instead, show your accountant up and save some billable hours by delivering the support in advance.

4. Be ready to explain changes.

Your tax accountant is not all-knowing. They only know what you tell them this year and what you told them last year. Your return will be prepared in the same manner as last year unless you inform your accountant otherwise. Perhaps you added partners to your business this year or started a new line of products. These events could require significant changes to your return. For example, if you were a sole proprietor and then added a partner, this would necessitate an entirely different tax return!

Make a list of all the important changes and trends in your business and industry before meeting your accountant. Things that could appear trivial might have a noticeable impact on your return and ultimately your tax bill. 

Be preemptive in explaining variations in your profit and loss statement and balance sheet from last year’s numbers. If your inventory is larger than last year’s inventory, write a note explaining the reason why this happened. This alerts your accountant to the fact your COGS may be lower than last year and prevents your accountant from having to call or email about the change. Other changes worth telling your accountant in advance include:

  • Chart of account alterations
  • Business and owners’ address changes
  • Fringe benefit changes
  • Hiring or firing employees 
  • Shifting employees to contractors

Accountants often bill for every six minutes they spend working on your return. How much time does it take to write an email? At least six minutes. This means every email or call they make to you is being added up and charged. Do a favor for both you and your accountant: prepare in advance.

News flash: April 15 comes around every year. As a small business owner, you can read your accountant’s engagement letter and organizer, clear up your books, periodically gather documentation, and keep notes on key changes before taxes are due. Every year. If you do these four things, you will feel ready to meet the demands of your accountant and will ultimately save on preparation fees and even taxes.

This is how you make tax time a breeze. If you would like further assistance with your taxes, please email us loans@bankable.org. We would love to help.

Written by: Danielle Deal

If you would like some more sources on how to be best prepared for tax season, here are just a few:

Bankable is a nonprofit organization that is focused on the economic development of Indiana communities through the creation, growth, and sustainability of jobs through small businesses. This is done by equipping under-served small businesses with capital solutions, business development resources, and meaningful mentorship so they can become bankable. Started in 2010, Bankable is a certified SBA microlender, SBA Community Advantage Lender, and a CDFI.