On Thursday, the good people at 1st Source Bank partnered with the Small Business Administration and the ISBDC, the Indiana Small Business Development Center, for a conference regarding small business loans and finances. The meeting was held at the University Center in Portage. Not only that, it had a fully stocked breakfast bar.
The Business Over Breakfast meeting had one main focus, providing veterans with the knowledge they need to start their own small businesses. It was very clear that small businesses, veteran-owned or otherwise, are very important to the people at 1st Source Bank.
"1st Source has always been a strong supporter of the SBA," said Bob Ax, the Regional President of 1st Source Bank in the Valparaiso region. "We're very pleased to be a part of providing veterans with credit and helping them get their small businesses off the ground."
Many veterans and other small business owners, or prospective owners, gathered to listen to the information that these fine organizations provided. All of the speakers present were incredibly informative, each having valuable information for everyone in attendance.
"We at the U.S. Small Business Administration are very proud to have partnered with 1st Source in the hopes to help veterans create small businesses," said David Puls, the representative for the United States Small Business Administration.
The first speaker represented the United States Small Business Administration. He provided the attendees with information about the SBA and who to call for further details about the organization. Also, how capital and counseling are important for any small business. These topics stood out. Most people would assume that the importance of capital goes without saying, but without proper management a small business's money can dry up quickly. This is where the weight of counseling comes in. With proper counseling any small business has the opportunity to thrive. This idea of counseling seamlessly tied into the next speaker.
The ISBDC followed. This organization has been seen as a means to connect small business owners to the necessary people to get their business moving. Through their wide array of small business workshops, the ISBDC has been counseling business owners for quite some time now. They have also provided large amounts of important data to the people who need it. Everyone in the room was very engaged with what the speaker from the ISBDC had to say.
Next, 1st Source Bank presented the nuts and bolts of how small business loans work. A very detail-oriented presentation was given as the attendees listened earnestly. It was evident that the people over at 1st Source Bank know how to help small businesses in any way that they need.