FNBA: Making It - The Community Issue

COMMON GROUND: How Kaladi Brothers Coffee became “CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY”

LETTER

FROM BETSY LAWER

successful businesses find ways to support their community. way in Alaska. This is especially true for successful business owners in the Great Land. And understanding a community’s unique needs goes beyond the usual questions every business owner answers before they open their doors.

In Alaska, a deep understanding of and commitment to the local community and its unique needs can have a profound impact on a business’ success. This understanding comes from living in the community and embracing its challenges—whether that community is a small village or a large city, or a collection of Alaskans with similar needs and desires.

Demonstrating community understanding can be as simple as doing the right thing at the right time. After the devastating 1964 Good Friday earthquake, my father D.H. Cuddy, as president of First National Bank Alaska, announced a new building project to demonstrate confidence in Alaska. He unveiled a plan to build eight additional floors of modern office space atop the bank’s drive-in branch in downtown Anchorage. The bank also put additional loan funds into the reconstruction of the quake-damaged area. He lived in Anchorage, raised his family and grew his business here. He knew that his friends, neighbors, employees and customers—his community—needed to see positive action in the wake of so much destruction.

Successful businesses find ways to support their community. Some offer alternatives to existing services so members have access to previously unexplored options. Others offer an everyday service or product in a different way. Still other local businesses like the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-Operative offer

Alaska Natives an opportunity to maintain their traditions and supplement their mostly subsistence lifestyle.

When an Alaska business understands and supports its community, the community and its members become more successful. The local businesses in this issue of MAKING IT are just a very few of such businesses in Alaska.

– Betsy Lawer

MAKING IT | ISSUE #3

cannery workers to business owners

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common ground

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knitting a piece of alaska

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a team that listenS

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Ask a banker

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ALICE ROGOFF | Publisher MAIA NOLAN-PARTNOW | Editorial Director JAMIE GONZALES | Editor VIKI SPIROSKA | Production Coordinator JOSHUA GENUINO | Art Director REJOY ARMAMENTO | DESIGNER Copyright © 2015 Alaska Dispatch News P.O. Box 149001 Anchorage, Alaska 99514

This publication was produced by the special content department of Alaska Dispatch News in collaboration with First National Bank Alaska, member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. The ADN news department was not involved in its production.

BETSY LAWER, CHAIR AND PRESIDENT, FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA

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Michael Dineen

COURTESY PHOTO

ocal knowledge goes a long

a Businessman named ‘survival’

PROFILE

ALBA’S COFFEE / KUSKO CAB

a

Working 24-7 to keep Bethel’s night crews running

by Kris Farmen

The businesses:

Alba’s Coffee and Kusko Cab

The lesson:

PHOTOS BY KATIE BASILE

Shpetim Dema is the only man in town who can make sure you have a warm ride to visit your relatives at the hospital and ensure the late-shift workers there have snacks and coffee to keep them going.

n 2011, Shpetim dema sold his pizza restaurant so he could focus entirely on Alba’s Coffee, the combination coffee house and convenience store he’d opened in Bethel the year before. But it was proving harder than he anticipated to make a go of it just selling sandwiches and coffee. There were several other businesses in Bethel just like his, and he was falling behind on his bills for lack of customers. Then he hit on an idea: None of the competition were open at night. He decided to try staying open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“When I was open at night,” Dema said, “for the first three or four months I had like one or two customers at night. I was about to give up and close.” But then, slowly, the night business started to pick up. Even in a small town like Bethel there are always folks who need a hit of caffeine at 3 a.m. The town’s biggest employer, the YukonKuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital was just a short walk away, and he started seeing a lot of nurses and other staff coming in. Then came cops taking a break from the night shift. Then the cab drivers started showing up.

Dema is of Albanian and Yup’ik heritage, and his name, he said in his thick eastern European accent, means “survival”. He was born in Anchorage, but spent most of his childhood in Albania, living with an uncle. He came to Bethel when he was 16 to visit his dad, who had made his living for many years as a taxi driver. Dema’s intent was to stay for a couple months, but like so many who come to Alaska for a short stay, he never left. His first job was working for the Alaska Commercial store, then he drove a cab for a while like his old man. Before long he opened the pizza place. Five years after that he started Alba’s.

“It’s not crazy busy,” he said of Alba’s, “because Bethel is a small town. But it pays the bills. I have two kids. I have a wife. So I feed my family.”

Still, this businessman doesn’t put all his eggs in one basket. When the owners of Kusko Cab decided to sell the business, Dema bought it with a partner. Kusko has the distinction of being the only Native-owned cab company in town; being half Yup’ik, and coming from a taxi-driving background, Dema was a perfect fit. Plus, the business came with a full crew of drivers. He does drive occasionally to fill in, but most of his energy goes into Alba’s.

Running two separate businesses can be a real challenge at times, but there is a long tradition in Bush Alaska of patching together a living from two or three different sources of income. Taxi cabs are a rock-solid business in Bethel. Gas costs six bucks a gallon, and you’re likely to spend more time idling your rig to warm it up than actually driving to your destination. Taxis are always warm, and at a rate of five dollars to go anywhere in town, it’s just more economical for many folks to take a cab.

Plus, with all the folks coming in from the 50-plus surrounding villages to shop or go to the doctor, there’s a ceaseless demand for rides.

And a lot of those drivers—both from Kusko and the other local cab companies—get their midnight mochachinos at Alba’s, which makes for a pretty happy circle.

Dema’s story is a classic tale of hard work and good old-fashioned American entrepreneurship, played out in the Y-K Delta. “Anything you do,” he said of his accomplishments, “if you’re there and you’re always open, and you’re dependable for your job, you’re gonna succeed.” o

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FEATURE

CAMTU’S SERVICE CENTER / ALASKA WILD SEAFOODS / CORDOVA TRANSPORT

CORDOVA COUPLE LAUNCHES THREE BUSINESSES TO SERVE FISH-CENTRIC COMMUNITY

by Suzanne Ashe

dream for a better life led Thai Vu

and Camtu Ho to the mouth of the Copper River 24 years ago.

Like so many newcomers to remote coastal Alaska towns, the pair found work at the canneries, processing local, wild-caught salmon.

Over the years, Thai and Camtu became ingrained in their new community and began to raise a family. They have three children: TuTrinh, who is now in her second year at Seattle University, Trisha, an 8th grader, and Tyson, a 5th grader.

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MAKING IT | ISSUE #3

Beyond their family and church obligations (they attend St. Joseph’s Catholic Church when schedules permit), the couple began identifying ways they could serve Cordova’s roughly 2,300 full-time residents, as well as hordes of visitors.

“When we came from Vietnam and could barely speak English, we started out working nights and winters, making clothes and doing odd jobs while working at the cannery,” Camtu said. “We did [this] to generate capital, so we could fulfill our dream and start our own market, Camtu’s Service Center.”

It took them about eight years to save, and by 1998, the couple was able to buy a building and

FEATURE

CANNERY WORKERS TO BUSINESS OWNERS

open a small market. Ten years later, they were ready to expand and serve more customers.

They built the Camtu Center, a 12,000-squarefoot business complex on Harbor Loop Road in downtown Cordova.

What may look like one business has actually turned into three: a market, a seafood wholesaler and a transport company.

Camtu’s Service Center is a thriving market where you can purchase just about everything from avocados to Xtratufs, lightbulbs to life vests. The main floor offers groceries, produce and household items. Upstairs you will find men’s and women’s casual and work clothing, as well as cosmetics, kid’s wear and novelty items.

Alaska Wild Seafoods employs 40 to 50 workers during the summer fishing season, in addition to the 10 full-time employees who run the other businesses year-round. “The fish cannery serves fishermen by offering early

purchase and high compensation for their fish and staying open when our margins are very low, so fishermen could sell silvers (coho salmon) and make a profit,” Camtu said.

“We provide wholesale seafoods—fresh, wild-caught Alaskan salmon to markets in the Western states,” Camtu said. “Last year we added on a new extension for our Alaska Wild Seafoods division. So, we have just over 15,000 square feet under one roof.”

Finally, there’s Cordova Transport, which provides freight and mailing services. Their delivery truck picks up and delivers items all over town. Cordova Transport also works with Ace Air Cargo, Ravn Alaska and Alaska Airlines for out of town shipping.

“For businesses and individuals living in a remote Alaska village, it is necessary to have not only reliable service for parts and products needed for business, machine repairs

and upkeep, but it is important to rely on fast delivery for parts and products needed,” Camtu said. For customers who order through air freight or via the overnight post office, Cordova Transport is on call to deliver items as soon as they’re received.

“Prices are kept at low levels to benefit the consumer, while we pay the highest wages,” she added.

What started out as working long hours for others and learning a new language in a new country, for Thai and Camtu, has resulted in a dream come true. Their efforts have paid off in a thriving center for the coastal community.

“We could see a need for all three businesses in the community,” Camtu said. “And we thought we would fulfill the need while benefitting the residents of Cordova.” o

when we came from vietnam and could barely speak english, we started out working nights and winters, making clothes and doing odd jobs...so we could fulfill our dream and start our own market...

The business:

Camtu’s Service Center, Alaska Wild Seafoods and Cordova Transport

The lesson:

PHOTOS BY BREANNA MILLS

Thai Vu and Camtu Ho worked hard to make their dream come true. Their hard work has paid off with a thriving center for their coastal community.

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SPOTLIGHT

alk into any Kaladi Brothers

Coffee shop in Anchorage and you’ll find friends sitting down to catch up over coffee, students busy with laptops and textbooks, executives taking meetings, travelers resting their feet and plenty of people chatting in line, waiting to catch a cup on the go.

That’s been the idea since the very beginning, said company co-owner and founder Brad Bigelow. Coffee brings people together.

“The thought was, ‘This cup of coffee can be shared by two people with totally different views, and over this cup of coffee, they can find some common ground,’” said company coowner Tim Gravel.

At Kaladi, “Catalyst for Community” is more than just a catchy slogan.

The retailer—established nearly 30 years ago—is now the state’s largest local coffee

roaster. When Gravel first began working for Kaladi in the early ’90s, though, times were tight and the future was uncertain. The business can trace its roots to a single espresso cart set up in downtown Anchorage. The young entrepreneurs did things for the fun of it; learning as they went and aspiring to create something that made them proud.

“We were a bunch of 20-somethings, just winging it,” Gravel said. “Kaladi has changed significantly since then.”

The company’s familiar catchphrase was born out of an early desire to serve more than coffee alone. “Catalyst for Community” quickly became Kaladi’s motto, marketing mantra and overriding corporate conviction. That idea drove business growth, Gravel said. Rather than fixate on financial success from the get-go, Kaladi poured its resources back into the community, donating time, money and coffee. It seemed risky

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL DINEEN

TY I N U M M O ILD C U B I D A L A Swann K D E Kirsten P y L b E EH E F F O C W HO

at first: Charitable giving can quickly chip away at a young company’s already-thin margins. But Kaladi stuck the course.

Then, everything seemed to fall into place.

Kaladi’s CFO and CMO, Dale Tran, has watched the business grow from a struggling startup to a prosperous, statewide enterprise.

Years ago, before he ever worked for the coffee roaster, Tran was Kaladi’s landlord at three of their locations. He saw the company struggle to pay its bills. When Starbucks began its own expansion, Tran was concerned for his tenants, but the scrappy local coffee shop stuck it out.

How? “I think most of the staying power was due to the brand equity in the community, mainly with ‘Catalyst for Community,’” said Tran, who began working for Kaladi in 2006. “When people make choices to buy things, they can buy brand A and brand B, and the determining factor comes

KALADI BROTHERS COFFEE

when you put the community first, they end up putting you first.

The business:

Kaladi Brothers Coffee

The lesson:

Community contributions and company culture are just as valuable as financial profit.

L TO R: DALE TRAN, MICHELE PARKHURST, TIM GRAVEL

down to, ‘What else do I get with it?’ With a cup of Kaladi Brothers, you get a great cup of coffee and you are supporting an organization that supports the community.”

Over the decades, the recognizable red goat logo has developed a reputation that’s hard to beat.

Kaladi has served steaming cups of free joe at countless community events, from the grand opening of a new wind farm to the commissioning of a U.S. Navy transport vessel to the production of a feature film. It’s helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for local nonprofits—Habitat for Humanity, Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, Food Bank of Alaska, Ma’o Tosi’s AK Pride, Kids’ Kitchen, the Children’s Lunchbox and others.

When the federal government shut down in 2013, placing thousands of Alaskans on unpaid leave, Kaladi’s top executives found out at about the same time.

“Simultaneously, we sent a text to each other saying, ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Let’s do it,’” Tran recalled. “We knew we had to be there for people who aren’t going to be working the very next day.”

Kaladi offered complimentary coffee to furloughed federal workers, serving approximately 1,000 free drinks on the first day of the shutdown. That’s just how the company works, Tran said. Kaladi doesn’t operate by the book—it writes its own.

“I think the spirit of Kaladi is that we recognize the need in the community,” Tran said. “It comes down to just knowing what to do at the right time.”

Today, there are more than a dozen Kaladi cafes scattered across Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula. They’re neighborhood hubs—places where people of all ages come to visit, relax and recharge. The company’s community

contributions have helped foster a loyal following among caffeinated Alaskans. Michele Parkhurst, who worked her way from barista to COO, calls Kaladi family. The coffee shop has a way of drawing people in and bringing them back, she said.

“The people who work there are fun, everybody seems to have a good time and you want to be a part of that, too,” Parkhurst said.

From a business perspective, that means focusing on a triple bottom line, where community contributions and company culture are just as valuable as financial profit, Tran said.

Producing premium-grade coffee is a big part of the equation, but the secret to success can be summed up like this.

“When you put the community first, they end up putting you first.” o

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Q&A

OOMINGMAK MUSK OX PRODUCERS’ CO-OPERATIVE

HOW OOMINGMAK MAKES THE MOST OF MUSK OX

by Stephanie Prokop

ach spring, the mighty musk ox sheDs

PHOTOS BY REJOY ARMAMENTO

underwool—qiviut—possibly the lightest, softest natural fiber known to man. Warmer than wool, softer than cashmere, qiviut protects the curved-horn mammal in Arctic temperatures across the tundra.

Oomingmak, the Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative in Anchorage, looks forward to the annual molt. The co-op, with director Sigrun Robertson, relies on this material to create cash flow for members—mostly Alaska Native women living subsistence lifestyles in remote villages.

Their goal is to buy 600-1,000 pounds of fiber, which can take between 2-4 years to acquire. After processing, members receive a supply of yarn to knit caps, scarves, stoles, tunics and nachaqs. Each handcrafted item is checked for quality, then washed, blocked, labeled and packaged for sale.

“Purchasing fiber and getting yarn can be a juggling act,” said Marie Texter, office manager of the co-op. But, she added, the organization purposely insulates members from all that, so they can concentrate on knitting.

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MAKING IT | ISSUE #3

Q&A

KNITTING A PIECE OF ALASKA

Q: but for those who can’t make it to alaska,

oomingmak’s online store (www.qiviut.com) is always an option, right?

A: Actually, many residents in Wasilla and

Palmer, and even Anchorage, like to use the website to place orders. But yes, we sell a lot to the Lower 48.

The business:

Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative

The lesson:

Q: are all items made of qiviut?

A: The Tundra & Snow line is 80 percent qiviut

There’s tremendous value in traditional knowledge and skill. Take an unassuming fiber, add artisan skill and business acumen and that’s a recipe for sustainable success.

and 20 percent silk. Everything else is 100 percent qiviut.

Answers from our interview with Sigrun Robertson have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: how did the organization begin?

A: It started in the late 1960s with the help

of John J. Teal, Jr., an anthropologist who came up to Fairbanks to work. He had the strong belief that one shouldn’t try to change environments, but work with existing animals. He organized workshops on how to knit this fine yarn, what he called a renewable resource.

Q: when did you get involved and why?

A: 1999. I was trying to find a job and instead

found a calling. I love what the co-op does, its mission to help the villages and the state.

All of the employees here believe in the mission. Our whole reason for being here is to help the members and meet the daily business needs.

Q: how has the co-op grown?

A: It started with 25 members and has

increased to almost 250 today, thanks to community outreach and word of mouth.

Each member pays a yearly fee and receives yarn and patterns in return. Patterns are copyrighted and never sold to anyone.

Q: are members required to knit a minimum amount of items?

A: We don’t have quotas, we don’t have time

limits. Last year, I think I did one piece.

But for some of the older ladies who do not have Social Security, this is their only form of income. So they knit a lot, every month, every other month. Some can easily produce 100 to 200 pieces.

Q: so, for folks looking for authentic

alaska, it’s at 604 h street in downtown anchorage?

A: Yes, if you have friends or relatives coming up from the Lower 48, bring them on by.

We’ll tell them all about the musk ox, and show them the village patterns.

Q: What are the differences in patterns?

A: Scarves are stories inspired by traditions

and location, perhaps where the tributaries flow in, or where ice forms and breaks into diamond-shaped pieces. The Harpoon pattern comes from a 1,200-year-old ivory harpoon head! It’s found on Nunivak Island, village of Mekoryuk.

Q: what financial benefits do members have?

A: Members are paid for every item, usually within 24 hours after we receive and inspect it. They are reimbursed for postage if packages are sent insured. Oomingmak pre-pays the Social Security and Medicare taxes for members, since they are considered self-employed. Also, a board of directors, which is elected by members, calculates an annual dividend. Members receive an extra check each year.

Q: What does oomingmak stand for?

A: It means “the animal with hair like a

beard—the bearded one or hairy one.”

Q: What ‘s next? what does the co-op need

from anchorage to continue to help others in their livelihoods?

A: Any purchase helps of course. But

Oomingmak will keep advertising in villages and ask residents to collect musk ox fiber. We also advertise in nationwide publications and visitor guides to get the word out. We are one of the major players, if not the major player in qiviut garments.

And pretty instrumental in bringing the awareness of this wonderful fiber to different people, since 1969. o

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PROFILE

ALASKA CENTER FOR NATURAL MEDICINE

The business:

Alaska Center for Natural Medicine

The lesson:

COLLABORATING WITH FAIRBANKS LOCALS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLNESS

To truly serve a community, you have to be part of it. For ACNM, that means being a regular at health fairs, hosting community wellness workshops and taking calls from Health Talk Radio listeners.

by Amy Newman

PHOTO BY TODD PARIS

eather Carmichael and Scott Luper,

founders of the Alaska Center for Natural Medicine in Fairbanks, came to Alaska in 2000 with a mission—to help Alaskans reach their full health potential.

Down south, Carmichael, a licensed acupuncturist, and Luper, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, both came from clinics where practitioners worked alongside one another, but they did not collaborate on patient care. The two Alaska newcomers were determined to do better.

“Our vision was to go back to that original model—a multitude of providers that worked together to treat patients,” Carmichael said.

They purchased the Holistic Medical Clinic, but in 2003 broke off and started the Alaska Center for Natural Medicine. Demand was so overwhelming that they quickly outgrew their original space and moved into their current location, a two-story, 10,000-square-foot space.

“It’s allowed us to expand our services a little bit more, and to hire even more providers who all complement each other in the type of work that they do,” Carmichael said.

Helping people extends beyond the clinic doors— the Center is proactive in helping the public improve their health as well. Luper hosts Health Talk Radio, which allows him to discuss a different health topic and often features guests from the medical community, every Saturday morning. The Center is a regular at health fairs, hosts community health workshops and provides on-site, no-cost chiropractic,

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MAKING IT | ISSUE #3

acupuncture and massage services to participants in several annual charitable runs.

The Center’s 13 providers—a mix of naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, a nurse practitioner, chiropractor and counselor—offer a balanced, holistic approach to medical care that uses both traditional and non-traditional treatments, though Luper said the Center is “actually quite mainstream.”

Holistic medical care differs from the traditional medical model in its approach to treating the patient, Luper said. Where traditional medicine seeks to alleviate the symptoms associated with a medical condition—prescribing medication to treat high blood pressure, for example—the goal of holistic medicine is to identify the root cause of the problem and treat the condition, rather than just the symptoms.

“We’re very conscientious at figuring out what’s going on with our patients,” Luper said. “We really assess what’s going on with people to get at the bottom of their condition, and we coach people on how to solve the problem themselves.”

That could mean diet and other lifestyle changes to help lower high blood pressure or reverse the onset of diabetes, or a combination of chiropractic care, acupuncture and massage to alleviate back pain, or acupuncture to treat migraines.

True to their original goal of creating a collaborative team, practitioners seek advice and input on patient care at weekly round table meetings. They also work closely with the patient’s other medical providers to coordinate care. The two approaches, Carmichael said, complement each other.

“We like working with other medical doctors so we can help patients get better,” she said. “All these doctors and providers working together actually works, and the patients really like it.”

Luper agreed.

“We’re well-integrated into the medical community,” he said. “We’re very sensitive to the big picture on helping people in a common sense kind of way.”

More than a decade since they opened their doors, the reality of the Center has far exceeded Carmichael and Luper’s expectations.

“My job is like visiting with my friends,” Luper said. “I get a chance to connect with people that I like, people who I care about. It’s very satisfying work.” o

ADVI C E

ASK A BANKER

Q: So, what’s the advantage of financing through a bank?

Entrepreneurs are often looking ahead, solving today’s

problems with tomorrow’s innovations. But in order to move from business plan to thriving business, there’s one hurdle every businessman and businesswoman must navigate: financing.

A banker is going to use the “Five Cs” to determine your creditworthiness. It’s worth your time to do a Five Cs self check before you hit up the bank. But don’t be shy about connecting with a local banker to answer your questions along the way— they’re comfortable as educators and willing to steer you toward additional resources to help you plan.

character

capital collateral

Can you put any assets on the line that guarantee you will repay your loan?

Land? Accounts receivable?

Equipment?

yours

This is where your small-town reputation might be an asset if there’s chatter about what an upstanding guy or gal you are. Are you trustworthy? Are you able to convey that to your banker?

What have you personally invested in your company?

Have you taken financial risks that show a commitment to your company’s success?

cs of

cred it

Yours

mine rainy day

TRA VEL

bank

conditions

Bankers will consider economic conditions—take a pulse on what’s happening locally and globally in your industry to determine if it’s worth the investment risk.

capacity

Q: Say you have a great idea for a business, but you don’t know how to get past the starting gate. Any advice or resources you can offer?

A: The Small Business Development

Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration are great places to start.

They can help you put together your plan and reach the point where you’re ready for investment.

Q: OK, I’m there. My business is off the

ground, but to really thrive, I’m going to need additional investment. What are my options?

A: For people who have a great idea, but not

a lot of capital, there are a couple routes you can take. The “Friends and Family” financing route is common—get mom, dad, aunts, uncles, siblings to invest in your idea. In exchange, you give them an equity share in your business.

You could also consider angel investor groups like the Alaska Accelerator Fund or the 49th State Angel Fund.

mine

the 5

BUSINESS FINANCING

Also referred to as “cash flow.”

How will you repay the loan?

Do you have recurring business income that will generate the cash?

Will it be sufficient to cover your obligations? Banks will favorably consider a healthy history of ontime credit payments.

Q: Are there any pitfalls to be aware of with that option?

A: The thing people don’t realize is equity

is very cheap up front, but it’s very expensive on the back end. If I lend to you just on basic bank terms, then you’ll pay me back my principal with interest.

But a lot of times, what an investor (family included) wants is equity in the business. It’s very cheap up front.

They might not even expect you to pay anything back for a year. But, at some point, investors are going to see a return and they’ll expect it to be at a premium.

Then again, sometimes it’s better to own 70 percent of a thriving company than 100 percent of a company that hasn’t gotten off the ground.

A: The difference is bank financing feels

difficult to obtain up front, but it’s less expensive in the end. All we want back is our interest rate and the principal.

In the real world, it’s rarely one or the other with financing. Most entrepreneurs put together a creative financing package that includes maybe their own funds, family funds plus bank financing.

First National Bank Alaska does offer a way to formalize payments with, say, a family member. Our escrow services are very heavily used in this state. This is how it works: If your brother lends you money, you can set up an escrow account at First National and make a payment to that account. The bank then directs that payment to your brother’s account.

The bank issues regular statements to document these payments.

Q: How do I make a good impression on my

banker when I approach him/her to talk financing?

A: We’ll consider the “5 Cs of Credit” when we talk. The important thing is to start the conversation. The deals I can help with are the deals I know about. I like it when someone comes in and they’ve explored all the different options and they say, “Here’s what I’m looking at.”

Q: I’m not a newbie, but I do think my

business might benefit from additional financing. What do you recommend?

A: Beyond start-up financing, bankers are

willing to talk with business owners about products that make sense for whatever stage they find themselves— growth, expansion, etc.

Come in and have that conversation—a business check-up—where you follow the cash to understand the needs of the business, find where there are gaps in the cycle, where there are needs. That’s what we’re trying to do as bankers; we’re trying to meet short-term needs, long-term needs and everything else in between. o

Chad Steadman, vice president of corporate lending at First National Bank Alaska, helped answer your questions about business financing.

For more information, visit FNBAlaska.com or call 907-777-4FNB (4362).

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We believe in community Alaska’s diverse cultures, industries and lifestyles make each of our communities strong and vibrant First National Bank Alaska believes in lending a hand and working together. Our roots in Alaska are deep.

Our commitment is unwavering.

We are Alaska’s community bank. We make fast, local decisions to help Alaskans succeed.

Learn how local knowledge and experience make the difference. Call 907-777-4362 or 1-800-856-4362.

Luke Fanning Southeast Regional Manager

NMLS# 640297

We Believe in Alaska

FNBAlaska.com