Categories
General News

Meet Betsy Jourdan, Pinnacle Bank Mortgage Lender

Betsy Jourdan has been involved in banking since 1990, working as a teller, loan processor and eventually a management trainee. However, she moved into the mortgage side of banking in 2000 and continues to be fascinated by the process of helping someone into their new home. She joined the Pinnacle Bank team two years ago, and we feel fortunate to have her unique point of view on the staff.

Betsy JourdanWorking primarily on Athens and Monroe mortgages, Betsy loves the small town atmosphere in these communities. She feels she has the opportunity to truly connect with customers and successfully guide them through what can otherwise feel like a complex and stressful process.

Betsy and a real estate agent were recently featured in an Atlanta Journal Constitution article highlighting their dedication to pleasing mortgage customers.

“I 100% believe that we would not be in our home had it not been for Janice and Betsy. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, whether it was the weekend or a weekday, I could call, text and email them, and I had an answer,” the homeowner said.

With a background in the building industry, Betsy has strong experience in new home construction loans that turn into permanent financing.

Betsy and other members of our mortgage lending team were recent recipients of the 2015 O.W.L. Awards, recognizing their exceptional service.

OWL Awards 2015 mortgage
(Betsy Jourdan, third from right)

Living in Georgia since the age of 9, Betsy is a die-hard UGA fan. When she’s not cycling, swimming, running or rooting for the ‘Dawgs, she loves spending time with her husband and her two sons.

boyscoutsShe is an avid fan of Disney, and one of her sons has the pleasure of working there and keeping the magic alive for visitors to the park.

Betsy is also a supporter of the Boy Scouts (this photo is from a recent hike up and around Stone Mountain with the local boy scout Troop 81 from Monroe), Boys & Girls Club, a Walton County Chamber Ambassador, a member of the Pilot Club of Monroe, and Finance Council Chair at St Anna’s Catholic Church.

If you are interested in meeting Betsy Jourdan to discuss your mortgage needs, she can be reached at 770.464.4684 or via email.

Categories
Blog Business Managing Your Business

9 Lessons from a Small Business Owner

By Becky Brown, Consultant, UGA SBDC at Georgia Southern University

There is certainly no shortage of business advice out there, and I read just about everything I come across. But sometimes it leaves me scratching my head and wondering who exactly is the person giving the advice and have they ever actually owned a small business.

So as my gift to you, I am not going to give you advice. I am going to share some things I have learned as a small business owner for more than 20 years.

1. Activity does not equal profit.
Have you ever had a customer or employee say “wow, you are so busy, you must be doing great,” when in reality you are not making money? Unchecked activity can make your expenses soar to the tune of a loss. Specific areas to look at are payroll and cost of goods sold.

2. Deal with problems immediately.
Do not stick your head in the sand and ignore problems. This has always been difficult for me since I really don’t like conflict or confrontation. If you ignore a problem, it will get worse. This applies to employees, customers and suppliers. Hit it head on so you can quickly resolve it and move on.

3. Look for funding when times are good.
All businesses go through cycles, and the time to get a loan is when you don’t need it. Yes, it will cost you interest money, but it is difficult to find funding when you are showing a loss or having critical cash-flow problems.

4. Don’t skimp on professional advice.
Unless you are an attorney or an accountant, you will need one. I always thought I was smart enough to review and understand most legal documents, but I did not go to law school and I am not. Likewise with accounting. Tax laws change so frequently it is impossible for a regular person like me or you to keep up.

5. Positive net income doesn’t always translate into cash.

Your P&L looks great from an income side but you have no money. Dig deeper and look at your balance sheet and cash flow statement. Your cash could be tied up in inventory or accounts receivable.

Also look at your terms with suppliers. Many owners like to pay for goods up front. Don’t do it. Having net 30 or 60 is like having a short-term interest-free loan.

6. Do not hire yourself.
People gravitate to people who are similar to themselves. You need to hire people who have talents you do not, especially when filling key positions such as managers. I am a big picture kind of girl who doesn’t like to be bothered with too much detail or actual follow through once I have created something.

Know who you are and hire to complement, not duplicate, yourself.

7. Familiarity can breed contempt.
Small businesses often have a family feel between employers and employees. That is fine as long as everyone understands that at the end of a day it is a business. Due to lower wages, lack of benefits or other reasons, many owners just feel grateful to have any employees they can find.

Don’t be held up by your employees. No one is irreplaceable.

8. Take a breather when you can.
Whoever said “if I am going to work this hard, I would rather do it for myself than someone else” is crazy. You will never work as hard in your entire life as you will as a small business owner.
Take advantage of calm times to restore your sanity. I had an epiphany one day as I stood in my business and realized all was good at the moment and that I was only there because I felt obligated, not because they needed me.

If you need it, I give you permission to take the day off.

9. Think about your end game.
Clients think I am crazy when I ask about their exit plan as they are starting a business. I had an end strategy for every business that I started, and none of them included passing it on to my kids.

I realized they would probably not be interested, and guess what? They weren’t.

Categories
Blog Business Fraud & Security

Protect Your Business From Check Fraud

Positive Pay for Precision® from Pinnacle Bank is the most effective method available to protect your business against financial loss due to check fraud. As the fraudulent production of checks becomes increasingly easy, positive pay and automated account reconcilement services are critical to protect against fraud.

Overview

Positive Pay increases both the effectiveness and timeliness of fraudulent check detection over traditional systems, which rely almost exclusively on posted proof files to identify fraudulent checks.

With Positive Pay, we can better monitor and detect unusual or unauthorized disbursement activity by comparing paid items against issue information to identify any discrepancies. Our business customers can send us a file of their issued checks each day. In turn, they receive a daily notification of exception items, either by fax or through your online business banking solution. This enables them to send handling instructions and import new issues notifying us of possible fraud.

Business banking customers also enjoy the capability to download a paid item file on a daily basis, as well as provide us with a daily issue file detailing outstanding items. This helps control which checks are paid against their accounts, and guards against losses due to altered and counterfeit checks, as well as unauthorized items.

Key Features

  • Reduce fraud: Timely notification of suspect items reduces the chance of fraud
  • Streamline the process: Online posting and the Internet enable a more efficient process for handling fraudulent checks
  • Gain control: Customers gain increased control over the payment of checks
  • Provide reports: Enjoy convenient and extensive reporting capabilities

For more information on Positive Pay for Precision or other business banking services, please contact us.

Member FDIC