Now that you made it to 1st base, (see my prior post) you will need to open a bank account and make decisions about your solopreneur credit card.
The most important factor should be convenience. Yes, you will probably get actual checks mailed to you and will have to deposit them some way. Many banks today allow you to scan the check in and deposit it that way. Unfortunately, if you have more than one (really, this can happen) it is very time consuming to scan in each check.
My personal bias is to find a “Small Local Bank” to do business with. The big banks are everywhere, but sooner or later you may need to borrow money to grow and expand your business.
When working with the “Big” banks as a small business owner, you will mean very little to the bank. The smaller banks cherish every customer.
Communicating with Your Bank
In this day and age, many of us prefer to do all business electronically and have little or no personal contact with the bank. This can be great until, you need something from the bank. What if you need a business loan to expand the business? If all your business is done electronically, the bank will know nothing about you or your business.
The Phil Juravel method of Banking
First find a small local bank that is convenient to you. Get to know the branch manager, tellers and everyone there. You never know, they could someday become your customer or client.
You need to grow and expand your business - where do I get the money? Assuming you are not independently wealthy, the most logical place is your bank for a business loan. To get this loan, you will need in most cases, to personally work with the branch manager of the bank. If you have never been in, they don’t know you from a hill of beans. But, if over time you have gotten to know them, they will already have a good idea what you do and have a pretty good idea what kind of person you are.
Here is where the Small Local bank will really help. If you have built a personal relationship with the banker, it will be much easier to get the loan.
Phil owns Juravel & Company, LLC, a full service CPA firm. He is an expert in accounting for small and medium sized businesses with clients ranging from “Mom and Pop” shops to one of the largest helicopter operators in the Southeast. (And, yes, Phil was at Woodstock in 1969!)
