I have worked for the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region for the last 11 years, mentoring, assisting and connecting entrepreneurs to the knowledge and resources they need to launch or expand their business ventures. I’ve held some different positions over the years including being a small business lending officer for 6 1/2 years, but each role has required me to work through strategic planning with my client.

The saying that most businesses don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan is the truest statement I’ve ever heard. About 80% of the entrepreneurs that I meet with you don’t have a business plan, let alone a strategic plan that really defines what their idea is, how they plan to execute the business and the financial resources needed. That lack of planning often results in business stagnation, operational confusion and missed financial opportunity.

I stand behind one key belief. Your business is your baby! If you don’t raise it properly and nurture it, you are bound to fail. What does that mean? From day one of starting your entity BEFORE you start selling – you are creating something with an identity beyond yourself. Your business has a birth certificate “legal formation” and a social security number “EIN”, insurance, bank account and all the other small things that make someone “real”.

As the business operates, you need to guide it and frame its social interactions with your customers, its values, the knowledge it has and the resources it can utilize to grow. Your business plan is that guide and that road map. Creating a strategic document that outlines your operations, marketing and financial strategy helps you plan your business’s future. Adjusting, editing and updating the plan over time helps you stay on track of your business’s present progress and transitions.

In my position as Director of Training and Technical Assistance, I develop and execute entrepreneurial education opportunities, classes and resources to help entrepreneurs launch and sustain their businesses strategically. I’m highly passionate about helping entrepreneurs take those next steps and create strong, sustainable businesses.

The Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region is a private nonprofit organization and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that covers 11 counties in the upstate Capital Region and focuses on providing entrepreneurial training and loan financing within underserved communities to small businesses and Non-Profit organizations. In addition, we also provide investment opportunities for socially concerned individuals looking to support local community development by pooling their capital to make loans.

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• Website: communityloanfund.org
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