Separate your personal and business accounts
While both personal and business accounts can affect your access to credit, it’s important to keep them separate or establish a business account if you haven’t already. “The number one mistake people make is putting everything together into one account,” explains Roberto Arista, Business Development Officer at Wintrust. “For future access to credit, it’s essential that you have a separate business account with a separate tax ID.”
If and when it comes time to apply for a loan, a bank will want to look at what your business is generating—your revenue, expenses, business credit, and guarantors’ credit. Personal collateral can be used when applying for a business loan, and your personal credit (and anyone who owns 25% or more of the business) will also be taken into consideration, so it’s important to maintain both accounts.
Essentially, the bank needs to be able to see that your business generates enough income to make future loan payments. Establishing a relationship with a bank early on can help as well, because the bank already knows you and your business.
Seek out support
You’ve heard the phrase, it takes a village… Well, this can apply to business development too. With rising costs, economic uncertainty, hiring challenges, and so forth, any extra guidance can make a difference.
“One of the first things I ask new business owners is ‘who is your accountant or financial advisor?’” says Karen Canadas, Business Development Officer at Wintrust. “You’re going to want to have someone guide you through the whole process—developing your cash flow plan, your estimated startup costs, and projections.”
How Wintrust can help
Building a business isn’t easy, and the Wintrust team strives to provide responsive, personalized support every step of the way, often serving as guides for those navigating their journey. With a vested interest in your success and the communities we serve, we take the time to get to know you and your business. “We listen, ask questions—one question often leads to another—the relationship is never transactional,” Arista says.
Clients have a banker dedicated to them—someone who picks up the phone and calls them directly. “You know who is going to be contacting you,” Canadas says, explaining that new clients are often surprised by the level of service they receive. “I get a lot of, ‘finally, there’s a person I can talk to.’ They see that there’s a personal touch, and they’re happy to know they don’t have to deal with an 800-number.”
Our banks provide a best-of-both-worlds scenario with local branches and bankers specializing in personalized service and local investments, all powered by Wintrust to achieve robust lending solutions and extensive networks. We’re able to put our clients in touch with every aspect of operational needs, giving businesses a head start that aligns with their future goals.
Local connections count
Our team lives and works within the communities we serve, supporting local organizations and chambers of commerce. We’re committed to helping family-, women-, and minority-owned businesses grow—championing prosperity throughout the neighborhoods we call home.
Our success is your success, and sometimes that even expands beyond our banking services. “If it’s not through us, we’re still going to find a way to help,” Canadas explains. “We try to invite people to networking events to get them some exposure and help them meet people who could potentially help their business.”
“We try to serve as connectors—to broaden relationships—especially with startups,” Arista says. “Maybe we’re not able to help today, but we can recommend allies. For business plans, we have nonprofits we can refer you to—there’s always someone out there who can help you.”
There are free small-business resources that can be extremely valuable to those just getting started or expanding for new growth. The earlier you can begin gathering the right financial advice when making business decisions, the better.
Wintrust is here to ensure your business has a strong foundation—welcoming and encouraging entrepreneurship at the local level and providing access and opportunity. “All our clients receive responsive support, regardless of a dollar amount threshold,” Arista says.
“And we make it easy and work around your schedule. We can meet you at a local branch, at your place of business, a coffee shop—we come to you,” Canadas says.
See how we can help take your business to the next level and connect with a relationship banker today.
