After roughly a year with no formal branch manager, Suzanne Stearman took the reins Dec. 3 of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Springfield office. The Hastings, Neb., native leads a 28-county region with loan volumes on par with SBA activity in her entire home state, where she worked in lending for the SBA’s Nebraska District Office. During October and November – the first two months of fiscal 2013 – the Springfield SBA office tbacked 48 loans worth $12 million, keeping pace with last year.
Meet and Greet “I was (in Omaha, Neb.) for a little more than four years working as a lender relations specialist. In that position, I primarily worked with banks in Nebraska assisting them with the process of SBA financing for small businesses. I also gave presentations to lenders and small-business owners and any other entities that worked with small businesses. … It is kind of overwhelming at first. There are lots of new faces. Where I was, I was pretty used to all the people we worked with. Here, I am kind of dropped into a new area, new banks, new chambers of commerce, new resource partners. That’s my first challenge is just getting out and meeting everybody. … The other [challenge] is to assess the needs of the area, and find where I need to focus my attention most.”
Career Moves “I was looking for an opportunity to move up, and it is really hard in the federal government to move up without moving. Springfield opened up, and I checked it out. It seemed like a nice place to live and raise a family.
“I have a 3-year-old son and two twin daughters, so I had to take that into consideration. Plus, there are a number of outdoor activities here that we like to do – fishing, camping, canoeing, anything in a lake.”
Finding Her Way “Before I worked for the SBA, I was a government auditor … for probably about six years. Prior to the SBA, I worked at the Missouri attorney general’s office. … I had worked for a couple of different agencies, and I found in that field a lot of heavy travel was required. So, I got my (Master of Business Administration) at Columbia College, as I was looking to get out of auditing. Working for the SBA was the job I found back home in Nebraska.”
Daily Grind “I oversee two people, and I’m responsible for the 28 counties in southwest Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City district, which is the western half of Missouri and northeast Kansas. I work with lenders on business programs. I work with any other business development organizations. I also represent the agency, whether that is attending an event, giving a presentation or responding to media inquiries.”
Cash Flow is Key “We have the SBA loans, and there are various programs under that, but basically banks make the loans and the government guarantees the loans. ...
“SBA primarily looks at cash flow in the business. The business must show through historical financials, or projections for a startup, that (the owners) will be able to make their payment along with being able to service any other debts. The business must meet our eligibility criteria as we have several rules on businesses that we cannot make loans to. A business looking to obtain an SBA loan should meet with a bank to go through an eligibility questionnaire to make sure they meet the criteria. …
“This last year, that closed Sept. 30, was our second-highest year nationally, in terms of dollars. So, (the economy) does seem to be rebounding, at least in terms of SBA lending.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
