Biz-focused nonprofit to host financial conference

Eden Holt: Local Access to Money event is patterned after a similar one in Kansas City.

Chrystal Irons: Some business owners may not know how personal credit impacts funding their venture.

Travis Beazley looks to share insight on SBA loans at Springfield event.

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Businesses looking to launch or established ventures seeking additional funding can learn about financial opportunities available to them at a daylong event this month in southwest Missouri.

Service Corps of Retired Executives – SCORE – is organizing Access to Money, the first-time local version of the conference, set for Sept. 18 at the Efactory business incubator, 405 N. Jefferson Ave. Over 30 local entrepreneurial and finance experts are scheduled to appear at the event, which includes panel discussions, workshops, a pitch competition and a presentation from keynote speaker John Oke-Thomas, president and CEO of Springfield architecture firm Oke-Thomas and Associates Inc.

Eden Holt, events coordinator with the SCORE Southwest Missouri chapter, said the Springfield gathering is patterned after one that debuted in Kansas City last year. SCORE Kansas City hosted its second annual Access to Money in May.

“We are just expanding it into our market and to our region with the expectation that it will become an annual event for us,” Holt said. “Whether it’s not-for-profit or profitable businesses, we want to engage them with traditional banks or microlenders or even grants and/or other funding options with the focus on providing relevant resources that can apply strength to their business today so that they can then grow and develop pretty much immediately and can connect to those resources.”

SCORE, which is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, is a nonprofit organization that offers free consultation and advice to business owners. Holt said she will take over in October as local chapter chair, succeeding Bob Headlee. She also is the owner of a professional training and coaching business, The Connection Effect LLC.

Representatives with organizations such as Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri State University, New Growth Women’s Business Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Elevate Entrepreneurs, a program of nonprofit Elevate Branson, are among those scheduled to participate at the conference.

“We wanted to reach out to market experts, industry experts that have provided that support to attendees and help them connect with their target audience,” Holt said.

Sharing insight
Travis Beazley, senior vice president and loan officer with OMB Bank, is scheduled to be a panelist as well as a speaker at a breakout session focused on next round borrowing for businesses.

“It’s more for those who have had been in business for some time, have some experience borrowing, are looking to expand and are ready to take that next step,” Beazley said, noting the event also will have a session focused on first-time borrowers.

Chrystal Irons, Missouri SBDC director, is among those speaking in the first-time borrowers session. Additionally, she will cover first loan challenges in a separate session.

“It’s just helping borrowers understand how to be ready to go and visit with a lender about getting funding for your business,” Irons said of topics she plans to discuss. “Understanding the different pieces of funding for your business, understanding the repayment terms and how you can talk about those with a lender is really important.”

Irons said there are challenges some business owners might be unaware of, including how personal credit plays a part in funding your venture.

“There are lots of different types of funding available to businesses. Just imparting that information is important and different programs are more applicable at certain times,” she said, adding the pooling of a group of experts, including lenders, microlenders and business owners under one roof, is a value proposition to attend the event.

Beazley spoke earlier this month at a similarly themed Johnson County SBDC event.

“I love these events. They are super important because we can get out in front of people and talk about the ins and outs of SBA lending,” he said. “People just don’t realize, one, the resources that are available to them like SBDC or SCORE, and two, they don’t realize what some of the unique things you can do through programs like the SBA.”

SBA recently announced it is raising its small loan limit to $500,000 from $350,000, which Beazley said aims to encourage lending activity to smaller businesses. Beazley’s employer, OMB Bank, recently ranked No. 4 on Springfield Business Journal’s list of the largest SBA lenders to the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, approving over $5.4 million in loans for 2023. 

Make a pitch
Holt said the registration period has passed for the pitch competition, which consists of three categories: elevator pitch, new business and established business. She said there will be cash prizes of at least $1,000 for the winner of each category. Three finalist entries are expected per category with an additional grand prize for best overall pitch.

“The idea behind the pitch competition was really just to give a live audience for the competitors to share about their business and get them visibility to those community partners that are going to be in the room supporting them through that event or in the future,” she said. “The cash prize side of it is really just an incentive for them, kind of a reward for taking the time to put together their entry, submitting it and allowing the panel of judges to provide feedback on it.”

As for event registration, the $25 ticket includes breakfast, lunch and access to all panels and breakout sessions, along with the pitch competition. Holt said tickets will be sold until the day of the event and can be purchased at SCORE.org by clicking on the local workshops tab.

Holt said Access to Money will have plenty of content that speaks to established businesses, not just startups.

“We are bringing everyone into the room that potentially needs money or capital or funding at any age toward their growth and their development of their business,” she said. “While the registration is $25, it is invaluable to get a roomful of industry experts that might lead them to a grant that they’re looking for. Maybe it’s a new loan that’s just become available for people that have been in business for 10 years and in a certain industry or certain field of work. Maybe they didn’t know that it was out there until they walked into that room.”