It’s 50-year-old May tradition designed to recognize some of the most important people in America. It’s National Small Business Week, an annual event created by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to recognize America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.  With small businesses accounting for about 2 out of every 3 new jobs in the United States, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate.

This year, National Small Business Week took place May 5 – May 11. But at Avidia Bank, we’ve been celebrating the work of businesses all year long. To shed some light on Avidia’s commitment to businesses, Real Smarts sat down with our business expert, Stephanie Luz,  Business Banking Officer.

Real Smarts: Stephanie, is there a particular type of business Avidia supports?

Stephanie:  Actually, we support all types and sizes of businesses – from start-ups to well established ones.

Real Smarts: What’s unique about banking at Avidia? In other words, what makes business banking at Avidia tick?

Stephanie:  Well, we treat every business on an individual basis. That’s especially true when it comes to business lending. A lot of banks use grid lending, where a business has to meet certain requirements to qualify for a loan. We look at the entire picture to see if the loan makes sense from a business perspective.

We also have a level of personal attention you don’t often find with bigger banks. We will work with entrepreneurs and business owners to determine what might work for them.

We’re also extremely invested in the community and business organizations, including Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Clubs. I’m actually the President of my Rotary Club in Shrewsbury.  This allows us to understand the local business environment and help connect our customers to other resources to help them.

Real Smarts: In your role at Avidia, you talk to a lot of business owners. What do you think is their biggest challenge?

Stephanie: I actually had my own business for many years, too. I have to say it’s managing cash flow. They need to have money to purchase inventory. Avidia has a very robust set of products to help them collect receivables.  We have all the products the big banks offer, but with the personal attention that’s hard to find today.

Real Smarts: Stephanie, if a business owner or entrepreneur is interested in banking with Avidia, how can they contact you?

Stephanie: I encourage them to call me to see what we can do for them. I can be reached at 978-567-3636 or via email at [email protected].