Entrepreneurial Profile

I’m Paula Steigerwald and I’m the President and CEO of the Huntsville Botanical Garden and this year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary.

Opening in 1988, it’s 112 acres and we specialize in our native plant collections. We are standing in the butterfly house right now and it is one of the largest open area butterfly houses in the country, featuring the native butterflies of North Alabama. We also have a trillium collection that is second to none in the country. Largest number of species in the country and of course our native plant collection. Again, it’s a beautiful 112 acre oasis in the middle of Huntsville, Alabama.

We entered into what we considered to be a most transformational time of the Gardens life two years ago as we started a new project and we needed a partner who understood our business and Progress has been a wonderful partner with us with board representation and corporate sponsorship along the way. They understood us. They knew how important the Garden was to the community and they wanted to help us make this project a reality.

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Huntsville Botanical Garden, check out the Fall/Winter 2018 issue of Tools for Success.

I’m Mary Ila Ward. I’m with Horizon Point Consulting. We are a small talent management and development consulting firm. We focus on innovating the workplace through people engagement. We do a lot of things related to training, helping companies hire right and onboard and be able to select leaders that can bring organizations forward.

I wanted a bank that had a local feel where I could pick up the phone and talk to a person, not talk to a recording where I had to press a lot of buttons in order to get to someone and so those relationships that we have with the people at Progress were really important and continue to be.

They take a proactive approach to asking us about what our needs are and helping us anticipate our needs both in our personal banking and in our business banking and how those obviously corroborate with each other so it’s been great for them to anticipate some needs before we may even know that we need them and talk through those to see what’s best in terms of how to be successful with that. Just the mindset of entrepreneurial growing is important to us and we want to invest in places that value that too and Progress Bank is one of those places.

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Horizon Point Consulting, check out the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Tools for Success.

“I’m Cobbie Llewellyn and I own The Smocking Bird. I’ve owned it, it’s been about right at a year now and we are a sewing, supply and fabric store. We specialize in heirloom sewing. We offer classes once a month. We have beginner sewing and intermediate sewing. Also, beginning smocking, stacking and heirloom classes and then we also offer special classes throughout the year.

Progress Bank was recommended to us actually through our insurance agent. We set up a meeting. We met with Ann Hamider. It was actually a really easy process. There was lots of paperwork, but once we got that all in, the process was quick and smooth from there. I think somebody that’s easy to get in touch with. I have to call frequently and she’s always there and calls me back so somebody that you know will be there to help when you have any issues. That’s why having somebody with local branches and being close by was good for me.

Really one of my goals is to get more people to fall in love with sewing just like I love it and all my employees love it. We’d like to get some new customers that are just learning to sew. We’d love to have some fun and new events here at the shop that would just get people excited about sewing. We always are looking for new products and new fabric lines and that kind of thing to offer people just so it stays exciting for everyone.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about The Smocking Bird, check out the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Tools for Success.

“My name is Dr. Precious McGregor-Wiltz and I am the owner of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry. We’ve been in the Madison, Ala., area for about three-and-a-half years. I’m a general dentist and handle all age ranges from pediatric to geriatric patients. I love all facets of dentistry. We initially became introduced to Progress by opening an account at one of their local branches and are actually very close to my office. I started out with just a business account there, but I always found their customer service to be outstanding. From very small measures to “can we come pick up your deposits for the day” to “what services can we offer you to make your business easier from day to day.” And we liked them so much on the business side that we actually ended up getting our home mortgage with them as well.

We also have opened up a line of credit with Progress and they have been outstanding. They made all the processes very easy and seamless. Because they know us, they know us by name, they know us by face, they’ve always given us very personalized care and attention. More than anything, I’m excited about being in this location exclusively. For the past five years I’ve been an associate at another practice, but now since my business has been growing, I’ve been opening up more and more days at this location, I’ve hired more staff members and I’ve actually increased the number of operatories that I have in my practice. Progress actually helped us with that as well. They helped with our equipment financing so I’m excited to be here full time and to serve the patients of Madison.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, check out the Spring/Summer issue of Tools for Success.

“I’m Robin Wade and I design and build custom furniture in Florence, Ala. Andy Mann is the Progress market president in Florence and is just a unique guy. If he acts interested in you and your story, he really is. He certainly knows banking inside and out, but I just think of him as a good friend. He’s always there and is available, which is unique for a bank president.

I set a meeting with Andy to talk business and he met me at six in the morning before work and we got business done. I think Robin Wade Furniture wouldn’t be as comfortable about future growth without being able to bounce ideas and to plan ahead and just having access to his business knowledge whenever I need it. It’s comfortable to have somebody that I really trust and is knowledgeable so that I can ask questions. I would say that’s really the best benefit of having a banker you can trust.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Robin Wade Furniture, check out the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Tools for Success.

“My name is Ethan Couch and I am one of the partners in Yellowhammer Brewery in Madison, Ala. We chose Progress Bank because it was a local bank and I actually knew some of the bankers from my previous business dealings. I reached out to them and it’s been very friendly since the beginning. The customer service is what drives me to them and why we’ve stayed for so long. You go to the branch and everyone knows who I am and I can get things done a lot faster than with other banks. I’ve experienced them all and Progress is the one that I’ve chosen for us.
Clint Kirkman is our banker and I can call him and we can have lunch that day or I can call him up and say I just need to stop by and talk to you about this equipment purchase that we’re about make and he makes time for me. I know 10 people at the bank and it’s just really easy to get stuff done.
Without Progress Bank you wouldn’t see the growth of our business. It’s very capital intensive, so we’ve been able to take these large leaps by leveraging with the bank. And by building that trust with them, they’ve allowed us to grow and do bigger and better things as we grow. And it’s neat to watch Progress grow and as we’re growing too and as the community grows. Obviously what they’re doing is working and it’s making a difference in the community.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Yellowhammer Brewery, check out the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Tools for Success.

“My name is Suzan Boyce and I’m one of the proprietors here at Cotton Row Restaurant. Boyce Restaurant Concepts owns four restaurants in Alabama: Cotton Row, Commerce Kitchen, Galley and Garden and Pane e Vino. I originally grew up in California and graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara and started moonlighting. I worked at a restaurant at night and went to the university during the day and I just realized I loved being in the restaurant atmosphere. I love being around food and wine and hospitality and people enjoying themselves, so I moved to New York and pursued a culinary degree.

This building was built in the 1800s. It has been completely brought up-to-date. It was originally almost condemned, so we came in and tried to preserve the building as much as possible by keeping all of the pieces that are here. We gave it an air of modernness while trying to preserve a lot of the exposed wood and the brick. We dug out the basement bucket by bucket to create a wine cellar, so it’s been a labor of love. It’s an amazing building.

Progress Bank has been with us since day one. We probably would never have had this restaurant if it wasn’t for them. We partnered with them from the beginning. They helped us create this, so they’ve been with us every step of the way for every restaurant we’ve opened. They’re great supporters of us and the community. They are definitely our partners. We really couldn’t have done this without them.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Boyce Restaurant Concepts, check out the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Tools for Success.

“I’m Dr. Bhrett McCabe, a licensed clinical psychologist and a sports and performance psychologist at The Mindside in Birmingham, Ala. The Mindside was started as a place for professional athletes, collegiate athletes and amateur athletes to have a centralized training facility where they can work on the way that they go about their performance—to find their edge in their sport.

The hardest thing about a small business is not having a banking partner and there’s an old saying as people said when we were starting the business, “When you need the money there’s no one there, and when you have the money they’re all there.” If you’re looking for a banking partner, you need to feel comfortable having a conversation with somebody that you know is listening to you and will give back to you. That was one of the biggest pet peeves I would have when we were interviewing banks is that people would tell you a lot of great things in the meetings and then when you followed up, you never heard from them or what they sent you back was not specific to what your business needed.

We are growing at such a rate that we’re outgrowing our capacity on a daily basis, so I think there are two things that we’re going to do. We would like to build a new building and make it what we want. We need something that’s more functional, so we want to move into that and have more of a long-term investment plan. I think the other thing is to grow our staffing needs and to continue to bring in the highest quality teammates that we can to drive this business to a higher standard and reward them appropriately for doing that.

As we are expanding, knowing we have options from a credit standpoint is very helpful even if we haven’t used them yet. Being a provider of services can be scary. If you are out sick, the revenue may not come in, so having that rainy-day fund is nice. Also, being able to plan for a six-month or 12-month expansion versus a one-month expansion is important.  Sitting down with our banking partners and saying, okay, what are the right options to have here, are we doing this appropriately, are we overstepping our bounds or what do we need to get in place first is very helpful.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about The Mindside, check out the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Tools for Success.

I’m Will Brannon, the president and CEO of SCS Worx in Madison, Ala. The relationship we have with Progress Bank allows us to be ambitious and act quickly. Progress Bank is proactive about understanding our needs and when an opportunity presents itself we are already called to strike. Rather than having to go get our ducks in a row, Progress makes sure that our ducks are in a row, we are aligned with our goals and this company can be as ambitious and as aggressive as it needs to be, because we are all communicating and we understand what each other needs.

We were in a situation where we had the biggest deal we had ever closed, but there was a cash flow issue. I had to write a lot of checks before we got a dime. Patrick and our team at Progress were just able to hear our story and see it for what it was. We gave them the proof that they needed to make sure that everybody’s on the up and up, but very quickly after hearing our dilemma, they came up with a solution and they made that a very painless experience for us.

They’re proactive about the day-to-day, but even when we have something that could have upset the apple cart, it was business as usual. I know every day how big a check I can write if I need to.

Progress lets you put ideas into action and is so nimble. When we see an opportunity or have a good idea, knowing that we have the resources to be able to seize the day, to seize that moment, to seize that opportunity is key. A lot of times in the business world, he who hesitates is lost and when you’re an entrepreneur, being first to market, getting ideas pushed through, striking when the iron’s hot is really important and without a banking relationship like the one that we have with Progress Bank, that would be very difficult for us.

We move quickly and aggressively because Progress understands our mentality and they’re a partner in the truest sense of the word—we have the same goals. They want us to grow just as much as we do and they’re a partner in our success.

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about SCS Worx, check out the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Tools for Success.

“I’m Chris Lilly. I’m the Vice President and Pit Master at Big Bob Gibson’s Barbecue in Decatur, Ala., a restaurant that was started by my wife’s grandfather in 1925. I’m the fourth generation and I’ve got two sons in the business right now–Jacob and Andrew–one at each restaurant, so that is five generations of family-owned barbecue business.

I’ve been at Progress Bank since the very beginning, about nine or 10 years ago when they opened up. And the reason I went with Progress was because of the people. Some of my favorite people that I used to deal with went to Progress Bank and I followed along. For me, it’s more of a friendship, it’s a trust and you have to know them and they have to know you. The people at Progress know me personally. They know my restaurant. So I can make one phone call or one visit at Progress and they can take care of all my business needs and all my personal needs. And you know, that’s a luxury. I not only work here in Decatur, but I travel all over the country cooking barbecue in many different places and I’m not here all the time to go to the bank and take care of things. It’s nice to know that Progress is always there and knows me and my business so well. If something comes up and needs to be taken care of, I can do that over the phone. And that’s a luxury that I just don’t have with other banks.

I think Progress is good for entrepreneurs because they take the time to get to know the person and to know the business and they understand the business. They care about you and they care about what you’re doing and they want you to succeed. It’s not all about making money on their side. They want your business to succeed–they are there to back you every step of the way. Without a doubt, it would be my first choice if I was a young entrepreneur.”

The following is a transcript from a video testimonial for Progress Bank. For more about Big Bob’s BBQ, check out the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Tools for Success.