"All of us are guilty of the perception of what we think something is worth." - Scott Seegmiller, Vice President, State Bank of Arthur
Yesterday we went to State Bank of Arthur and sat down with Scott Seegmiller and Billie Bernius. But, this wasn't a typical tour. We spent the first half of our time there discussing our businesses with Seegmiller and Bernius, who was one of our bankers on Banker Day.
Seegmiller began by asking each student "What's the one thing [or hurdle] that surprised you the most?" as they started their business.
"I didn't see myself doing jewelry." - Aian Fryman, Ace Customs
"I'm still kind of figuring out pricing." - Gavin Helmuth, Kickstart Apparel
"The amount of documents and everything you have to do just to get your business going." - Brooklyn Gingerich, Brooklyn Studios
"Balancing personal time with business." - Brooklyn Gingerich, Brooklyn Studios
"Ratios - finding the right mix [of ingredients]." - Zoe Conlin, Zo's Essentials
"For me, it was social media." - Izzy Spracklen, Caring Arts by Izzy Anne
That led to an open discussion with Seegmiller and Bernius about working with small business owners, and the common challenges they see business owners face as they are starting out. Seegmiller commonly sees owners with great "outside the box" ideas, but who aren't the best business managers with budgets and marketing. Some of us are feeling that. Bernius often encounters business startups without realistic financial projections.
As for the challenges of pricing, Seegmiller pointed out that we all have our own perceptions of what something is worth, and sometimes that perceived value can surprise others. For example, a bakery client makes angel food cakes, which require 10-11 eggs per cake; and in this day of rising egg prices, that means each cake can cost $18 to make. That's more than the what the client had been charging per cake. But, at a recent show, they sold out of all of their angel food cakes, selling them for $23 each!
Seegmiller also advised students to find a "franchise product" - something that they can make quickly, that sells reliably, and has low production costs. (He credits that advice to a banker he used to work with.)
We did eventually start talking about the business of banking, and hit on:
- bank assets
- bank examinations
- bank products offered
- what to look for in a bank
- internet banking trends
- cash transactions, especially around payroll checks and an Amish community
Then, Heather Miller came in to talk to us about:
- opening accounts
- LLC and business accounts
- tips for managing accounts
- common banking fraud and scams
State Bank of Arthur has been a long time supporter of Illini Prairie CEO, and yesterday's visit taught us a lot, and had us thinking. Thank you to Billie Bernius for organizing the tour, and to Bernius, Scott Seegmiller and Heather Miller for taking time out of their busy mornings for us!
