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Smarter Marketing for Small Town Businesses

From an original article by Young Entrepreneur Council, INC.com

At first glance, building your brand in a small town may seem impossible. Without instant access to the crowds and competition of a big city, you may feel like your brand will go unnoticed. Not true — here’s how entrepreneurs have turned the common small town experiences into powerful marketing strategies:

1. Everybody knows everybody — so reach out to your civic leaders
2. Show how much you care by investing back into the community
3. Use geo-targeted social media to bring the crowds to your door
4. Business owners always need help; join the local chamber and develop relationships

Read the full article to learn how to give your small town business major staying power.

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General News

Meet Dewayne Stone – A New Member of Our Mortgage Lending Team

Dewayne Stone 8889 officialBorn and raised in Georgia, Dewayne Stone has a deep passion for putting his client’s needs first. He brought that passion to Pinnacle Bank because of their commitment to remain professional, accurate, and honest within the communities they serve.

Prior to joining the Mortgage Lending team, He spent 20+ years in the IT and operations management industry where he acquired the keys to build successful relationships in business. He’s excited to bring a new perspective to the team, as well as to help clients understand and
choose the Pinnacle Bank mortgage option that will best suit their needs.

He currently resides in Suwanee, GA with his wife, Keri, and their three children: Rachael, Amelia, and Jake. His family keeps him going 24/7 but playing tennis is one way he loves to spend his free time. Most often, you’ll find him watching Jake play baseball, cheering on any sporting event, or relaxing with quality family time.

He services mortgage loans for the communities in Gwinnett, Jackson and Clarke counties. If you need a responsive and resourceful loan officer in these areas, give him a call at 706-286-1362 or email him at dewaynestone@pinnaclebank.com.

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General News

Pinnacle Financial Corporation to Acquire Independence Bank of Georgia

Elberton, GA and Braselton, GA— Pinnacle Financial Corporation (“Pinnacle”), the parent holding company of Pinnacle Bank, and Independence Bank of Georgia (“Independence”), today jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Pinnacle will acquire Independence in a 100% cash transaction valued at approximately $32.8 million.

Management of each bank believes that the combined bank will achieve greater scale and diversity in markets, products and management compared to either bank as a standalone. The customers and shareholders of each of Pinnacle and Independence will benefit from the combined institution’s greater footprint and scale in the northeast Georgia communities it serves.

Independence operates two banking offices, one in Braselton and another in Gainesville, Georgia and will add approximately $184 million in assets, $136 million in loans, and $151 million in deposits to Pinnacle. Upon completion of this transaction, Pinnacle will have approximately $869 million in assets, $545 million in loans, and $757 million in deposits, based on financials reported as of March 31, 2016.

Commenting on the announcement, L. Jackson McConnell, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle, said, “We are excited to announce the combination of Pinnacle and Independence. This transaction will allow us to partner with an excellent financial institution that shares our commitment to serving our northeast Georgia communities. Our partnership with Independence furthers our strategy of targeted expansion in growing markets such as suburban Atlanta and continued organic growth in our current markets. We view the acquisition of Independence as a natural complement to our current growth initiatives and to be an opportunity to deliver our core services to a greater number of community bank customers. We look forward to welcoming our new customers, employees, and community members.”

Terry C. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer of Independence, added, “We’ve known the Pinnacle leadership for many years and are delighted to partner with a bank that has served its customers and communities with distinction since 1934. Our customers will benefit by a significant expansion in the markets served by the combined bank, as well as the greater breadth and depth of products and services that can be offered as part of this combination. Pinnacle is a true community bank, and decisions will continue to be made locally by bankers who have a vested interest in our customers’ businesses and communities.”

The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016, has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and approval from the shareholders of Independence. After the merger, Mr. McConnell will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle and Mr. Evans and Sid Chandler, a senior lending officer at Independence, will have leadership positions within Pinnacle, with the primary responsibility of overseeing the communities currently served by Independence.

Pinnacle was advised in the transaction by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey as financial advisor and Bryan Cave LLP as legal counsel. Independence was advised in the transaction by Banks Street Partners, LLC as financial advisor and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP as legal counsel.

About Pinnacle Financial Corporation

Pinnacle Financial Corporation is a single-bank holding company headquartered in Elberton, Georgia. Chartered in 1934, Pinnacle Bank has offices in Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Jackson, Newton, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties, Georgia. Pinnacle is a locally owned, independent community bank and offers a wide range of financial services. Visit www.pinnaclebank.com for more information.

About Independence Bank of Georgia

Chartered in 2008, Independence Bank of Georgia is a locally owned, independent community bank providing personal and business banking services through its banking offices in Braselton and Gainesville, Georgia. Small business banking is at the forefront of services offered at Independence. For further information, visit www.ibankga.com

Additional Information about the Merger

In connection with the proposed merger, Independence will prepare a proxy statement for a special meeting of Independence’s shareholders to approve the merger. It is anticipated that the proxy statement and other relevant materials (when they become available) will be mailed to shareholders in the third quarter of 2016.

Shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement and the other relevant materials when they become available before voting on the merger.

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Blog Business Managing Your Business

Seasonal Workers – How & Who to Hire

From an original article by Dona DeZube, Monster.com

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By “focusing on the mindset of today’s Millennial workers” you can boost your business ahead in the competition for summer workers. Monster.com (the global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need them) shares 5 cost-effective strategies to attract the best candidates for seasonal help:

1. Research competitors’ pay
2. Look for ways to make the job fun
3. Offer a flexible schedule and make it easy to come back 4. Tell applicants what’s in it for them
5. Differentiate your organization from the competition

Read the full article to get the detailed strategies for hiring seasonal workers.

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Blog Business Managing Your Business

Top Productivity Tips from Small Business Owners

From an original article by Erin Myers, Outbound EngineToDo

 

 

 

 

 

As a business owner, you know that quality trumps quantity when it comes to your products and your people. But it can be easy to forget that the statement applies to you and your time, as well. Once you’re up and running it’s crucial to reign in your workweek. Below, small business owners share their top tips for time management and productivity:

  1. Recognize and schedule around your “Personal Productivity Fluctuations”
  2. Find creative ways to limit distractions
  3. Limit your priorities
  4. Learn the art of delegation by automation
  5. Stop the judgment

Read the full article to learn how to make these business owner productivity tips work for you.

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Blog Business Growth & Capital

Grow Your Small Business with These Tech Tips

From an original article by Steven Scheck, Small Business Trends

Just when we’d gotten the hang of all the wires and plugs and switches, it changed again. If wireless technology has left your business at loose ends, now is the time to zero in. Understanding these four technologies can help you plan better, reach more customers, and reduce your daily to-dos.

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Here are 4 tech tips to help your business grow:

  • Utilize the Power of the Cloud
    “ … the cloud not only eases the workload but also increases productivity and coordination, facilitates mobility and reduces expenditure … [and can] reduce the chances of loss of important data significantly.”
  • Harness the Potential of Social Media
    “The number of active social media users has been found to be a whopping 2.307 billion. … On social media you can promote your services and products, enable buying options directly from social media platforms [and] gather customer feedback.”
  • Leverage the Scope of WiFi
    “Providing free WiFi to your customers opens up the opportunity to build quality networks and accumulate valuable data regarding your clients’ online behavior.”
  • Track of Your Progress
    “Numerous technology tools can help boost the performance by identifying what doesn’t work and providing the right reinforcement to keep things up and running.”

Want more? Read the full article and learn how to take advantage of the four technologies that help grow small businesses.

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Blog Business Fraud & Security

Security Tips To Keep Your Business Safe While It Grows

Small businesses are at an increased threat of having valuable information or property stolen as criminals are getting more sophisticated at breaking down larger and more complicated security systems. Here are four steps you can take to protect your small business. 

1. Update and Upgrade Your Physical Security Measures. 

  • Change the locks and bolts on your physical location.
  • Invest in a fully monitored alarm system with a team who responds immediately.
  • Install security cameras that can be monitored remotely. The same technology that allows you to check in on your dogs while you’re away can also catch and record a perpetrator breaking into your business. 

Sometimes, installing these kinds of systems is enough to discourage break-ins. 

2. Perform proper security checks on vendors. 

How well do you know your vendors, especially the ones who need to enter your building? You may be diligent about running security checks on your own employees, but how do you know your vendors do the same? To be safe, you should run the following checks:

  • Security checks on any vendor personnel with access to your business
  • Vendor credit history 
  • Vendor BBB rating 
  • To get an idea of what it is like to work with the vendor, look at their online reviews. 

3. Protect Your Data 

Protecting your data doesn’t have to be a hassle. All you need to secure your information is a cybersecurity system that makes it a hassle for a hacker to gain access. There are plenty of small businesses out there who do nothing to protect their data. A hacker is much more interested in breaking into their nonexistent security system than yours, which will take up too much of their time.

If your business transfers sensitive information from the company’s server to a remote server, then you also need to look into using a VPN to secure data transmitted online. This ensures a secure connection between you, the sender, and the recipient. 

4. Shred it! 

It’s important to shred (and recycle) relevant physical documents, but did you know that you now can ‘shred’ digital data? You can! Software now exists that allows you to shred digital information, ensuring that the ‘shredded’ data is erased and irrecoverable. 

As criminals get savvier, businesses must stay one step ahead. Update your security measures by following the above steps and sleep easier at night knowing your businesses information is safe. 

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Blog Business General News

Discover the Benefits of Our CashFlow LEASE® Program

In a continuing effort to help drive the success of our business customers, we are pleased to offer an in- house equipment leasing option. Adding CashFlow LEASE® to our catalog of commercial loan products means you get the benefits of traditional financing plus the ability to customize terms to the needs of your business.

CashFlow LEASE® helps reduce the risk of acquiring equipment. With this program you can lease as they grow to upgrade equipment as needed and cut back on up-front costs.

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Choosing CashFlow LEASE® provides several benefits to you and your business:

Maintain liquidity
Possible tax and accounting benefits (consult your CPA)
Protection against equipment obsolescence
Upgrade capabilities

At Pinnacle Bank, we want to be part of the solution for all your business financing needs. Download the brochure to learn more about our CashFlow LEASE® Program or call 877.759.7939 if you need help with immediate equipment financing.logo

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General News

Understanding SBA Loans & Rates

The U.S. Small Business Administration, (SBA) provides two specific types of loan funds and guarantees. The purpose of these loan funds is simply to generate economic activity through offering loan funding that might not generally be available in the traditional banking model.

There are three concerns that typically cause businesses to explore SBA loans:

• A perceived risk due to some inherent risk of the industry (obsolescence)
• The nature of the business itself (start-up, undercapitalized)
• The security available to support the loan (insufficient equity)

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Two Types of Loans: Plan 7a or 504

These specific loan programs are offered under Plan 7a or 504. Plan 7a is a traditional loan under which the borrowers pay fees on each individual loan, which are used to guarantee some portion of the loan, usually 75%. Usually this type of loan is characterized by a lack of sufficient up front equity on the part of the business owners, or a collateral type which is insufficient to support the required loan. Additionally, under the 7a program the loan might approach a higher level than a bank would typically have comfort with.

The second plan, 504, is one in which the loan is secured in some primary portion by business premises, although some equipment lending is being seen under this format as well. In the 504 program, the borrower pays an equity component, (usually 10-20% depending) the bank provides a 50% first loan and the SBA takes a second interest of 30-40%. The benefit of 504 lending is that the borrower can see up to a 20-25 year fixed interest rate as the SBA loan. These rates are competitive with today’s 5 year fixed rates by traditional banking sources.

Get an SBA Loan at Reduced Rates

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced two fee reductions to the SBA-504 program starting October 1, 2015.

First, the SBA is reducing the upfront fees financed into an SBA-504 loan by 1⁄2 of 1% as of October 1st. On a $1,000,000 project where a bank funds 50%, SBA funds 40%, and a borrower injects 10%, it will significantly reduce the fees financed into the borrower’s 40% portion by $2,000.

Secondly, the ongoing fees added to the borrower’s payment will be reduced slightly by 2.35 basis points on all approvals after October 1.

Conclusion

These rate reductions are great news for business owners considering an expansion or start-up. Please contact us if there are questions regarding these fees and the process of getting loans of any type.

At Pinnacle Bank, we are developing the resources to offer many varied solutions to your business borrowing needs, allowing us the capacity to say yes where others say no!

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General News

SBDC Advice: 6 Spring Cleaning Tips for Small Businesses

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Now that Spring is in full swing, checking off some of those easily forgotten to-dos can give you a jumpstart for Q2. The University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center — designated as one of Georgia’s top providers of small business assistance — names the six quick ways to refresh your business for the rest of the year.

From sprucing up your social presence and staffing assignments to reassessing your goals, these SBDC tips are a must-read. Put on your cleaning gloves then tackle these quick and easy tips for spring cleaning your business.