1. A Micro-Enterprise Development Organization

2. Best Practices in Business Coaching: Lessons from the Field 2 Presented by – Jay Savulich- Managing Director, Programs, Rising Tide Capital Roger Cervantes- Micro lending Coordinator Rising Tide Capital

3. Listening Exercise 3 What is person’s name What is the person’s birthplace and background? Where did they grow up? What is their major and what are they studying in school? What do they want to be when they grow up?

4. What Does Rising Tide Capital Do? 4 The Community Business Academy 12 week small business basics training program Business Acceleration Services One on One Coaching and Technical Assistance Advanced Small Business Seminars Master Classes Access to Capital Program Access to Markets Program

5. 5 What is Business Coaching? Business coaches are experts in both people and business. They work to bring about change in the behavior of the business owner in order to improve the performance of the business.

6. Goals of Coaching in a Lending Program 6 Understand the business model of the client Understand the needs of the client personally Understand the needs of the business Assess the capacity of the business owner Determine the financial situation of the business i.e. profit and loss Evaluate the capacity for lending in this situation Find a match between client and lender and/or products Ultimate goal- a picture that is TRUTHFUL, HONEST AND COMPLETE

7. Challenges for the Coach 7 Personality conflicts Communication disconnects General resistance Lack of basic business skills Lack of specific knowledge in client’s business area Inability to relate Age, race, sex, class and all those things that make us different

8. Challenges for the Client 8 Resistance to revealing income information Privacy concerns Ignorance of their own financial condition Lacking skills to develop useful financial information Language and cultural barriers Debt anxiety (current and future) Lack of basic business skills Use of business vocabulary Defensive posture concerning business operations

9. 9 Tools of the Trade Enhanced Listening/Communications Skills Empathy Knowledge of the business environment Knowledge of the client Ability to get reliable credit information References Skill building services for client internally or externally Awareness of financing options Experience and Training

10. 10 Limits of the Marketplace Lack of financing choices Disqualifying information/situations presented by client Options that clients are not comfortable with

11. 11 Best Practices People who haven’t had $$ don’t understand or learn how to use credit effectively= credit coaching Clients lack capacity to manage personal and business finances in general= financial literacy Different Client Backgrounds-Multiple resources for coaches Clients don’t know business lingo= Use plain language to explain Clients at different skill levels-Patience and understanding

12. 12 Best Practices Active listening skills Know the goals of the coaching session upfront Leave with identified tasks to complete Be a good detective- follow up on leads Create a supportive coaching environment Decisions to act rests with the client The difference between suggesting a course of action and telling someone what to do

13. 13 Case Studies Geoffrey- Property Maintenance Company Roger- Pet Accessories and Company

14. 14 Geoffrey Property Maintenance Company: A Successfully Financed Entrepreneur Geoffrey represented one of the most challenging borrower profiles Coaching and technical assistance were critical to obtaining financing Finding the right lender was the deal-breaker

15. 15 Challenges Start-up business that was barely 1 year old Insufficient paper trail of personal monthly income Payment history of personal monthly bills was difficult to establish No records of business sales, expenses, and cash flow Minor judgment/collection under $300 Limited financial literacy

16. 16 Coaching Solutions Community Business Academy Intensive 1-1 technical assistance created:  List of previous, current, and prospective clients  A stronger, more specific, profitable target market  Prior year and projected business sales and cash flow  Personal income and expense statements

17. 17 Roger Pet Accessories and Novelties Company: A Success in Alternative Financing Excellent coaching case study that illustrates best practices in:  Overcoming rejection  Using good judgment to limit your liability as a coach  Teaching clients to be resourceful and creative regarding financing

18. 18 Challenges Needed substantial funds to expand beyond local reach Business too young to qualify for sufficient amount of financing Judgments on large student loan defaults:  Precluded any traditional financing  Had adverse effect on credit score  Contributed to a high debt-to-income ratio

19. 19 Coaching Solutions Taught Roger to leverage his assets and think “outside the box” Suggested to Roger to not incur anymore debt and consider the following:  Crowd Funding sources  Searching for Business Partner(s)  IDA Programs  Professional Credit Counseling

20. Questions & Answers 20