Continued Inside

By Gene Marks

I admit it – I really don’t have a whole lot of discipline. I can’t eat just one potato chip. I can’t take just a “short” nap. And I can’t watch just a single episode of Cops on a Satur-day night. It’s too addicting.

That’s why I don’t have a line of credit for my business. I’m afraid of what I’d do with the money if I had it in my hands. I don’t think I’d have the self-control to invest it in my business. I’d probably blow the money on a great vacation. Or some cool stuff for my house, like a Man-Cave.

Fortunately, I’m not the norm. Banks loan money to businesses, big and small, all the time. And now that it’s pretty much agreed that the recession has bottomed out, a lot of my fellow busi-ness owners are turning to their bankers for some cash to fuel their expected growth. I know a few of these guys. I’m going to change their names for the purpose of this article. But they’re out there.

For example, there’s Steven Snyder who runs a company that makes piping and tube fittings for the military and energy industries. And there’s Jerry Castel, who owns a 25-person architectural firm. What do these guys have in common? They’re both seeing deals out there and they’re look-ing to buy. For Steven, the prices of key commodities, like the iron and nickel he needs to make piping, have dropped more than 50%. For Jerry, the prices of computers and specialty copy machines he needs for his firm have also fell considerably as the economy has slowed.

These guys are both predicting growth over the next year, and they see opportunities. Jerry wants to grab as many pounds of raw materials as he can; Steven wants to snap up as many computers and copy machines as he can. They both dipped into their lines of credit not for major acquisitions, but for smart business buys that will help them fuel their growth. Because for those that have the credit, now is a great time to get those end-of-recession deals that could make a huge profit contribution going forward.

Sandra Nelson doesn’t care about buying inventory--she wants to buy some people. Don’t get the wrong idea, she’s not a dictator, at least not to most of her employees. Sandra runs an en-gineering firm whose workload has slowed through this latest economic downturn. But she, like Steven and Jerry, is looking forward. She’s seeing the money that’s being pumped by the gov-ernment into construction and “green” energy. She sees a lot of projects coming to life, and she’s going to need people to work

fueling growthwith a business line of credit

Gene Marks’ latest book is the bestselling Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists. Gene is a regular online columnist for Forbes.com, BusinessWeek.com and American City Business Journals. Gene also owns a small business outside of Philadelphia.

Royal ReportIn this edition of the

A few months back, we launched our Spur The Economy initiative, an effort geared towards providing small busi-nesses in our region the financing they need to grow during these challenging economic times... That’s right–grow!

As we see it, the marketplace is primed for many businesses to not only sur-vive, but thrive by seizing opportuni-ties, expanding product offerings and making strategic acquisitions. Having the necessary capital to act on these opportunities (and act quickly) is where Royal fits in.

You will read several stories in this is-sue about companies who view the current economic environment with optimism and excitement. Is your business ready to grow? Then I en-courage you to speak with a Royal Bank America lender or branch man-ager today about how we can best help you Spur The Economy.

Royal Bank helpsSureShade set sailfor revenue growth~ page 3

NorthEast Fencefinds ways to growin difficult times~ page 2

Free Social Media Seminars for SmallBusinesses 11/20, 3/23~ page 4

Robert R. TabasChairman & CEO

FAll/Winter 2009-10

from thechairman’s desk

royAl BAnk AMeriCA neWsletter

these projects. The great news for her is that the labor market, pushing 10% unemployment, is now full of talented engi-neers and technical types that were laid off by big companies. Problem is, how can she bring them on?

Like Steven and Jerry, Sandra’s going to let her bank help her with this problem. With growth predicted, and some great workers available, Sandra’s also drawing on her business line of credit to finance their hir-ing. To her, it’s a bet she can’t lose. She’s already got con-

tracts for work which in many cases are financed through government money. She can predict her cash flow. All she desires is some extra help to buy the “inventory” her busi-ness needs: people.

I wish I had the discipline that these guys have. I wouldn’t mind taking some of those cal-culated risks with my own line of credit. I know of a few po-tential projects that, with a little financing, could turn a good profit. A competitor of mine, hurting from the recession, re-cently offered me his customer contracts so he could retire into the sunset. My line of credit

could help me do it. And may-be I will... right after I catch this next episode of Cops, OK?

fueling growth with a LOC

royal opens the gate forfence company to growRoyal has been in the unique position to increase small busi-ness financing at a time when others are pulling back. This is exactly what happened to one growing business in our region.

Northeast Fence & Ironworks has been a leader in com-mercial and residential fencing for 30 years. When their existing bank re a d j u s t e d their lend-ing practices and shrunk NE Fence’s line, President Ray Longstreath knew he need-ed to find another option.

“During these difficult times, businesses like ours use the flexibility offered by a line of credit to seize opportunities in the marketplace,” Longstreath said. “When our bank came to us and said they were cutting our line size I knew we needed to find a new lender who could truly partner in the growth and success of our business–that is when we turned to Royal.”

Having the ability to react to market conditions quickly is critical for businesses looking to thrive during these challenging times. Royal’s Small Business Lending initiative has proven to be the perfect vehicle to help stimulate the local economy.

Joe Kitlas, a Senior Vice Presi-dent at Royal, added, “As for Ray and his business, timing was very important and we were able to deliver a solution quickly and at a competitive rate.”

For more tips about green and sustainable banking and business practices, visit a Royal branch today!

royAl BAnk AMeriCA neWsletter

5 Things You Can Do Today To Reduce YourBankingCaRBonFooTpRinT 1. Choose eStatements. (Bonus: receive your statements up to 7 days faster!)

Pay your bills for 2. frEE using secure Internet BillPay.

Use your royal 3. ATM/Debit card in place of paper checks.

Choose “No” to 4. ATM receipts. (View your balance on screen and/or check your balance later online.)

Turn off your 5. computer or place it in “sleep” mode when not in use.

is your business in growth mode and looking for working capital?

let royal help you get to the next level. Call 610.668.4700 today.

This newsletter is

Gene Marks

Continued from front

royal offers boating innovators shelter from the economic stormFor many start-up businesses in today’s economy, establishing credit to sup-port company growth can be difficult. And SureShade® CEO Ron Russikoff knew it.

SureShade, inven-tors of an auto-mated, retractable canvas sunshade for boats, was at a point where it re-ceived favorable feedback from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on its innovative marine shade system, and so it was time to be-gin the international patent process. It was also time for Russikoff to find a lending solution.

So why did he choose Royal Bank Amer-ica? “Quite frankly, it was the billboards. I remember the Royal billboards from years back, like ‘The Loan Rangers,’ and then when I saw the SpurTheEconomy.com billboard saying ‘We Have Millions to Lend to Small Business-es,’ I thought, ‘No other bank is bold enough to say that—this bank gets small business.’”

“Royal really listened to our story,” Russikoff said. “They took into consideration the professional backgrounds of the company’s principals prior to launching into this venture, the potential our solution has to solve what has been a longtime

hassle for boaters, and our ability to provide the visionary boat builders who can see beyond cur-rent economic conditions with a product that will help differentiate and strengthen their position

when the market recovers.”

Discussing Roy-al’s commitment to small business lending, Vice Presi-dent Jo Grech noted that Sure-Shade “has a well thought-out busi-ness model with a clear roadmap for growth. We were excited to work with them and hope to be a catalyst for their success in the boating industry.”

Ron Russikoff pictured with a SureShade® equipped Boston Whaler

This bankgets smallbusiness.

– Ron Russikoff, CEO”“

®

PhiladelphiaCity Hall 30 south 15th street215.972.5300

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king of Prussia/route 202n655 West Dekalb Pike610.265.5300

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Berks Countyshillington516 east lancaster Ave610.777.3300

Gloucester County (NJ)turnersville3501 Black Horse Pike856.262.8811

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GO ONLINE AND APPLY FOR A BUSINESS LINE OF CREDIT IN 3 EASY STEPS!

FAll/Winter 2009-10

our remote Deposit Capture solution is designed to free up your time to focus on the things that are truly important to your business by eliminating trips to the bank. With our easy to use scanner you can deposit checks without ever leaving your desk. in less than 5 minutes you can scan a weeks worth of checks and upload them safely and securely to our server. you’ll get faster availability, later cut-off times and detailed confirmation sheets to help you manage your finances.

stop by any royal Bank America branch for a free demonstration or call 610.668.4700 to arrange for one of our representatives to visit you in your office.

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