First Business Bank Podcast

If you have ridden the emotional investing roller coaster, you're not alone. Studies show that 66% of investors have made impulsive, emotionally charged investing decisions they later regretted. In our latest podcast episode, we examine how to avoid making emotional investing decisions by mapping out your strategy to align with your long-term investing goals. We discuss the importance of planning your investing strategy, understanding your investments, and comparing against overall market benchmarks.

Concerns over bank failures and potential uninsured deposit losses led many business owners, investors, municipalities, and others to seek ways to insure deposits beyond the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000. While your inclination might be to spread deposits across multiple banks, this is an unnecessary inconvenience and an administrative burden. Tune in as First Business Bank’s banking experts discuss the benefits of extended deposit insurance, including increased efficiency, liquidity, and earning a competitive interest rate.

Are you struggling with deciding between paying off debt or investing your earnings? It's a common dilemma, and one that requires careful consideration of various factors. In the latest episode of the First Business Bank podcast, we discuss advantages and disadvantages of paying off debt before investing, factoring interest rates into your strategy, and evaluating investment opportunities, personal financial goals, and risk tolerance.

After losing a spouse, survivors are often faced with many tasks and financial decisions while in the throes of grief. In the first thirty days, you’ll need to review life insurance, contact Social Security, contact your attorney about your estate plan or will, and call your bank or Trust Advisor. What’s important to do soon and what can wait? How can pre-planning help in this time of unprecedented emotional turmoil? First Business Bank’s experienced Trust Advisors discuss what clients wish they’d known ahead of time, the importance of organizing finances, how a corporate trustee works, and more.

For many families, paying for college and higher education costs is confusing and overwhelming as the price of a traditional, four-year college education seems to have no limit. Over the last century, the costs of higher education have grown at four times the rate of inflation, rising a shocking 179% over the past 20 years alone. First Business Bank’s experienced Wealth Advisors work with parents, relatives, and grandparents every day to design the best strategies to save for college. This episode of the First Business Bank Podcast features an informative discussion about ways to pay for higher education, including specific strategies for business owners and grandparents.

Manufacturing is a major driver of economic activity in Wisconsin, leading all other industries contributing to the state’s gross domestic product. First Business Bank’s financial experts work closely with manufacturing business leaders on their daily and long-term financial needs and strategies to help them position their companies for growth. This episode of the First Business Bank Podcast includes a discussion about the Wisconsin Manufacturing Report and the latest trends influencing Wisconsin manufacturers, including ongoing labor, supply chain, and interest rate concerns, slowing orders, pricing, and inventory management.

Renee Ramirez operates well under pressure. During the financial crisis of 2008, she founded Community Smiles Dental (formerly Waukesha County Community Dental Clinic), a nonprofit dental clinic for low-income families in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

The clinic, which opened a second location in 2018, has provided more than $30 million in dental care to more than 25,000 patients since its founding.

This engaging episode of the First Business Bank podcast reveals the story behind how and why Renee Ramirez started Community Smiles Dental, what she enjoys most about the clinic, her numerous accomplishments and leadership positions in the community, and what it takes to make a long-lasting difference.

Operating on a lean budget, some leaders of both nonprofit and for-profit businesses take on many roles, from CEO and CFO to HR and receptionist. But if you’re tasked with doing so much and there are only so many hours each day, how do you make progress on larger goals?


This episode of the First Business Bank podcast features experienced leaders from First Business Bank’s Advisory Boards: Stewart Myers, VP of Programming at National Cable Television Cooperative, and Amanda Berg, VP for Financial Affairs and CFO at Edgewood College. They share tips on how they maximize their time, work with trusted partners, evaluate new partners and determine what to outsource, while still effectively managing a staff and budget. Even those operating on more than a shoestring will appreciate the stories of resourceful leaders getting more done with less.

Does your industry have a cheerleader? Someone who rallies businesses, helps them network to support innovation and accomplish more together? This episode of the First Business Bank podcast takes a fresh look at the benefits of collaboration between businesses with Marty Ochs, Founder of Green Bay Innovation Group (GBIG) and A.M. Mailing, Inc., and member of First Business Bank’s Northeast Advisory Board.

Marty’s passion — bringing people together to make a difference — leads this episode as we discuss how Marty got his start in the 5Ps industries, how he founded A.M. Mailing, Inc. and won a statewide business award, the story behind starting GBIG, what they’re doing now and their goals for the future.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, employees were seeking more meaning at work and the latest data show that their feelings have intensified. According to a 2022 Gartner survey, 52% of respondents say the pandemic led them to “question the purpose of my day-to-day job” and 56% say it “made me want to contribute more to society.”

On this episode of the First Business Bank Podcast, Advisory Board Members Chris Hess, President and Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin, and Debby Ballard, President and Founder of The Ballard Connection, offer their perspectives about aligning businesses with nonprofit missions to provide more meaning at work and increase community engagement.

#Businessloans #Financing #Businessplan #Interestrate #bcp #sbaloan