When you're ready to grow your business to the next level and need an influx of capital to do it, a great option to consider is a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan. However, too often small business owners believe that the SBA lending is confusing, difficult, and shrouded in mystery. Well, no more! We're going to find out the real deal so you can determine if this is a resource for you – now or in the future.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Marie Taylor Leibson, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending for Sonabank who is responsible for a full range of lending options including government lending programs including the Small Business Administration (SBA). She teaches workshops and seminars to educate, inform and inspire small business owners about lending. In 2014 Marie was the SBA Richmond District office Financial Services Champion of the Year!

Listen and learn:

• The most common reasons small business owners need a loan to grow their business
• The essential differences between a Small Business Administration (SBA) government loan and a conventional bank loan
• The different types of SBA loans and which one is the most common
• Three key assessment areas you need to have in place before applying for a SBA loan
• The biggest mistakes and misconceptions small business owners make when applying for a SBA loan
• What every small business owner and entrepreneur can do today to make themselves credit worthy for a loan in the future

Which business entity should you choose to start a business and why? Sole Proprietor? Limited Liability Corporation? C Corp? When should you change your entity as your business grows? How have the new tax laws impacted business tax rates? Know the answer is key. Choosing the right business entity directly impacts how much tax you pay and legal liability.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Joye Sistrunk, Principal/Founder of Premier Group Services (PGSI), a Certified Public Accounting and Management Consulting firm in Lanham, MD. As she and her team helps business owners, she finds again and again that business owners need to figure out the best entity for their business as they grow and change.

Listen and learn:

• Exactly what is a "business entity"
• The difference between a Sole Proprietor, LLC, S Corp, C Corp, and B Corp
• How to decide which business entity is the best when you start and as you grow
• How the new tax laws have made C Corps the lowest corporate tax rate in over 100 years
• The financial and legal impact of choosing the right business type – and the wrong one
• The biggest mistake and misunderstandings business owners make regarding business entities

We all want to be prosperous, but what is the secret to being financially successful? What holds so many back from true financial prosperity? Are we making money mistakes without realizing it? These are questions many women ask themselves and we dare to discuss.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Sorana Blackfoot, founder of Un-Broke Women, where she is a Prosperity Mentor who teaches women to create, preserve and transfer wealth. Originally from Romania, Sorana has been in Richmond, VA since 2002. In her new book, "New World, New Dreams: My Money Story" she shares her own journey to building a better relationships with money so you can, too.

Listen and learn:

• Why financial prosperity is more than financial freedom
• Common money mistakes that hold us back from achieving the prosperity we really want
• Keys to shifting your money mindset from scarcity to abundance
• How money will make you more of who you already are
• Sorana's money lessons moving from Romania to U.S. that changed everything

March 8, 2018 is International Women's Day, a day where all nations recognize and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world!

To celebrate, we want to explore how women especially have bridged cultural gaps and differences to be successful in today's multi-cultural world and marketplace.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks Shanna Kabatznick, who came to the United States from Ecuador as a young woman and stayed to start her family and build a successful career. Today she is a Sales Strategist with over 20 years' experience in the financial services industry and Founder and CEO of the community called FABWOMEN.

Listen and learn:

• Shanna's surprising story of why she came to the United States
• What she was shocked to learn from her first experiences alone in the U.S.
• How Shanna responded when people asked her where she was from
• What she did to adapt to the most personally challenging aspect of the U.S. culture
• Her secret to bridging cultural gaps that made all the difference
• How bridging cultural differences has played a direct role in what she does today

Did you know that according to USAspending.gov the federal government alone spends over $74 billion with contractors? And that $6.9 billion of that was awarded to companies and business in Virginia, second only to California?

Have you heard that winning a contract or selling to local, state or federal government is tedious or cumbersome? Or that government only buys from the "big guys"?

The reality is that local, state and federal government are organizations that spend a lot of money with all sizes of private sector businesses for the products and services they need. Though their purchasing process is different, it's not necessarily difficult – and can be very profitable.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Tammy Farmer, founder of Government Marketing, who has over 25 years of experience in the Supply Chain where she gained valuable purchasing and inventory experience as a buyer in the local, state, and federal government. Today she and her team educate and assist small business owners about navigating the government procurement process so they can win contracts.

Listen and learn:

• Why selling to the government is a savvy way to grow your business
• How to easily determine if government buys your type of product or service
• The difference between selling to local governments, the State of Virginia, and the federal government
• Which certifications are required or advantageous to sell to state or federal government
• The surprising amount Virginia State agencies can spend using "Quick Quotes" to speed up purchasing
• Top challenges to selling to the government market that can be easily overcome

Do you know what you want to happen when you exit your business? Your business is a financial asset like stocks, bonds or real estate that can fund your retirement, but only if you have a strategic business succession plan. How do you determine what your business is worth? What can you do today to increase the value of your business for the future?

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Ellen Mcilhenny, a Certified Business Transition Expert with B2B CFO with 20 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer and controller. Ellen knows the ins and outs of everything that touches the finances of a business, including how larger businesses acquire smaller ones. Today we tap into her experience and insights to help small business owners consider their own business succession plan.

Listen and learn:

• What is business success planning and why it is critical to your financial future
• How to figure out what your business is worth
• What you can do now to increase the value of your for a future buyer
• The challenge of increasing the worth of any service-based business
• The biggest financial mistake (and regret) most small business owners make
• What savvy business owners do to stay financially smart about their business
• Why retiring Baby Boomer business owners may make your business far less valuable

For many, owning a home is one of the biggest financial investment you will make. Do you know how the new tax law impacts your mortgage or Home Equity Loan write-offs? Should you refinance your home or purchase your first one? Will mortgage interest rates still remain low or are they forecasted to increase?

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Tiffany Barber, veteran mortgage specialist with Southern Trust Mortgage, a Sonabank partner that is headquartered in Virginia Beach with retail branches throughout the East Coast. They are a big supporter of the P.O.W.E.R. program because they are truly interested in helping women not only get the best rates, but also making the process as easy as possible.

Listen and learn:

• The impact of the new tax laws on writing off interest on mortgages and Home Equity Loans (HELOCs)
• Why you should consider re-financing now rather than waiting
• What are typical mortgage interests rate today and what is forecasted for 2018
• How mortgage rate trends impact first time home buyers, second homes, and investment properties differently
• The most common mistakes well-qualified people make when getting a mortgage or re-financing a home
• The process of getting a home loan and what to expect

You pay by credit card all the time for your business and personal expenses. But, are you accepting credit card payments from customers and clients? If so, are you using the most appropriate devices for how your business operates? Do you know if you are paying a competitive transaction fee?

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Forrest Shearin, Assistant Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic region for BluePay, who partners with Sonabank to provide merchant services to all bank customers, including P.O.W.E.R. customers.

It's a big credit card processing world out there and Forrest will share how to simply and maximize it for your business.

Listen and learn:

• What exactly are "merchant services"
• What kind of businesses and organizations currently use merchant services. (You might be surprised!)
• The latest trends for credit card transactions business owners needs to know
• Transaction fees you should be getting to maximize your profit
• What business owners need to consider when choosing a merchant service
• The most common mistakes business owners make when it comes to credit card processing

If common wisdom is to set goals for your business, what do you do in uncommon times? Are 1, 3 or even 5 year business goals still relevant and effective? Is there a better approach that enables you to be responsive to changing conditions?

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Alison Conners, owner of Renaissance Executive Forums of Virginia, where she hosts peer advisory groups for CEOs, business owners and executives to help them intentionally grow their business. Her practical advice for responding to today's ever changing marketplace turns traditional goal setting upside down.

Listen and learn:

• Why traditional goal setting for your business does not work in a rapidly changing marketplace
• A different, more effective approach to implementing your business strategy that enables you to be responsive to changing conditions
• How to know when to seize an unexpected opportunity and when to stick to your plan
• The biggest mistakes you see business owners and executives make that prevent them from successfully implementing their business strategy
• A more practical approach to 1, 3 and 5 year business plans
• The practical power of a having a peer advisory group to make smart decisions and stay adaptable

Are you hitting your small business revenue goals? Do you have difficulty filling open positions, have unproductive employees, or experience an internal people problem? Do you feel overwhelmed and that the best you can do is react to each day and hope for the best? If so, you're not alone! These challenges and more can be overcome with a practical, strategic plan.

In this episode, host Mary Foley talks with Rene Haines, Founder and President of FocalPath Coaching in Richmond, VA, where she works with small and medium size business owners to solve strategic and practical problems for bottom line results of increased growth and profitability. That's what we all want and that's why we want to talk with her today!

Listen and learn:

• What strategic planning really looks like for a small or medium size business
• Common challenges business owners face that can be overcome with strategic planning
• With constant marketplace change, do you really need a detailed 3 – 5 year plan
• The biggest mistakes business owners make regarding strategic planning
• Why business owners don't just make decisions, they make leaps of faith
• How you can build and strengthen your strategic thinking