In Good Companies

Welcome back to In Good Companies! This season, we're exploring the forces shaping your business, inside and out—and to kick off Season Two, we've got a double whammy: inflation and interest rates.During COVID, the Federal Reserve cut its target range for the Federal Funds Rate to 0.00% to 0.25%. But now, in 2022, inflation has hit a 40-year high and interest rates are climbing again. In six short months, the Federal Funds Rate target range has risen steeply, from a range of 0% to 0.25%  to a range of 3.00% to 3.25%. High interest rates can have a substantial effect on businesses and consumers alike. So, how high will rates climb? And how long will they stay elevated?  One of the people best positioned to answer those questions is Dr. Lindsey Piegza, Chief Economist at Stifel: she's spent her career translating the economy to a broad audience. Together, we'll examine the relationship between interest and inflation, decode the Fed's monetary policy and explore why this inflation might be particularly stubborn.As always, we'll dig into what this means for you and your business: what indicators to pay attention to, how to adapt to a high-interest environment and why you should be especially cautious when inflation recedes.So join us! We've got your best interest at heart.Highlights: Why our economic situation is deceptive (3:40) Federal Funds Rate deep dive (6:20) The relationship between inflation and interest rates (8:22) Rate hikes in 2022 (9:09) How the Fed uses interest rates as a communication tool (10:51) What will drive the Fed's decision-making (12:29) The lag of monetary policy (14:09) What happens if inflation doesn't subside (16:13) The effects of a high-interest environment on small business (19:05) How inflation and interest affect consumer behavior (21:32) Why caution and adaptability will be key (22:50) Markets are cyclical (25:01) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Dr. Lindsey Piegza LinkedIn Stifel Institutional Website Stifel Financial LinkedIn Federal Reserve –Summary of Economic Projections, September 2022 Gallup – Inflation Causing Hardship for Consumers Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

You've worked your whole life to provide for your family, and you want to ensure they are taken care of after you're gone. But passing on that wealth can be nerve-wracking. An inheritance has the potential to alter lives and cause major tension. How can you set up your successors for success?That's where wealth transfer planning comes in. A successful wealth transfer plan passes on more than just wealth—it imparts core values, which help dictate how that money is used and gives inheritors the tools to thrive. The best plans educate inheritors over many years, and so we've invited a guest who has specialized in wealth transfer for many years: Felix Meneses, Senior Vice President and Dallas Market Executive for Cadence Bank's Trust and Asset Management.On our final episode of Season One, we'll cover the core financial values that you need to impart to your children, age-appropriate activities to instill those values, and how to structure your plan to reflect those principles. Felix will also share how to construct your team of advisors and how corporate governance can help you avoid family disputes.Join us as we finish out our season in style, transferring a wealth of knowledge to you!Highlights:●      What is wealth transfer? (2:39)●      Identifying priorities (4:19)●      Core values: Stewardship, Philanthropy, Entrepreneurship (6:05)●      How to talk to your kids about money (9:27)●      Age-appropriate financial education (11:14)●      Fun teaching activities for young kids (12:29)●      Wealth transfer structures (15:23)●      Keys to a good plan: A team of advisors (16:47)●      Keys to a good plan: Corporate governance structures (19:03)●      Creative ways to implement family corporate governance (20:44)●      Executing the plan (22:12)●      Inheritor responsibilities (23:41)●      The importance of communication (25:59) Links:●      Cadence Bank Website●      Cadence Bank Twitter●      Cadence Bank LinkedIn●      Felix Meneses LinkedIn●      Cadence Bank – Trust & Asset Management●      Cadence Bank – Wealth Empowerment Program●      Cadence Bank – Philanthropy ServicesFeedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com. 

Those who've started a business know: the business is your baby. It takes love, patience and sleepless nights to get it on its feet. As it grows, you're so proud of it. But just like a child, there comes a time when you have to let the business go. And the hope is that you've prepared your business to function independently, without your guidance. Can your business survive without you? Can it thrive?Whether it's by design or unexpected, there will be a day when you're no longer able to run things as you once did. If you've prepared right, your business will be able to keep flourishing long after you've retired. But what does that preparation entail? It starts with a strong business succession plan, an area of expertise for our two guests on this episode: Ari Marin, Wealth Strategist at Cadence Bank, and Eric Priamo, founder and managing partner of Juniper Equity. Together we'll cover the key aspects of a business succession plan, like proper valuation provisions and operational redundancy, and how corporate governance structures can help you achieve those goals. Ari and Eric will also lead us through how to tackle the hard, emotional conversations that come with succession.So join us as we write a new chapter: for your business, your family, and you.Highlights: All the variables in a succession scenario (3:08) Why is succession planning critical? (4:49) What can happen if there isn't a plan in place (7:11) The biggest barrier to the planning process (10:24) How to avoid family drama when talking succession (12:28) The farmer, the cow, and the milk: Identifying your goals (15:52) How Ari starts a succession plan (16:56) Keys to a good plan: Proper valuation provisions (18:33) Keys to a good plan: Flexibility & Redundancy (20:17) The tax tail can't wag the dog (23:35) Defining corporate governance (24:54) How corporate governance helps you achieve your succession goals (28:18) How to empower your advisors (32:56) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Juniper Equity Website Ari Marin LinkedIn Eric Priamo LinkedIn Cadence Bank – Business Succession Planning Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com. 

An executive is a key player in a business of any size: someone who is able to balance the complexities of their industry with the needs of their company. They're someone with deep experience, who can lead a team and contribute to one. And they work tirelessly to make sure the business is positioned to succeed, both now and in the future. But who's doing that for the executive?As an executive, you'll have access to a much wider range of compensation packages, from equity to call options to variable performance-based bonuses. Your income will be greater and more diverse than the average Joe or Jane. You need a financial plan to match, and advisors skilled enough to adapt that plan as your career evolves. In fact, you'll need a team of people: CPAs, investment bankers, tax attorneys, estate lawyers. But most of all, you'll need an expert private banker to run the show. You need Mary Katherine Franklin, EVP and Director of Private Banking, and Jamie Burns, Regional Executive of Private Banking from the Cadence Private Banking leadership team. So that's who we've brought you!Think of it like a football team. The most important person on the field is your quarterback, who reads the defense, makes adjustments and gets their teammates the ball. That's your private banker. On this episode, Jamie and Mary Katherine talk about quarterbacking executive financial plans, how no plan is one-size-fits-all, and what you need to prepare to make sure you get the most out of the process. So, join our all-pro squad as we perfectly execute the executive financial plan.Highlights: What is private banking? (2:21) What's different about executives? (4:04) The importance of a good game plan (7:45) The sooner, the better, but it's never too late! (9:16) Creating a personal financial statement (10:26) Coordinating the team of advisors (12:47) Everything is customizable (14:58) Be organized (15:42) Don't hold back (16:24) Are you getting the attention you deserve? (19:05) Things change—your plan should too (22:11) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Mary Katherine Franklin LinkedIn Jamie Burns LinkedIn Cadence Bank – Wealth Management Services – Individuals & Families Cadence Bank – Wealth Management Insights Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com. 

You poured your heart and soul into making your business the best that it can be. Now that you're ready to move on, you deserve a return that reflects all that hard work. But the process of selling a business is complicated: where do you find the right person to buy it, and how do you agree on a fair price? To complicate matters, for most business owners, this will be the first and last time they conduct a transaction of this magnitude. So, it's important to get the advice of people who have been there before. BJ Green sees all sorts of sales from his role as Cadence Bank's Georgia Commercial Banking Executive. As for Mark Loeffler, Co-Founder and Managing Director of boutique investment bank VRA Partners, his job is to actually run these sales processes for small and mid-sized businesses. Together, they have a wealth of knowledge on valuations, mergers, and acquisitions—what BJ calls: “The Art of the Possible.” So, if midsize M&A is an art, consider these two da Vinci and Michaelangelo. On this episode, we'll cover the timeline and steps of the M&A process, ways to improve your valuation, and how to find the right partners. You'll learn how to identify your objectives, navigate your team through a sales process and keep your business humming during it all. So, let's merge our experiences and acquire some new knowledge on the art of selling a business. Highlights: What are your goals in selling the business? (3:55) How to handle unsolicited offers (5:59) Valuation: what goes into it (9:05) Why valuations are currently high (12:41) “The secret sauce”: What makes a company attractive to buyers (14:34) How preparation can improve your company's value (15:58) Think like a buyer (18:47) A sale is a team effort (19:11) M&A is really creating a new partnership (24:39) Sale timeline and process (26:11) Managing your business during a sale (31:19) Give yourself a head start (35:30) Links:·       Cadence Bank Website·       Cadence Bank Twitter·       Cadence Bank LinkedIn·       BJ Green LinkedIn·       VRA Partners Website·       Mark Loeffler LinkedIn       Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com 

Summary:COVID-19 has caused unprecedented business disruption over the past several years. Businesses had to implement essential health and safety protocols, shift to virtual, navigate changing regulations, and try to reach customers whose lives were equally upended. Everyone has struggled to find balance, and many businesses had to close their doors permanently. Though we hopefully won't see another pandemic in our lifetimes, there's a lot to learn from COVID-19. Today we talk to two very different businesses who found ways to successfully navigate the pandemic. Wildwood Electronics, a women-owned contractor for NASA and the Department of Defense, was deemed an essential business and had to keep their employees safe while staying open. Phase Three Star, a fast-food franchisor with more than 80 restaurants, pivoted their whole service model to protect employees and keep serving customers. Both companies used similar grit and leadership to survive. Today, we dive into the decisions they made to keep their businesses afloat.Lori Underwood is the vice president of Wildwood Electronics. She details the creative ways that Wildwood emphasized employee safety and security. Jack Kemp, CEO of Phase Three Star, is an Army veteran and graduate of Harvard Business School. He shares the relationships he leaned on the most, and how he stopped being reactive and started being proactive. They're joined by their dedicated Cadence bankers, Robert Curtis, North Alabama market executive, and Dan Holland, executive vice president of restaurant banking, who guided them and many others through these difficult years. All of them stress the importance of listening and communicating—with employees, partners, vendors and customers.COVID-19 also accelerated trends amongst these businesses and forced them to implement future solutions to solve current problems. We'll hear from Lori and Jack about how much their companies have changed since 2020, and how they're using strategies they've learned in the pandemic to achieve success out of it.So, join us for this masterclass in crisis management to hear from people whose expertise was proven through the gauntlet of the past two years. That way, you'll be prepared for the next crisis that hits your business, even if it isn't on a global scale.Highlights: How Jack & Lori dealt with pandemic uncertainty (9:07) Be decisive (10:17) Survival is a team effort (11:49) The importance of vendors who understand your business (15:05) PPP & using every resource at your disposal (16:09) Leveraging existing relationships (18:09) Communication is critical (19:43) Surviving is a win (24:35) The new normal (26:19) Robert and Dan on how companies have become more resilient (29:25) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Phase Three Star Website Jack Kemp LinkedIn Wildwood Electronics Website Lori Underwood LinkedIn Robert Curtis LinkedIn Dan Holland LinkedIn Cadence Bank PPP Page Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com  

Diversity, equity, inclusion—these are fundamental ideals. Everybody can agree that it's good to be diverse, equitable and inclusive. But if you don't have the right plan, they can fall short of expectations. Plenty of companies have made commitments to DE&I in the past two years, but without a full understanding of both the benefits and challenges of the work, you might find yourself right back where you started. So, what is diversity, equity and inclusion? Why is it needed? And what does it mean for your organization specifically?Myra Caldwell and Tori Farmer have firsthand experience answering these questions. Myra is Cadence Bank's Chief Diversity Officer, and along with Tori, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at KPMG, she's crafted and helmed Cadence's DE&I strategy over the past 18 months. Myra and Tori are here to share how you can implement a plan specific to your business, no matter how big. Because your employees, suppliers, customers and partners are experiencing your culture every day, whether you have a plan or not. And when you work hard to intentionally change things for the better, those benefits can be felt across the board.Myra and her team have not only created distinct programs to educate and uplift coworkers and community members, they've forged a culture where everyone is moving together towards a common purpose. But it didn't happen overnight. Together we'll show you how to evaluate your business, set up measurable goals, and have the hard, necessary conversations that this work entails. Plus, we'll share how Cadence has progressed and reassessed on its DE&I journey—how far we've come and how far there still is to go. One company isn't going to solve the problem, but, together, we can move the needle towards a more just, accepting world.Highlights: How Tori Farmer defines DE&I (5:13) The business case for DE&I (10:15) Where to start with implementing equitable practices (12:24) How Cadence assessed itself and found a starting point (16:08) Can you make changes if your business is small? (19:09) The Cadence DE&I programs (25:26) How to extend your efforts beyond your workplace and into the community (28:47) DE&I and The Great Resignation (30:35) Trusting the Process (33:50) The Gift of Imperfection (35:43) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Myra Caldwell LinkedIn Tori Farmer LinkedIn KPMG – DE&I Homepage Cadence Bank Diversity & Inclusion Statement Our Stories Cadence Bank Corporate Social Responsibility Statement Cadence Bank Supplier Diversity Program Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

You've probably got a security system for your building, with locks on your doors and safes for your important documents. But criminals don't just try to take what's in your cash register anymore. As the world shifts increasingly online, there are more and more opportunities for fraudsters and cybercriminals to intercept your money and data. And it takes more than anti-virus software to keep yourself safe. But your specialty isn't cloud computing, it's your business. So how do you keep up with the ever-changing world of cybersecurity?Fortunately, there are people like Lori Johnson and Tracy Dalton, from the Treasury Management Team at Cadence Bank. They make it their business to keep up with trends in cybercrime so they can best protect their clients. Through their work with a broad range of customers, they see companies' most commonly-targeted weak points; and they're not what you'd suspect. Cybercrime can be devastating, and nobody is completely safe. Companies of all sizes are targeted, and breaches can cause loss of consumer confidence, in addition to whatever is stolen. Lori and Tracy will escort us through the dangerous underbelly of fraud as we talk the size of the threat, cybersecurity best practices, and how to get employee buy-in. So keep your head on a swivel and listen to our cyber self-defense class!Highlights: The types of threats you can face (3:06) How many businesses are affected? (6:40) How to evaluate your current security setup (9:04) A great model for cybersecurity (11:54) The importance of educating your employees (12:40) Creating internal controls (13:58) Cybersecurity tools offered by your bank (15:40) Positive Pay & ACH Positive Pay (16:43) Constant vigilance (19:29) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Lori Johnson LinkedIn Tracy Dalton LinkedIn Cadence Bank Business Fraud Knowledge Center Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com

Highlights: What is (and isn't) “the economy” (1:53) Is inflation bad? (4:31) How healthy is our economy (7:32) What's different about our current economy than previous ones (9:21) Who's in charge of economic policy (10:57) Explaining federal interest rates (13:53) Quick and dirty quantitative easing (16:02) How the Fed responded to COVID (20:19) Understanding how economic policy will affect your business (25:21) Economic policy and the business lifecycle (27:50) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Tell Alessio LinkedIn Cadence Bank – Wealth Management Insights Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, andrew@lowerstreet.co

Highlights: The definition of disruption (2:42) How to enter the market as a disruptive company (4:48) How to defend your business against disruption (7:38) What banks are doing to adapt to evolving technology (12:13) What is alternative lending (15:55) What makes an alternative loan different (18:39) Where do alternative lenders get their money (21:19) The pros and cons of using an alternative lender (23:03) Conducting due diligence as a borrower (27:01) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Cadence Bank – Personal Loans & Lines of Credit Cadence Bank – Commercial Loans  Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, andrew@lowerstreet.co

Starting a new business is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking moments in a person's life. The stakes are high: depending on your situation, your whole net worth could be on the line. So how can you make sure that you're in a position to succeed? On this episode of In Good Companies, we're talking business beginnings—the things you can do to prepare for what's ahead. Guests Alan Thomes (Managing Director of SBA Banking, Cadence Bank) and Allan Adams (State Director, University of Georgia SBDC) join us to discuss bulletproof business plans, funding options, and developing relationships with key stakeholders. Together, we'll uncover key resources, like expert consultation (for free!) from the Small Business Development Center and low-risk loans through the Small Business Administration. You'll learn who you need to talk to and how to avoid the pitfalls of overexcited entrepreneurship. Business isn't a sprint, it's a marathon—and nobody rolls out of bed and runs a marathon without training. Preparation is essential and the more prepared you are, the more confidence you'll have as issues arise. So let us guide you to the starting line, and when the bell rings and you open your doors, you'll be ready.       Highlights: The dangers of overexcited entrepreneurship (2:07) Doing your homework (5:41) How the SBDC helps entrepreneurs (7:10) Crafting a business plan (11:09) The 5 C's of Credit (12:11) How a solid business plan can open doors (14:19) Funding options (15:22) Introduction to the SBA and 7a Loans (18:24) Why you need to create a relationship with your lender (22:51) Think of your bank as a partner (24:43) Links: Cadence Bank Website Cadence Bank Twitter Cadence Bank LinkedIn Cadence Bank – SBA Loans Small Business Administration Website SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Website University of Georgia SBDC Website University of Georgia SBDC Twitter Allan Adams LinkedIn  Alan Thomes LinkedIn  Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, andrew@lowerstreet.co

Introducing In Good Companies, launching October 2021.