New national data from Bank of America’s annual Small Business Owner Report shows that a majority of small business owners in the U.S. – 72% – admit having concerns about the impact of a potential recession, but 76% of respondents say they are confident their business could withstand the downturn.
Senior Vice President for Small Business
Bank of America, San Diego
Closer to home, San Diego Bank of America small business bankers report that their experiences with local clients not only support the national data but that following the pandemic, their small business clients have also become more prepared and resilient for downturns.
That preparedness is illustrated in how they are spending, managing interest rates and rising costs and using cash-smart services, says Rocio Montejano, senior vice president for small business for BofA San Diego.
Local business bankers are working with their clients to help them manage debt, obtain and use capital wisely to be better positioned for the long-term and obtain higher yields on savings.
San Diego County trends reflecting the national Small Business Owner report show increasing activity and movement for local companies, some of whom struggled through the COVID-19 health emergency.
“San Diego small businesses continue to grow,” Montejano said. “Our clients are expanding to additional locations, purchasing equipment and hiring. In addition to this confidence reflected in the national report, San Diego entrepreneurs also feel very prepared financially to weather economic headwinds like a recession or interest rate hikes. There’s a sentiment that if they survived and grew from the pandemic, then then can handle most anything now and feel equipped to do so.”
Montejano said that during and following the pandemic, local business owners worked much closer with BofA small business bankers where they learned more about their financial fundamentals, risk models and how to build financial resiliency into their business operations.
Owner and Chairman
Lasergram
COVID-19 has actually had a positive effect for longtime BofA customer Chris Rudder, founder and owner of LaserGram, a customized gift engraving company at the foot of the runway at Brown Field Municipal Airport in Otay Mesa.
Because LaserGram does most of its business via ecommerce and direct-to-customer with its own website and through Amazon.com, after an initial hit to sales the first few weeks of the pandemic, LaserGram’s business “just took off… and we actually had to add staff.”
“Everybody was buying online and we were in the right place at the right time,” Rudder said. “In 2020, I think our sales were at least 50 percent over the year before. We’re still increasing our sales annually 20 to 30 percent every year.”
Rudder said that working with BofA has helped him get the full financial picture as his company grows. LaserGram recently partnered with a local First Nation-run casino to work with one of its departments on becoming its go-to business for engraved items.
LaserGram
FOUNDED: 2011
OWNER/CHAIRMAN: Chris Rudder
HEADQUARTERS: Otay Mesa
BUSINESS: Custom engraved gifts
EMPLOYEES: 10
WEBSITE: lasergram.com
CONTACT: 760-407-7743 or customerservice@lasergram.com
SOCIAL IMPACT: Owner Chris Rudder is actively involved with an orphanage in Baja California.
NOTABLE: LaserGram has partnered with Bank of America since its beginnings in 2011, with loans and lines of credit to start the business and helped the company eventually buy its own building at the end of the runway at Brown Field Municipal Airport.
