Firewater finds help

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), was a big slice of the small business relief included in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed and signed into law on March 30. The program was so popular, the $349 billion funds guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) were gone faster than had been anticipated.

When Firewater owner Danny Burau missed the first round of funding from the (PPP), he wasn't happy, but he felt it was due to his getting his application in after funds ran out. Although he understood why the funds ran out of the PPP quickly, he felt there could have been better structure to how the funds were dispersed.

"I just thought about what the structure was, because so much of what we saw after the first round, the big companies got big checks," Burau said. "I don't have a personal issue with what they were doing. They were also trying to preserve their workforce."

He said large companies like Ruth Chris and Shake Shack had employees too that had to pay their bills also.

"The problem was, that companies like them, have big well educated accounting groups within their businesses that could figure out how to work in this system; whereas most small businesses don't have this advantage," Burau said. "What would have made sense to me, if the intention was to help small businesses, they should have had a structure right out of the gate that would have built around the number of employees a business had."

Burau said if businesses had 25 employees or less, he would have suggested they would be the first in line for funds. He said after three days passed, then businesses with 50 employees or less would be in line for the next three days.

"I know that is a week out into the program, and I understand the challenges of doing it this way, but tiering up would have allowed the money go at a slower rate and sets some requirements versus blindly allowing companies that have 500 employees to apply," Burau pointed out. "That is why small places got crushed, because the big places that had educated, efficient and dedicated accounting services, could take care of themselves, and pull a huge amount of money in one shot, while many of the small businesses were left out. If the small businesses had been serviced first, with say $50,000 for their loan, Ruth Chris still would have gotten close to their 20 million dollars. The small businesses that really have built the American economy would have stayed much more intact."

Burau said being one of those small businesses that didn't get any funds because there were no funds left by the time his application went in, made him think about how it could have been done to help small businesses in a better manner.

"I appreciate that the government and SBA (Small Business Agency) was focused on getting these funds out to small businesses as quick as possible," Burau said. "We have never seen something like this before and we have never had a social support structure like this, they did what they did as quickly as possible, so I have to have some appreciation for that."

He said his tier system would have helped the businesses that needed it the most. Burau understands all businesses need help, but a large business with hundreds of employees are usually in better shape to weather the storm that the pandemic has created.

Burau said he missed out because he wanted to make sure he was asking for the right amount of money and didn't want to take more than he should. He didn't want to be that business that took money away from another business that needed it badly too.

"I took too long to get my questions answered, although all I was trying to do, was be correct in what I should ask for," Burau explained. "Seeing businesses get funds that I was surprised even asked for a loan, did start to cause me to feel a little frustration."

He wasn't frustrated with his banking institution, because he liked the people that worked at the local branch. Burau had put his application online through his bank and waited.

His bank has a local branch, but is actually owned by a foreign company. It has branches throughout the West. He was disappointed that he didn't get the loan, but he did not blame his banking institution in any manner.

Burau had started working with this banking institution because when he was getting ready to move to Saratoga, the institution had a branch near his home in Colorado. He could easily do his banking while making the transition from Colorado to Wyoming.

"I joined it because it was convenient," Burau said. "I have been with them since we opened Firewater and have had no issues at all. The local people at the branch always went above and beyond what I needed. I will say since I was with them, they got purchased by a bigger bank and I did question how the new owners would be, but the local people at the branch kept me banking with them."

Burau said 21 days after he missed the PPP loan the first time, he found out there was going to be a new round of funding.

"I was hopeful that since my application with SBA was already in, I would be one of the first ones to get approved," Burau said. "I was contacting the local manager at the banking institution and she was doing everything she could, but I still wasn't hearing anything."

Burau said he kept checking on the first day the money was released, but no word of his loan was approved. He did know that the SBA website was crashing that first day, but his application was in already, so he was getting nervous, he might not receive the loan this time. He admits, not getting the loan, would have really hurt his business.

"I had been contacted by two local banks that asked if I needed help," Burau said. "Bank of Commerce contacted me through facebook the weekend before the funding was released, but I thought my bank had it covered, so I said I was okay."

He said friends had suggested he try another bank on the second day of funding just to see if there was something that could be done.

"Dan Runner from RNB had called me the day before, so I called him at 1:47 p.m. on Tuesday for our first conversation, and he told me, 'lets see what RNB can do'. I gave them the same application I had done before and at 3:40 p.m. he called me back, sub two hours later, to tell me they had loan number for me already,” Burau said. “It blew my mind; that they could have my application for less than two hours and get the loan and my banking institution had my application 21 days and I had still heard nothing. Less than two hours from first phone call to approval; it was amazing to me. ”

Burau was especially impressed with the hustle that RNB did for a business who had not been a customer before and do it so quickly made him appreciate how banking with a true local bank made all the difference in the world.

“Seeing the effort that they put in, especially since I had never banked with them before, means a significant amount to me,” Burau said. “I moved to this town because I wanted to have a business in a small town and I can’t overlook the value of a local bank and what their team was willing to do, so it made sense for me to open an account there and deposit my loan amount there.”

He said clearly a big bank, even if it employs local people, is not the way for a small local business to go when choosing a bank.

“A big entity, even if it employs local people, has restrictions and lack certain abilities, that a more local entity can be nimble and have flexibility,” Burau said. “It is one of the reasons we moved here. We like that ability of a business to be personal with their interactions. So it makes a lot of sense that as a business that is set up here and wants to be a part of the fiber of this community, works with another local business concerning its banking.”

He said he feels a little bad about leaving the local team at the large banking institution that wasn’t able to help him.

“I have to do what is right for my business and RNB made that clear to me, that they are going to do what is right for my business,” Burau said. “I would do the same with a food provider that couldn’t get what I needed, no matter how much I might like the rep.”

Burau said he was glad he went to RNB to ask for help.

“The success of Firewater has been built on asking other people that are smarter and have more knowledge in any particular sector for help. Asking for help is why Firewater is what it is,” Burau said. “This time, it just took me a little longer to get there.”

He said the fact that RNB was able to get the PPP loan in less than two hours, after waiting 21 days with a huge banking institution, speaks volumes about banking local.