Morris followed up with Affinity Business Solutions, a division that offers the traditional fare of business loans and other related services as well as help for start-ups with pre-launch plans. After a series of on and off conversations, Morris buckled down, putting together a business plan in October 2007 with help from Ann Olson, a business development adviser with Affinity Business Solutions. Morris said she was instrumental in helping him craft the business plan and ensuring that he had all the personal assets in place to get his engineering company going. Olson also put him in touch with insurance and financing representatives.

"Trying to do all of that and working full time would have been fairly hard to do," Morris said.

In January, Morris Engineering LLC opened for business. The forensic engineering firm provides services to commercial and residential property owners and delivers expert testimony for law firms and insurance companies. Since its debut, the business has added four full-time employees and amassed 30 clients, Morris said.

"The key was the integration of all the services they provided. We had a single point of contact who became the quarterback, making sure people responded, and got the information back to me," Morris said on his relationship with Affinity. "All those things kept rolling even when I couldn't be working on it full time, because I was still employed elsewhere."

Bob Birkhahn, executive vice president and chief member relationship officer at Affinity Business Solutions, said the key to getting Morris Engineering off the ground was the right combination of planning and financial support.

"We helped him with his business plan, and he was able to leave his previous job and start his firm based on the business plan we helped him with," Birkhahn said. "We also helped him get a home equity line of credit to finance the business, as well as insurance and credit cards with Affinity."

Affinity Business Solutions launched in 2006 and has underwritten nearly $46 million in business loans, Birkhahn said. There's another $20 million in business deposits and between $40 million to $50 million from select employee groups that do not have business loans with the credit union. As of June, the division has reached about 508 businesses through lending, insurance, labor questions and other consultation services. Even though Affinity offered business accounts to SEGs prior to the division's debut, Birkhahn said pent-up demand led to the credit union wanting to expand its reach even more to small businesses.

"We're not operating as a CUSO. We're a part of the credit union," Birkhahn explained. "We're more about determining the needs of what the companies want, whether it's traditional deposits or lending, insurance or investments."

The difference here is taking it a step further to areas that typically need additional help such as with human resources and information technology, Birkhahn said. The division's representatives do not offer advice but provide links to providers that can offer additional guidance. Most of the businesses that have come to Affinity Business Solutions are in the lower-middle market and the start-up phase, two niches the credit union is really trying to build alliances with.

Birkhahn acknowledged that business lending in New Jersey, as in other parts of the country, has slowed. Some members have lost their jobs while others are trying to survive paycheck to paycheck. Customer service at banks is eroding, which is a stark comparison to the red carpet treatment "during the go-go years."

"People are treading water. There's a lot of trepidation," Birkhahn said. "Those who have money [coming in] are trying to figure out how to manage it on a shoestring. We see all of this as new opportunities to offer something better."

That certainly seems to be the case with Morris. He said he expects to use other Affinity services and products in the future. For instance, Morris is considering implementing direct deposit for his employees.

As for having any regrets about becoming a small-business owner, he is more at ease about his destiny. "I am much happier having control of the firm. I know where the money is going, when it's coming in and when it's going out," Morris said during a family trip to the mountains. "I am able to develop my own reputation and business personality, and I can establish a better relationship with clients."

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