PORTLAND, Ore. – Despite the perception that small business owners wouldn't think of looking to credit unions for financial services, credit unions could be their perfect partners. And by setting up successful branch-based small business programs, a small business member base can lead to excellent returns for cooperatives.

That's according to Jim Hanson, principal consultant for JDH Consulting, LLC in Tucson, Ariz., who spoke to credit union executives at the 2017 CUBG Annual Conference Wednesday in a breakout session, "Building a Successful Branch-Based Small Business Program." His co-speaker was Julie Morrison, business deposit manager at the $1.3 billion Meritrust Credit Union in Wichita, Kan., whose credit union saw growth after implementing Hanson's program.

"Small business owners love walking into branches and dealing with the person who can help them solve their problems," Hanson said. "Another thing that works to our advantage is that they hate big banks."

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.