Great businesses have networks of great partners. They have great lawyers to navigate liability issues and great accountants to reduce their taxes, and they have a great credit union when they need a loan. Eventually, every business owner has to borrow money, whether it’s a startup investing in real estate or a well-established business that needs new equipment. Business owners may know that they can go to Florida Credit Union to get low rates for a private loan, but they may not know that FLCU can finance their business as well.
“We finance all stakeholders in a business, from the business owner to the employee,” said Senior Vice President of Commercial Services Evan Pitts. “That’s an advantage of FLCU. We can help people all across the board.”
Sixty-two years ago, FLCU began in Gainesville as a teachers’ credit union. Its membership has now grown to over 70,000 and is open to everyone, not just teachers. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the union’s presence in Gainesville. With a decades-long local history, the staff at FLCU knows the Gainesville market — some employees have even worked for the credit union for as long as 35 years. They know the people in Gainesville, and they make it their business to have an impactful presence for local business owners.
“Local decision-making is critical,” Pitts explained. Pitts spends most of his time out of the office with his members, visiting their businesses and learning how they operate. “The only way you can be an effective adviser [for them] and know their financial needs is to know how they operate,” he said.
Because of its strong local presence, FLCU can offer a level of personal attention and responsiveness that big banks can’t compete with. For example, FLCU staff will often deliver important forms directly to business owners to sign. As a locally owned mutual cooperative, FLCU is owned by its members in Alachua County and the surrounding counties. As such, the union is able to focus on the benefits to its members rather than answering to distant shareholders. “They can call me directly, and they can call our loan offices directly,” Pitts said.
Just last year in 2015, FLCU was recognized as Credit Union of the Year by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates. According to LSCU, award recipients are credit unions that focus on both industry and community involvement.
FLCU is proud of its history in Gainesville and its ever-expanding membership.
“Most successful businesses have good partnerships,” Pitts concluded. “We want to be a business owner’s adviser and be a partner with them.”
PAXTON SELLERS is a recent college graduate and a Gainesville native. By day, she’s an aspiring journalist and editor. By night, she works on her Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification and perfecting her macaroon recipe.