Banking Partnership Helps Catering Company Win Second Federal Contract

What are the biggest challenges you face as a business?

Fifteen years ago, M Culinary Concepts was awarded a federal contract with the U.S. Forest Service to provide catering for firefighters deployed for natural disaster relief. At the time, we were able to execute on the contract without any additional financing. A few years ago, an opportunity was presented to sign a second contract. This was a chance to expand our business, which also included purchasing new equipment to allow us to take on the additional work. With such a large purchase on the horizon, we felt bank financing was the right way to go with this business investment.

How did Enterprise help solve these challenges?

Before taking any next steps, I called my banker at Enterprise, who’s a consultative advisor and a great sounding board for my ideas. He understood what I needed and put together an equipment line of credit. We are now managing two large contracts.

The fact that Enterprise is a business bank is so important. They took the time to understand my business and what I needed to continue growing. I was previously with a big bank, and I was a number. Working with Enterprise is completely different. It’s a partnership.

What is the impact on your business?

The line of credit allowed us to expand the business substantially. The way the loan is structured allows me to pay it back without too much strain on the business. Our profitability has been and will continue to be positively impacted.

Enterprise has also refinanced my building and manages my private banking. Our relationship and the amount of time we’ve been working together has made daily tasks such as direct deposit, online banking and credit card servicing easy.