Bank Stages ‘Survivor’ Workshop for Small Firms

First Security Bank of Northwest Arkansas is sponsoring an event Nov. 6-7 that could be a godsend for area small businesses.

“Managing & Financing Independent Business” will feature international banking whiz Steve J. Abercrombie, president of Business Resources Services of Seattle, Wash., and an internationally renowned speaker on finance.

The two-day, $295 seminar is tailored for small business owners and focused on economic survival skills for today’s economy. It will offer local executives immersion in strategies such as cash flow management and avoiding bankruptcy.

The seminar includes lunches and will run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. both days at the Springdale Holiday Inn. About 40 of the 60 available seats are already taken.

Abercrombie is a 20-year veteran of commercial banking, a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School and a faculty member at both the LSU Graduate School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at Madison, Wis.

Jim Taylor, First Security’s Fayetteville president, said First Security Bancorp sister banks in Conway and Searcy have previously hosted Abercrombie seminars. Several of the attendees, Taylor said, believe the seminar saved their businesses.

“Steve is going to answer questions like, ‘What do my financial statements really tell me about my business? How can I manage working capital better and ease cash-flow problems? How can I afford to grow in good times and survive in bad times?'” Taylor said.

“The investment of being away from the office is a bigger price than the fee, but it’s all well worth it.”

First Security has locations in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bella Vista and Prairie Creek. For more information contact Jim Watson, First Security’s business development officer, at (501) 527-7000.