Hi my name is Len Dorminey and I am CEO of Heritage Bank of the South. And we’re here today to talk about possible expansion opportunities. Is now a good time for you to consider expanding your business? Over the last two years, Heritage Bank has been expanding into different geographic areas. We have done that through purchases of branches and bank acquisitions in various communities. We have seen many banks retrenched during these weak economic times and slow economies always provide opportunities for companies that have capital to expand and we have a very strong capital position so we have taken advantage of that capital position.

I think there are a couple things that you need to consider, though, before you expand. First of all if you’re buying an existing business then you need to do a very thorough analysis of the company. That would include the people that are at the company, their ability to generate revenue and make sure that you analyze the financial statements very closely. I would also recommend that you engage a third party to check behind your work to make sure that they validate your findings. Another thing that I would suggest that you do as you move into an expansion mode is also make sure to evaluate the community. Is it a community that can provide growth opportunities for your business? Is it a stagnant community? And those type things before you move into that community.

Another very important and key part of any kind of analysis when expansion is do you have the infrastructure in your existing company to handle expansion? Can your management team handle the expanded duties? Do you have the accounting systems? Do you have the computer systems that can all help you with a much larger business and much more complicated business?

The last thing that I would say in that regard is that if you do decided to expand that you don’t take unnecessary and undue risk that my jeopardize your current business. You don’t want to expand and then jeopardize your current model so that everything doesn’t work then. And the other thing is that you, I can’t stress this enough, and that is that communication is the key. You will be bringing on new people into your organization, it’s very important that you communicate your vision and your message very clear to them. They may be coming from an environment that’s totally different than what you’re accustomed to, so I can’t stress the importance of over-communicating so that the new people buy in to your vision and your business plan.

So while the economy is slow, just remember that the slow economy can produce opportunities for businesses that are in a position to expand. So if you do decided to expand, please remember HeritageBank we’re here to help you. We have all the tools, the products and services that will help your business grow in the future.