SPEAKER_01: 0:18

Hello and welcome back to the Atma podcast where we give you the tips, tools, and strategies you need to build lost ground and scale your business. Joining us today is Joni Wilson, Banking Center President for Suster Bank here in Arlington. Joanie has over 40 years of experience in commercial banking and commercial real estate lending, and also has been with Susterbank since 2008. She is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in finance and completed her executive banking leadership training at LSU. Beyond banking, Joan is deeply embedded in the Arlington community, serving as the chair of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Tarrant County College Foundation, and an advisor to the multiple nonprofit organizations. Her leadership has been recognized by the Tom Vandegriff Leadership Award and the Chamber's Hero Award. And today she continues to advocate for businesses by helping them access capital, mitigate risk, and grow sustainably. Joni, welcome to the show. Today's episode is sponsored by Nouveau Desk Coworking, the home of Arlington's most accessible production ready podcast studio. Whether you're launching your first show or leveling up your content game, NouveauDesk gives you a professional studio environment where you can walk in, hit record, and create. But Nouveau Desk is more than just a podcast room. It's fully equipped business hub with private offices, conference rooms, and workshop and event spaces designed to help you host, collaborate, and grow. If you're ready to elevate your brand, your business, or your voice, book your next recording or your next tour at nuvodesk.com. Create here, work here, build here. Today's episode is brought to you by Nuvio, the all-in-one business platform designed to help you build, manage, and scale with confidence. With Nuvio, you can build your own website in minutes, manage all of your leads and customers through a powerful CRM. And if you're in the restaurant industry, you can run your entire operations using Nuvio's modern point-of-sale system. Whether you're a startup, a service provider, or a full-scale restaurant, Nuvio gives you everything you need in one place. Simple, connected, and built to grow with you. Discover why entrepreneurs are switching to Nuvio. Visit Nuvio.com and run your entire business on one platform. Well, welcome back once again. My name is Brian Cha, co-founder of Advent Trinity Marketing Agency, and we have a very special guest, Joni Wilson with Susser Bank. Joni, thank you for joining us today. Say hello and tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00: 2:51

Thank you. I appreciate the invitation. As you said, Joni Wilson, Susser Bank, been in banking 43 years. Wow. Have have not really had a different career than this. Really enjoy getting to know folks in the city of Arlington of where I've lived my entire life and gone to school here. You must love banking. So yeah. Love banking and love Arlington. There you go. There's never been a reason to move out of the city because you're in the middle of the Metroplex and 20 minutes away from the airport.

SPEAKER_01: 3:27

You know, one thing I didn't say in your introduction is that you are the the chair of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce this year. So congratulations. How has that been going?

SPEAKER_00: 3:37

It's it's been going well. It's busy. Yeah. As you can imagine, all the calendar events that you can attend, you try to make the most of them. Uh but it's a great experience. Started doing that in October, so I'm in the middle of the year.

SPEAKER_01: 3:53

Awesome, awesome. A lot of things. And you know, Michael Jacobson was just on the show uh right before you, and uh we were just talking about the chamber and it's you know the all the amazing things that the chamber does. Um but we're here to talk about you and your experience at Susser Bank, and Susser Bank has been open since 1959 and has remained a community-focused, you know, uh bank. Um so uh from your perspective, uh what foundational values um have allowed Susser Bank to remain relevant and trusted for more than six decades?

SPEAKER_00: 4:27

Um the the main values are the same that you would want to have for any business to be relationship driven, to have clients that you form that relationship with, to be transparent with them, to be honest with them, accountable, all those same things. Uh for the people in Arlington that have known affiliated bank back in the days, that's who we were and we still are. We're now called Susser Bank. So it's been that way for about seven years. Um but I've been there for 18 years now at that uh location and I just really value the community bank uh spirit in in banking and really getting to know people. We're there, we answer the phone, we meet people in person, and that's what that's all about.

SPEAKER_01: 5:24

It's relationships. Yeah, right. And so it's like uh I I think we we just talk touched on this in multiple, not just um, you know, uh the chamber, but and everything. Um you know, you could be B2C, which is business to to to customer, business to business. At the end of the day, we're human to human and we're we're here to help each other, right? And to have a a servant and service heart. And um and you've been doing this now, like you said, 43 years in banking, and what shaped your philosophy early, uh, you know, to to basically shape your leadership and and and your responsibility. Like w tell me walk me through that.

SPEAKER_00: 6:03

You know, as I think about that uh question, I think about the uh perfectionist mother that uh that I had. She's no longer with us, but she was one that uh instilled in me that you've gotta be accountable, you gotta do it right, you don't give an answer immediately, you research it because you don't want to be wrong.

SPEAKER_01: 6:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:25

So those things I think developed uh in me how organization's important, uh keeping good records, all those kind of things. It's not about being perfect, but it's about if you don't know, you dig into those resources and and find out the answer or a solution or a suggestion.

SPEAKER_01: 6:47

You do your due diligence, right? And exactly. You've you've kind of have ownership. Um you you just said it too. It's like don't just respond. Uh, you know, does this yeah, and a lot of people do that. We we react. We get an email and we get a call, or you know, uh sometimes I read emails and and I've learned this, and and those listening, this is probably the best advice I can give anybody is before you respond, right? Process it. Yeah, you know, make yourself a task for later. Don't respond. What's the urgency of responding right now? It's more of a reaction, and you could say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

SPEAKER_00: 7:26

And it'll be in writing. Exactly. That that's scary sometimes.

SPEAKER_01: 7:31

Exactly, exactly. So just making sure that uh you do your due diligence, right? And so when working with business owners, um, why is knowing your customer uh more than just a banking principle and how does it shape long-term success?

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

Knowing your customer in my banking career in the early days, it was required to know them because you had to document. And then when the Patriot Act came around and 9-11 and all that, you really have to know who your customer is for that documentation. But more importantly to me, it's that relationship. How am I gonna know what Brian needs in his business without getting to know him and how he thinks and um what are his aspirations? What is what's his business plan? What does he want to do? I may not have all the answers, but if I don't know what the goals are, then I can't do my due diligence and my research and that kind of thing. Um but it it goes back to the relationship part. And you can't do that in my mind with online banking.

SPEAKER_01: 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 8:43

Yeah, that's a great feature and service to have when I'm not in the office, but you've got to have that connection.

SPEAKER_01: 8:50

Mm-hmm. And sometimes you just need the advice, you know. Finance is yeah, finance is very similar to marketing where it's not simple. You know, and you know, everybody says, What's it? Expenses and income and marketing is you know, leads and but it's so much more complicated. And and people um if it wasn't, then there wouldn't be people like us to help them and guide them. Exactly. Um so you emphasize that no successful organization is built by one person alone. And so how does teamwork show up in effective banking leadership?

SPEAKER_00: 9:25

Uh what I enjoy uh about that is everybody wants a good team. Again, I'm not gonna know all the answers. So if I can meet a business owner and bring my team with me, expert in lending, I can do. I can talk about checking accounts, I can talk about treasury and ideas for growth and projections, but if I can bring that team with me, it's uh a more enjoyable visit, but much less. If I bring my 43 years of experience and I bring two more people, I'm gonna bring their 43 years as well. Yeah. And it's just a great uh combination to to bring to the client. Uh a recent call that I'm just coming to mind with is a longtime nonprofit in the area. And I brought another, I brought my boss's boss actually, who'd been in Arlington for a long time, brought an expert in the treasury management area. We covered every question they had. We visited for two hours and we had a great time.

SPEAKER_01: 10:33

Yeah. Well it's just like you you gotta have to have sometimes you we forget to uh have joy in what we do.

SPEAKER_00: 10:41

Enjoy what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01: 10:42

Exactly, exactly. And um you d you probably know this, but our core values actually come from the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle self-control. Um joy though, somebody said this uh uh and it stuck with me, is that uh sometimes we think, well, um, joy is just gonna happen. Joy is just gonna happen. And somebody said, No, joy is a choice. One, and joy also is is something that you have to um kind of develop with your people that are around you, right? And so if we have a team, um we have to develop that culture of enjoying what we do, finding joy in the little things, right? And I and I think that's crucial. It's crucial to any organization or any business, right?

SPEAKER_00: 11:30

Well we spend a lot of time with our work family.

SPEAKER_01: 11:35

Yeah, we consider it as a family now.

SPEAKER_00: 11:38

Yeah. So you need to enjoy it or or do something that you do enjoy. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 11:44

Um, you know, um how many people think that that banking relate uh banking relationships is transactional when it shouldn't be? Right?

SPEAKER_00: 11:52

Yeah, it it it really isn't. Um there's so many things that we can offer and services, but I can show you all the products and services, but it's the value that you and I can share, you know, and and trade off from each other. Um there's just so much more there to offer. And that's what makes what I do very enjoyable. You know, it it might not be something I can do for you today or it's an answer of not now, not a no. Because someone needs to work on this, this, and this before we can do that that kind of loan or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01: 12:34

Yeah. Um so question for you, because you s you've been doing this for four to three years, but but what made you um want uh because are you focused on commercial, right?

SPEAKER_00: 12:43

Commercial lending, commercial banking, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 12:46

And so what made you want to focus in that specifically?

SPEAKER_00: 12:49

The variety.

SPEAKER_01: 12:50

The variety.

SPEAKER_00: 12:51

The variety um outweighs the the consumer side of it. Um if I'm in home mortgage lending, then it's it's obviously enjoyable to help people get in new homes, but that's the product. In business, there's so many avenues. We can help with lines of credits and equipment notes and get you in a building. We can help you expand your building, we can build a new one. There's a wide variety of types of lending. And I think that's what pulled that interest in for me right off the bat.

SPEAKER_01: 13:25

And how many, how many, how many businesses have you helped? Can you even count them?

SPEAKER_00: 13:29

Oh my gosh, no. I really couldn't.

SPEAKER_01: 13:32

Have you have you like and you've built relationships with these authors? Right.

SPEAKER_00: 13:36

Relationships, many different businesses.

SPEAKER_01: 13:38

And so um you've seen all kinds of businesses um stumble and also succeed, right? So how tell me a little bit about that, like what you know, how's how's that experience with you?

SPEAKER_00: 13:49

It's uh you put yourself as a lender, as a banking officer, you put yourself in their shoes a lot. So you try to understand where they're coming from. If if something stumbles or an a case and example right now is fraud is just prevalent everywhere. So this happens many times a week. Where a client will call and say, a check ran through and it's not mine. And I can immediately in my mind step in their shoes and say, Well, have you done this? Have you done this? And that's the value we offer. Well, maybe you should have done this. Right. We all can't watch our checking account every day, all day long. Yeah. You need to put features into place. And that that's probably the bidding the biggest product I sell right now, if you call it sell. It's it's what we offer and everybody takes in is we can help you uh automatically look at every item coming in, and then if something doesn't match, we're texting and emailing you that morning early.

SPEAKER_01: 14:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 14:58

We're there's just so many ways that we can help when businesses hit a roadblock or stumble, like you said.

SPEAKER_01: 15:06

Um It's just amazing. You kinda answered one of my questions that we were gonna ask about the the fraudulent and and uh speaking of that, that's actually happened to us before where it um they called us and they were like, hey, um, you know, there's this check that uh and it wasn't ours, right? And so everybody it is kind of crazy though. Yeah. Um unfortunately, it it's just it's just the world, right? We have to think about the good and the ugly. Right.

SPEAKER_00: 15:36

And be preventative. Exactly. For sure.

SPEAKER_01: 15:39

So you often speak about sharing knowledge as growth strategy and uh educating and strengthening not just you know bankers but business owners. You are uh now uh the the the chair of the Greater Organization Chamber of Commerce, and so not just in the banking, but in the Greater Organization Chamber of Commerce, like um what what spurred you to kind of you know obviously you love helping business owners. Obviously if you if you didn't you wouldn't be uh a commercial banker and a uh you know the chair of the the Greater Organization Chamber of Commerce. So tell us a little about uh sharing knowledge and growth strategies with them.

SPEAKER_00: 16:15

I I think that's just something everybody has to do, especially at the time of life I'm in, for everything that I've learned and done and received, we all need to give back.

SPEAKER_02: 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 16:29

So is that through volunteering, that kind of thing? I think that was initially it might not have been initially, but that's part of being part of the chamber.

SPEAKER_01: 16:40

Sure.

SPEAKER_00: 16:40

Is you you want to get to know people, you want to share your knowledge, you want to meet new people and network. Yeah, we're looking for more business. We're all you know, had that um goal in mind as well. But why not broaden that and get to know people just in general? And and that's what drives me now is really getting to know people. Maybe I can help them, maybe I can't. Maybe they ask me a question like who's the best plumber in town? Well, I'm gonna give you a couple ideas.

SPEAKER_01: 17:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 17:14

Right? And and that's what that all is. It's it's sharing because that's gonna come back in a good way.

SPEAKER_01: 17:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 17:23

Does that make sense? It does.

SPEAKER_01: 17:24

Like it's a it's a uh it's kind of like a theme that's been h going on with multiple of our guests. It's like giving back to the community, right? Being a servant, um, um, and not just you know selling, but serving, um, you know, uh because we're here uh for the the short term. I mean, really, we're not gonna be here forever. Right. And the generation that's um um, you know, that's coming up, we've got to give back to them, right? And give uh give them guidance and because at the end of the day, they're the ones that are gonna replace us, right?

SPEAKER_00: 17:58

Exactly. Um and you wanna help groom them.

SPEAKER_01: 18:00

Exactly. Because otherwise, you know, they're the future.

SPEAKER_00: 18:04

Right. They're the future. They're the ones that are gonna be taking care of me and assisted living, right?

SPEAKER_01: 18:10

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00: 18:11

Why not share? Yeah. Share the knowledge, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 18:14

And uh um it's it's you know, you're you're UTA grad, and um uh we've actually hired uh people from UTA, UNT, TCC, um you know, a lot of our stu uh, you know, a lot of us students now that we are actually have interns from the Dan Diapert. Um it's important um to show them what it looks like, right? Uh and to um nurture them personally, saying, hey, this is this is how the the real world works. Sometimes sometimes we sometimes yeah, exactly. Or AI, right? Oh scary enough. But uh um yeah, I think you're you're right. It's just when when we think when we think about growing, it's it's really about nurturing. And that's the same thing when it comes to marketing, is like we we we educate and it's like hey, you have to nurture, you know, people buy from people they know, like, and trust, right? Right. Uh people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Um if they don't know you, they don't like you, they don't trust you, then it's gonna be a very hard sell, no matter how you do it. Uh but growing at the end of the day is nurturing. And to your point, we're we're nurturing, we're nurturing the next generation, we're nurturing our employees, we're nurturing our um, you know, the people that we're doing business with. I think that's important to to have that mindset. Um so uh from a banker's uh perspective, um, how does honesty, especially when delivering tough truths, uh impact long-term client relationships? And and I I've got some stuff to tell you about marketing on a marketing standpoint, but on a banker standpoint, what what what does that look like?

SPEAKER_00: 19:52

Well, um, and I kind of mentioned, you know, sometimes we have to get that answer that someone doesn't want to hear, but they don't get what they asked for. And and I always put it as we can't do that now. It's it's a no right now, but it's just a not now. Um case in point, I have a um a company in the area that I worked with five years ago for a good year trying to figure out how to do an expansion loan, build a new place, and add on to all their locations. And the experience was was long, it was trying. It took a while to get stuff from them, gotta have your financials in order. That's a big thing. And then you you're always going back and trying to do homework and bring it back. Anyways, the the short to that story is I couldn't do it then. Two years later, which was about um six months ago, that same person called me again. I'd like to look at this kind of deal. This is someone I told no. But I spent time, we shared knowledge, uh, it was a growing experience. Um they got their deal done somewhere else, they're doing okay.

SPEAKER_01: 21:14

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00: 21:15

But it was it was an honor for me to hear from them again. Yeah. Because, you know, even though it was a no answer, it was still uh a relationship, right?

SPEAKER_01: 21:27

It's funny you say that because no is some some business owners and entrepreneurs were sometimes too scared to say no. And uh um Jeff Willins, who was on earlier, uh, he he actually had to say no to Jerry Jones, right? And then and can you imagine saying no to Jerry Jones, right? Um and um uh I I just had a conversation with the customer just this week, and it was about branding. And um she was really struggling with branding, and she it was like, well, this this logo doesn't Does this and this this branding is doing this? And I, you know, it's kind of all over the place. And and um I was just like, well, branding is about you, it's about the personality of truly of the CEO, it's the leader, right? And it stems from there and it uh it breathes life into the rest of the culture of the organization. Anyway, so I told a story because this this question reminded me of the story. I said, Do you know why we chose the color royal blue uh for part of like the main color besides black and white in your branding? In their branding, she's just like, no, you know, tell me why. And I said, Royal blue stands for loyalty, and I'm gonna tell you a story. When I when when we first started this organization, the show Suits was like big, right? Umly enough, my customer is also an attorney, so suits is not the real like so but anyway, so I'm telling you a story because uh uh Harvey Spector, the main protagonist of the show in the first season, by the way, it's best season, my personal opinion, because he shows his personality. He goes to a c the the the customer hires him and says, Hey, you know, I want you to do this job and I want you to, you're the best closer, and this is the result that I want. And so he comes back, he has a result, he has the papers, and he gives it to the the customer, and the customer is like, This isn't what I asked for. And he said, You're right, it's not because it's but it's the best deal you're gonna get. And you here's why you're gonna take it. Because I'm not here to earn your business, I'm here to keep your business. And I think we forget that it's it's not about the short term, it's not transactional, right? It's about the relationship, right? You know, and building the relationship. And so what did he he he say? I don't want your money, I want your loyalty. And so, Royal Blue, we don't want your money, we want a relationship, we want to grow together and build together. I think that we have that same value, right?

SPEAKER_00: 23:53

Uh, you want it to be long term, exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 23:56

Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't have been doing this for 42 years. So as leaders scale their organizations, what mindset shift must occur to move from operator to legacy builder?

SPEAKER_00: 24:12

We we are all, I think about myself in this in this question. We're all independent, we want to do it, we want to do it right. But we have to um grow our team.

SPEAKER_01: 24:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 24:27

And I see business owners come in and they're ready to get to the next level, and it's the owner that does everything and can't keep up with their books and can't do this and do this and do emails and put out bids or do collections on receivables because they're too busy doing the main job, which which was their credential for opening that company. You've got to be able to hire those resources to set yourself up to scale. Right. Right? You you've got to be able to and plan that and have the working capital and I'm not gonna fund all that. You know, I can't do a hundred percent financing on deals like that. We have to do it as a partnership because it's a commitment from the client and the bank. Uh so when when I think of that question, I think about that you're not maybe completely set up to get to the next level. Because bankers are gonna look at your financials, how are you set up, ask about your staff, where you're located, do you have enough room? I mean it it just goes on and on.

SPEAKER_01: 25:40

You said I kind of said it too, like if how can you build a legacy? 'Cause a legacy is supposed to live with even without you.

SPEAKER_02: 25:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 25:48

And how can you build a legacy without with if you're still in that legacy?

SPEAKER_00: 25:54

In the middle of it.

SPEAKER_01: 25:55

Exactly. And and if it can't work without you, then it w it can't Yeah. It's not gonna be a legacy.

SPEAKER_00: 25:59

You can't be the only one approving everything all day long and make and answering all the questions. You've gotta it's hard to let go.

SPEAKER_01: 26:08

But yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 26:09

But you've gotta have a staff that you can rely on to support you.

SPEAKER_01: 26:14

Absolutely. Um when advising clients, how do you balance realism and optimism, especially in challenging economic cycles?

SPEAKER_00: 26:25

Uh it's always challenging, right? I can I can remember when the pandemic set in and we all of a sudden went home and the PPP loans came out. Um I had to learn that product really, really fast by myself. Everybody did because we were all at home and we had to implement really quick. Um but it's in the same way of realistic uh realistic and uh being optimistic. Um I g I get clients that come in and say, This is my idea, and I want a million dollars to do this, this, and this and this, but they don't think about realistically, well, what part are you gonna come to the table with?

SPEAKER_01: 27:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 27:07

Just like I mentioned a minute ago, it's we don't do a hundred percent financing. So that that's just kind of a one way to look at that. Um I appreciate the clients that come in with their optimism. Yeah. Because they're visionary, they got the idea and all that, but we've still got to document it and put it on paper. Have has your CPA looked at it? Yeah, has your attorney looked at it? Uh has your team looked at it?

SPEAKER_01: 27:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 27:40

You know, has your staff bought into it? Um and I guess that's how I compare those two things.

SPEAKER_01: 27:48

And it's hard too, because um you have to have optimism to motivate and inspire.

SPEAKER_02: 27:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 27:56

But you also have to have realism when you're making data diff driven decisions.

SPEAKER_02: 28:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 28:02

Right? And so uh I think they're it's a hard balance. It truly is. It's it's something that's um um tough, right? Right. Um, but Joni, thank you again for jumping onto this podcast. We appreciate your insights. And uh there you have it. You've had Joni Wilson, the president of Susser Bank here in Arlington, and uh you did you did you did a well job. So we appreciate you jumping on this show. And um once again, my name is Brian Acosta. I'm the CEO, co-founder of Adventry Marketing Agency. Um, we enjoy Joni being on the show and showing us, you know, the insides of of what it looks like with commercial banking and her experience. And um, we loved having her on the show. We we hope you guys are gonna continue listening um to the rest of the podcast and the different guests that are coming on. We are gonna keep on going chugging along and helping you build launch grow and scale your businesses. So keep on listening. We will see you guys next time.