PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by Frank A Coviello
President, Boston Financial Corporation
They say that you can’t keep a
good man down. That applies to a good company as
well. I think that Boston Financial Corporation is
an excellent example of that. Early in 2002, at the
time that BFC made its decision to relocate its
offices from Faneuil Hall Marketplace to the
Charlestown Navy Yard, the U.S. economy was
"tight", to say the least. In spite of
that, we were convinced that there was still a
strong demand for our services, perhaps, even more
so than what had existed during the heydays of the
robust economy of the several years past. So, we
took a calculated risk and moved our offices,
expanded our operations, hired several additional
people and significantly increased our operating
costs.
What we didn’t anticipate was
that even though the need for our factoring services
was increasing on a daily basis, a large number of
business operators were reluctant to make major
financing decisions or commitments due to the
uncertainty of the times. As a result, our sales
level remained flat with just enough new business
coming in to offset the accounts we were losing
through normal attrition. Recognizing this as a
potential long-term problem, we substantially
increased our marketing and selling efforts. We
employed outside consultants to assist us in getting
our message out. We put additional emphasis on
establishing strategic alliances with certain
professionals and other commercial finance
institutions, each of whom are in positions to refer
business to us. We basically kicked into high-gear.
After one full year of aggressive
marketing and selling, our efforts are paying off.
During the month of June, we put on six new
factoring clients and our current pipeline of
applications-in-process and prospects is extensive.
The strategic alliance partners are referring client
prospects to us on a regular basis. And, our own
direct marketing efforts are getting results.
Although there was great focus on
bringing in new business to support our growth, we
never lost sight of the fact that our existing
clients were growing as well and needed service. Our
operations, compliance and finance departments saw
to it that all of BFC’s clients got the usual
prompt attention to all funding requests. We never
compromised any client relationships or lowered our
quality standards.
This, of course, did not happen
by itself. It is, without question, the result of
hard work by the committed employees of Boston
Financial Corporation. And, if I may, there is
another old saying that I would like to reference.
It is, "You can tell a company by the people it
keeps." I am proud of the employees of Boston
Financial Corporation and I am proud to be Boston
Financial Corporation’s President.
My sincere appreciation and
thanks to all of you.
Frank A. Coviello
President
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
U.S. Flag Manufacturing Inc., an
Abington Massachusetts based company, has been a
client of Boston Financial Corporation for over 10
years. US Flag came to BFC in 1993 seeking funding
to support the growth of their flag manufacturing
business. Due to particularly low margins, US Flag
needed to vastly increase its sales volume in order
to achieve profitability. According to Wallace St.
John, US Flag’s President, "It was very
difficult to finance our operations and make money
without some sort of receivables financing, and BFC
solved that problem for us." Boston Financial
Corporation provided Wallace and US flag with access
to working capital to take on larger orders and thus
achieve profitability and controlled growth. With
the help of BFC, US Flag has become a major supplier
of flags to local cities and towns, veterans groups,
and other organizations across New England.
BFC has helped finance the
seasonal nature of US Flag’s sales volume as well
as allowing the company to expand its operations.
For example, the company was paying an unusually
high price for the dowels used for its hand-held
flags and thus US Flag was considering manufacturing
them in-house. BFC provided the capital for US flag
to import the mold from China so that they could
begin production of their own plastic dowels. "BFC
helped us to expand our operations so that we now
see additional sales revenue that we otherwise
wouldn’t have had" adds Mr. St. John.
US flag and Boston Financial
Corporation have established a relationship that has
proven to be mutually beneficial. "Our
relationship with BFC has made us a more stable
company," remarks Wallace. In fact, over the
last 10 years US flag has grown from literally
pennies in revenue to around one million dollars
this year. "We are extremely happy with the
services BFC provides," remarks Mr. St. John.
"We would never consider going to anyone
else." That was not always the case, however,
as US flag once left BFC for a short period of time
for another factor, only to return a little while
later. "We have had a few clients leave BFC
trying to find a better deal with other factors.
They later return because, in the long run, our
fees, service, and professionalism really are the
best." adds Frank Coviello, President of Boston
Financial Corporation. BFC and US Flag continue to
compliment each other well and fuel growth for both
entities.
PARTNERSHIP CORNER
BFC Opens Its Doors to More Strategic
Partnerships
Boston Financial Corporation
recently began actively promoting its strategic
partnership program. Partnerships with banks,
brokers, consultants, and CPA’s have significantly
increased BFC’s client base. "Establishing
mutually beneficial relationships has been
instrumental to our recent growth," remarks Ray
Dugdale, BFC’s Professional Relationship Manager.
BFC rewards its partners
generously for referring customers. The program
includes an ongoing commission on all factored
monthly volume. In addition, BFC is often contacted
by potential clients that are outside our own
service area or clients that are seeking financial
services that BFC does not provide. In turn, BFC
refers these inquiries to existing partnered
companies.
Promotional activities for the partnership
program include seasonal Boston harbor cruises
aboard the "NUERA," BFC’s 61 ft motor
yacht as well as breakfast seminars held at the
corporate headquarters in Flagship Wharf. BFC is
planning a July cruise dedicated solely to the
factoring industry in which invitees will consist of
other factors based in the New England
area."This is only the beginning," adds
Kris Limaye BFC’s Marketing Manager. "With
our renewed marketing efforts, our partnership
program should continue to grow and help the entire
company grow along with it." BFC’s
partnership program has been extremely successful
and is continuing to add new partnerships on a daily
basis. Existing partners are from all types of
businesses including:
New England Banking
Institutions
Business Development Offices
Financial Services Companies
Financial Manager Resource Companies
College/University Development Centers
State/Local Government Offices
New England Brokers
New England CPAs
New England Attorneys
Consulting Companies
FROM THE SALES DESK
When Helping a Business Gets Personal
Boston Financial Corporation is a company
dedicated to easing the burden of cash flow pressure
for companies across New England. BFC is of course a
business, but we also care about our clients and
hope we can help in their continued growth. One
recent client made us at BFC feel particularly
appreciated. Marc Kenney, Senior Business
Development Associate, called a woman in
Massachusetts who is seeking working capital to grow
her fabrication business. This particular woman was
almost in tears on the phone as she attempted to
explain her cash flow pressures and how she was
losing sleep at night and could rarely enjoy a
weekend. After setting financial terms that were
beneficial to both parties, BFC has subsequently
relieved her of her financial burden and she can now
sleep well and enjoy life outside of her work.
According to Marc Kenney, "It is a great
feeling when you can relieve such problems and
provide peace of mind to a client." Well, BFC
is happy to report that this woman’s business is
now thriving, thanks in part to help from Boston
Financial Corporation.
AROUND THE OFFICE
Meetings We All Look Forward To
At Boston Financial Corporation,
we recognize that encouraging teamwork and
cooperation among our employees will result in the
best customer service for our clients. To that end,
we hold biweekly staff meetings. BFC provides lunch,
and the employees provide the conversation. By
making the staff meeting an event our employees look
forward to, BFC has eliminated the sense of dread
that often accompanies such gatherings and turned
them into a relaxed, open forum for discussion of
issues affecting the company, our employees and our
clients.
Another fun company event is the upcoming BFC
Cookie Contest, which will span two weeks. The first
week, BFC’s male employees will bake cookies to be
judged by the female employees. A week later the
opposite will happen, as the women will bake cookies
for the BFC men to evaluate. Operations Associate
Barbara McDevitt, who dreamed up the contest, says,
"It is another enjoyable thing to do to bring
us together and build a little camaraderie."
Adding a little play to our busy workdays allows
employees to feel connected to one another and to
the company, which in turn ensures better
productivity.
PERSONNEL UPDATE
BFC brings in Sales Interns
Another step in the growth of Boston Financial
Corporation was taken recently when six college
interns were added to the BFC sales staff for the
summer. The new interns are heading up an aggressive
marketing effort designed to create a steady flow of
new sales prospects. Four interns were brought on
board in early June, with 2 more added later in the
month. "Within the first few weeks the interns
have already generated a significant increase in new
applications and in the general awareness of BFC,"
notes Marc Kenney, who manages the interns. The
program has been so successful early on that BFC is
considering continuing the program into the fall.
BFC would like to formally welcome the following
interns:
Michael Belmarce (3rd
Year) Northeastern University
Vanya Kostadinova (Junior) American University of
Paris
Krishna Shetty (Senior) Clark University
Libbie Snyder (Junior) McGill University
Sodany Sor (Junior) Yale University
Paul Williams (Senior) University of Massachusetts
at Amherst
