Bank Of Nova Scotia Grow To A Million Plan
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
When you drove by the Bank of Nova Scotia on Balmoral Street near the Harbour Expressway recently you saw a large Class A Motorhome brightly decorated with Get Growing For A Million emblazoned all over it. The Bank of Nova Scotia business banking team from across Canada decided to take their message to the street and where the small business customers are to talk about their special iniatives aimed to help growth.
Piero Pucci, is the Manager of Small Business for Scotia Bank, with a team of four account managers here in Thunder Bay. He was born and raised in Thunder Bay, started with the bank about 7 years ago and has just come home from a similar position with the bank in Sarnia. “ It
is great to be back in Thunder Bay. We really missed it. Today we have the Get Growing to a Million program team here helping our small business customers reach their first million,” said Piero Pucci. “ It is the second phase of our program. The first phase was our running
start up companies. Our vision is to help small businesses across Canada to grow to that next level. We have a number of new programs and tools to help them get there. For examine the blueprint for business, which gives them a plan and advice to reach the next level and is
similar to a business plan. We use their financial statements and show them their strengths and weaknesses. We can show them where they are in terms of industry averages using Statistics Canada so they can get a feel as to where they stand and where they want to go.”
“ It is going well in Thunder Bay. We have a National contest with a $20,000 national prize and 6 regional $5000 prizes. You submit your ideas on how you want to get your business to the next level and the third week of October we will announce the winners,” said Pucci. “ We
do the Blueprint with the client with some recommendations, ask them what they think and try to help the client implement the plan. It could be something like speeding up payment of your receivables and slowing down payment of payables or what kind of credit or investment needs
they have. It is a great tool. We might provide a credit line, term loan or personal investments. We work with partners as well like Scotia Macleod and retail partners.”
How does Piero Pucci feel about the Thunder Bay economy? “ I have been back 4 months and have found the confidence has returned here especially in the health and education fields. They are building the foundation. Give us a call. Myself and our account managers are
available evenings, weekends when it is convenient for the small business client as we know they are busy. We will take them through the blueprint at no charge and work with their accountants. The CA’s support the blueprint.”
