Jackson developer gives lesson on launching small businesses

Main Street Lanes bowling alley and family entertainment center was both the scene of Friday's Jackson Chamber of Commerce breakfast and the model for Jim Maevers' presentation on financing small business.

Maevers co-owns Maevers Management. Over the past year, he and his family have built the Branding Iron restaurant, revitalized the Boulevard Plaza and recruited Movie Gallery and Quizno's Subs to occupy those shops and most recently, revamped the old IGA building into Main Street Lanes.

"First thing you need is a mission statement," Maevers told the gathering of about 30 members. "It's important to understand what you want to accomplish before you start."

Next, Maevers talked about the "Four C's of Lending," things that hopeful business owners need to take with them when applying for a loan:

Cash flow -- the ability to pay back your loan.

Credit -- good standing, again, to show ability to repay.

Collateral -- Maevers said that what enabled his company to get the backing for Main Street Lanes was other real estate as collateral.

Character -- showing the lender that you are in this for the long haul. Maevers again said that his company's ability to get Main Street Lanes rolling had a lot to do with its history of projects in and around Jackson.

Maevers then added a fifth C for communication.

"You can have the best plan in the world, but if you can't communicate it to your loan officer, it won't work," Maevers said.