Joe Guarino

Art Culinaire, Summer, 2001

Name: Joe Guarino

Age: What is my age let's see I was in born in 46 so I guess that makes me 55.

Family: Wife Linda, a son and daughter

Home: Middletown New Jersey

Occupation: Chief of Finance and Group Leader for the small Business Administration New York office

First job: I was a teller in 1965 at the Franklin National Bank in Brooklyn

Most vivid food and wine memory: There was this great Northern Italian place in Brooklyn called Joe's I had some of the best meals of my life there. Frank and George Genoves were truly talented I got to know them pretty well when the restaurant moved across the street from my office. I used to bring my girlfriends there they'd always bring out dishes that weren't on the menu-very impressive. They made an angel hair with vodka sauce that was to die for.'

Mottoes by which I work: Always put in a day and a half's worth of work. I always come in early and though I don't stay as late as I used to manage to put in about 10-12 hour days. Always give them more than what they expect.

Small businesses represent 99.7% of all employers and 96% of all U.S. exporters. our country is built on the small business community. These same start-up companies rely on commercial funds to get ahead. But it's not always as easy as walking into a bank and asking for money especially when you are a first time applicant with no established track record or minor debt. For this reason the Small Business Administration (SBA) a federal agency was created in 1953 to "maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding counseling assisting and protecting the interests of small busts ness concerns and by helping families and businesses recover from natural disasters. Today the SBA represents the single largest financial backer of small businesses in the United States. After nine years as the Chief of Finance for the SBA New York office Joe Guarino is a mentor to any business just starting out. He has worked as a commercial loan officer since 1975 many of his clients restaurateurs. Though he has worked at the local bank branch in Brooklyn and rubbed elbows on Madison Ave. Guarino has always maintained that his business is about people not money. His start was humble however Guarino was fortunate to have found his own mentor at an early age. After I graduated from high school in 1964. I spent a few months. in college but decided that I was a Brooklyn street kid and they didn't go to college. Guarino explains instead he waited at home for his draft card to come in and worked in the neighborhood bank as a teller "I finally got the call, and I failed the physical. I failed it three times," Guarino recalls. He continued at the bank and in a matter of three months was promoted to chief clerk. Within a few years he was promoted again, becoming the bank's youngest corporate manager. "It wasn't the norm in those days, to be promoted so fast. Guarino admist. "You used to have to be trained for several years and sit on the bench before getting a promotion. Nowadays banks make every body a v.p who's right out of college

Though he took to the banking industry quite naturally, he was encouraged to pursue a higher education. In between his fourteen hour days, at the behest of his menton. Guarino attended college in the evenings. He completed his undergraduate degree and MBA over the course of eight years. While I was learning the bank business, my mentor Frank Bentante taught me to read between the lines--to get to know people." The continues. "Today it's all black and white all about business." For this reason. Guarino felt the structure of large banks was not for him; there were too many procedures. I wanted to work independently, where I could get to know the people who were applying for the loan." Guarino explains. He moved to nice small bank where he managed the Brooklyn and Fort Hamilton branches. His final move brough him to the Public National Bank in New York where he remained for thirteen

years. It was at these two banks that Guarino got into the lending business. Today Guarino assists the SBA to ensure that young entrepreneurs are given their opportunity to succeed.

Q: How did you become involved with the Small Business Administration (SBA)?

A: While working in the banking business. I was always among the top three performing officers. But each year they 'raised the bar' of what was expected. It began to wear on me. I was in D.C. on business and met a gentleman who was a regional administrator for the SBA. He told me about the organization. A few months after I returned to New York we spoke again and discussed my coming to work for the SBA. I decided it was time to leave while I was still on top of the game. Although I didn't want the responsibility of a big office--nine years later. I'm an SBA loan manager.

Q: Who should apply for a business loan?

A: Anyone who wants to borrow over $150,000. It is not economically feasible for banks to lend money than that fact on a $150,000 loan the bank will just break even. Anything less and they loose money. It's not as simple as the bank giving you the money and ranking in all that great interest. There's a lot of holding at the beginning, the banker must service and review the account throughout the term of the loan.