Back in 2020, when our nation’s small businesses began to realize that the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t going away anytime soon, many marketing and advertising firms received an influx of requests from clients transforming their business operations and presence to exist online.
JCD Promotions, a web design and development company based in Chaska, MN, worked hard to support small businesses through digital transformation. Things got so busy that its founder, Carrie Drephal, hired her first subcontractor.
When Drephal, a self-employed business owner, learned she was potentially eligible for a PPP loan, she quickly applied through her big-box national bank. The process dragged on, and Drephal couldn’t access the bank’s portal to submit the application. When she was finally able to submit her information, no one reached out.
Even though Drephal wasn’t a 21st Century Bank customer, it didn’t matter. When she called and asked for help, our team jumped in to help. Drephal submitted an application through 21st, and was astonished by the quick response. Her application was reviewed, and only one week later – she had her PPP loan, which came at a perfect time.
Considering her workload amid the pandemic, Drephal was so busy she wasn’t invoicing consistently. Without the loan, her bills would have been late or unpaid. The PPP loan gave her the security and flexibility she needed to manage client requests and begin scaling her business.
"It's been fantastic to see individuals and companies able to grow in this environment,” said Jon Dolphin, President of 21st Century Bank. “I’ve seen a few companies that have actually taken on employees to meet skyrocketing workloads because of all the changes that COVID-19 brought about to the way businesses do business.”
“There’s an enormous amount of stress when you have a million different things going on, and you’re getting no answers from your bank,” Drephal said. “The people at 21st Century Bank are so helpful and supportive. That’s where smaller, community banks like 21st are stepping up and showing that they’re a better alternative for small businesses.”
