Coming from a long line of entrepreneurs, 1st Source Bank’s Vice President and Business Banking Officer Lisa Misch discovered her interest in banking through starting her own residential construction business. With her dad, sister, and grandfather all opening their own businesses, Misch and her husband decided to start L & L Construction, which they have now run for 20 years.
Although L & L Construction was a success, Misch encountered obstacles when starting the business. However, it was this struggle to find resources that inspired her to pursue a career in the banking industry.
“I didn't want other people to struggle through that, so I changed career paths about 20 years ago and got into business banking. I started to educate myself on not only how to start a company, but also on what financing options were out there. My career took off from there," Misch said.
Since her decision to embark on a new career path, Misch has worked in the banking industry for 27 years, spending 15 of those years at 1st Source Bank. She began working in the business banking credit department where she stayed for seven years and learned about Small Business Administration (SBA) loan products and other resources for 1st Source Bank’s business clients.
During these seven years, Misch realized she wanted to work on the sales side of helping businesses and meet with clients face to face. Having a business of her own, she could relate to the successes and struggles that come with running a business.
“It just clicked when they were looking for help with payroll, capital expenditures, employee retention, and all these things that I was also enduring on a day-to-day basis as a small business owner,” Misch said. “I was able to give a unique perspective to a lot of my clients, and eight years later, we're still going strong.”
Before beginning her role in sales, Misch’s work as a credit analyst allowed her to familiarize herself with different business banking offerings such as the SBA products that she utilizes to service many clients today. Like her experience as a small business owner, she believes her time working in the credit department of 1st Source Bank provided her with a better grasp of all
it takes to help business owners run their businesses.
Misch’s success with assisting clients with their SBA lending needs has led her to be named the number one SBA lender in 1st Source Bank’s West Region and one of the top three in the entire Bank on multiple occasions over the last eight years.
With successful SBA lenders like Misch on staff, 1st Source Bank has received SBA Gold Level recognition among Community Banks with less than $10 billion in assets for 10 consecutive years. Misch attributes this huge, recurring achievement to 1st Source Bank’s level of client care and to the effectiveness of SBA products. She believes that SBA products are impactful tools for clients who may not find the assistance they need in the other products 1st Source Bank offers.
“1st Source Bank doesn’t have just one niche in one specific industry. Some of our clients may not fit perfectly in that traditional box, but that's the whole reason for the SBA,” Misch said. “We're able to use the SBA product to help a lot of our clients that may be getting turned down at other institutions. We want to be able to use all the tools that we have in our tool belt to provide some kind of service for these clients.”
Misch is close to her family and spends lots of time outside of work with her husband and three grown sons.
“I enjoy spending a lot of time with my family. Since I was the only female in the house, that meant during my free time you could usually find me doing boy things,” she said. “You can find me fishing, at a sporting event, or racing go karts with my family.”
To learn more about 1st Source Bank and its SBA loan products, visit 1stsource.com.