Jeff Gerstner is the Founder and CEO of Superior Business Lending LLC.
Jeff played basketball and graduated from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. After graduating, Jeff moved to Chicago and started his career in finance on the Chicago Board Options Exchange floor before moving upstairs to trade the US Treasury bonds and interest rate curve for a proprietary trading firm. As rates moved lower and the volatility within the Treasury curve remained low, he started doing some hard money real estate lending on the side with his own money. This was his first experience in the lending world, and he saw the opportunities that existed throughout the business finance spectrum.
Jeff formed Superior Business Lending in 2015 as a debt advisory firm to expand his offerings and niche in the finance world. He started out with a small suite of offerings before expanding to most areas of business finance. He has become a trusted advisor to many firms — whether business is on an upswing or hitting a rough patch.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
A typical day is first spending time catching up on emails and any issues with deals currently in various stages of underwriting. After putting out any fires or sending reminders on aspects of a deal, we work on marketing and prospecting. Meetings and a lunch appointment are next, with meetings and calls in the afternoon and early evening.
We make it productive by being very diligent in responding to calls or texts from lenders or clients to keep deals moving or to get new deals engaged.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I bring my ideas to life by attending many networking events and staying laser-focused on deals to make sure they keep moving forward. I do a good job on my daily LinkedIn posts to provide debt financing advice and real-world examples of ways to make deals go more smoothly.
What’s one trend that excites you?
One trend that excites me is the amount of debt options now present for businesses that know where to look and seek advice from firms like Superior Business Lending that have seen every type of deal. The experience we have gained and the advice we can give are what will enable businesses to unlock those new avenues of finance.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
One habit that helps me be productive is to always make sure to respond to emails, texts, or calls in a very timely manner to show all involved the proper respect and urgency to keep deals moving to a hopefully successful closing.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would say to keep moving forward. There are constant setbacks in deals, but keep moving and stay active.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.
I think where the Federal Reserve has rates today is proper, given all going on in the economy and the market.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Keep networking and building relationships.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I take a break from that deal or work out when overwhelmed or unfocused. I get out of a funk by reminding myself that business owners are depending on us to deliver them viable options, and that keeps us focused.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
My LinkedIn posts and engagement have been a huge draw from sources that I would not have met at a networking event or received through other marketing avenues.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
When we first started Superior, I thought a business would not be able to get financing given its situation. After they received financing, I learned that there are many different ways to look at the assets and creative cash-flow paybacks on the debt that can help a business get through a rough patch.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A streamlined mentoring/training business for various trades, given the need.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Our Excel spreadsheets we developed in-house that help us with financial modeling. It saves us hours on deal analysis.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
A lunch for a potential client who signed up with us later that evening. It does not always work out that way, but it is great when it does.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?
Favorite book is “The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.” by William Cohan. It is an excellent story and one can get lots of tips on how to interact with clients, as there are so many deals discussed.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
“Moneyball” since it shows you a different way to look at roster construction in baseball. This out-of-the-box thinking can be applied to the deals we see every day — just because one solution worked for one client does not mean it will work for another client.
Key learnings:
- Always looking at deals from a different angle and knowing each deal is unique
- Stay diligent and move forward
- Be responsive
- Client-first approach