Roger Andrus: helping Utah Businesses find their niche.

• Author: Haraldsen, Tom
• Position: Around Utah

Roger Andrus found his professional calling early in his career, when he worked as a financial planner. He developed a strong desire to help professionals with both their business and personal finances. That led him into the commercial lending sector, and soon he was helping new business people bring their dreams to fruition.

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So it seemed a natural fit when the Utah Valley Business Resource Center (BRC), opened in January, named Andrus as its first director. As he has done before, Andrus' job is helping entrepreneurs get out of the starting blocks.

"I worked for one of the largest SBA lenders in the country for a time," he recalls. "I looked over our portfolios and realized that the ratio of loans to franchises versus mom-and-pop businesses was radically different. Franchise loans do a lot better than those to mom-and-pops, where an average of 94 percent of them fail. With a franchise, there are built-in systems to help franchisees become successful."

Franchises often have mentoring programs, provide primary and secondary research in the marketplace, and come with an established business plan. BRCs can help fill the gap for entrepreneurs working outside the framework of a franchise. Andrus says his passion "has always been in helping with what I call the three Ms: money, markets and mentors. Knowing how those can work together increases the chances for a business's success."

The BRC is Utah...