WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
Jon Lopez had his first Big Idea for a business at age 12. By the time he was in high school, Lopez spent his “extracurricular” time supervising his lawn-care crews.

Fast forward two-plus decades.

Lopez, a financial planner, realized his entrepreneurial clients understood their own Big Ideas, but had little savvy about running small businesses. They increasingly asked his advice about insurance, advertising, Web sites, and myriad other business necessities. “I became known as a networker,” Lopez says. The member of the Commerce Club in Greenville, South Carolina, soon spent so much time helping his clients in ways other than financial planning that he formalized his methods to evaluate businesses.

In 2006, Lopez and a partner founded the Small Business Plan Inc. The business advocacy program, which charges no fees, serves as a business-to-business reference (sometimes referee) for products and services provided by companies Lopez screens and holds accountable. The Small Business Plan also negotiates discounts from these “Preferred Partners” and publishes Magnet magazine to advertise offerings.

All of which circles back to the Commerce Club, where Lopez organized the Business Owner’s Group. Sometimes, the club group and the Small Business Plan interact. For example, Lopez recently referred a car dealership to a merchant services company whose owner attends the Business Owner’s Group. The club member structured a new contract for credit card processing — and saved the dealership thousands of dollars.

A self-described “behind-the-scenes” guy, Lopez remains passionate about his clients’ successes. And, ever the entrepreneur himself, he’s quick to give a decisive “yes” to every question that begins, “Do you do _____?” — Patricia Baldwin

Photography Stephen Stinson.