Springfield Financial Firm Builds Trust One Small Business at a Time

Terrence Whitlock-Adeyemi spent nine years as a loan officer at a regional bank before growing frustrated with what he describes as a system poorly suited to serving small business owners with unconventional financial histories. In 2017, he left to found Queen City Trust Advisors in Springfield, a financial services firm built specifically around the needs of small business clients that larger institutions often turn away.

"I watched good businesses get denied financing because they didn't fit a template designed for much bigger companies," Whitlock-Adeyemi said from his firm's office near downtown Springfield. "I wanted to build something that actually looked at the business in front of us instead of just running a score."

Building a Different Kind of Lending Relationship

Queen City Trust Advisors offers a mix of small business lending consultation, cash flow advisory services, and retirement planning aimed specifically at business owners, a combination Whitlock-Adeyemi said reflects how intertwined personal and business finances tend to be for entrepreneurs. The firm's advisors typically maintain long-term relationships with clients that span years rather than single transactions.

"A restaurant owner's business finances and personal finances aren't really separate things, no matter what the paperwork says," he said. "We built our whole model around treating them that way."

That approach has helped the firm grow steadily even as larger financial institutions have consolidated their small business lending operations in the region. Queen City Trust Advisors now serves more than 600 small business clients across southwest Missouri, with assets under advisement that have grown roughly fivefold since the firm's founding.

Weathering Economic Uncertainty

Whitlock-Adeyemi said the firm's client-first model was tested most severely during periods of economic disruption, when many small business owners needed restructuring advice rather than new financing. Queen City Trust Advisors built a dedicated crisis advisory service during one such stretch, helping clients renegotiate terms with lenders and restructure debt without pursuing bankruptcy.

"Some of our strongest client relationships today started during our clients' worst financial moments," he said. "That's not something I ever want to repeat, but I'm proud of how the firm showed up for people."

Growing Springfield's Financial Services Sector

The firm now employs 19 advisors and support staff, and Whitlock-Adeyemi has become involved in mentoring programs for aspiring financial advisors through Missouri State University's business school, part of an effort to build a stronger pipeline of financial talent choosing to stay in Springfield rather than relocating to Kansas City or St. Louis.

Queen City Trust Advisors is now exploring an expansion into wealth management services for a broader range of clients, though Whitlock-Adeyemi said the firm will maintain its core focus on small business owners regardless of how much it grows. "We're never going to be the biggest firm in southwest Missouri," he said. "I just want to be the one small business owners trust the most."