The banker can be a friend, ally and consultant, but not someone in whom you necessarily confide, specifically about things that don't directly affect the banker's interests.  If your marriage goes on the rocks, for example, don't rush to tell your banker.  And if something bad happens in your business, try to determine the cause and develop a plan for remedying the situation before talking to your banker.

No business or business owner is perfect, so it's unrealistic for a banker to want to know everything that is happening.  "We all have acne in a corporate sense.  The banker doesn't need to be our business confessor," Bill Byrne notes.

Excerpted with permission from Small Business Success Magazine,  produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.