During tough economic times, Finance is a huge gainsay for business owners. In the “Going Forward” section of the January ’09 Entrepreneur Magazine, Mark Hendricks quotes some sobering statistics which frames up the extent of the recession we are experiencing. Banks have really tightened up their lending purse strings.
My best advice to meet these recession finance challenges is have a well developed Business Plan, and a Financial Strategy which effectively proves your Cash Flow Model, determining which finance sources and structures closely match and fit that model. To accompany that Funding Business Plan, I highly recommend a solid Loan Package. With these funding tools in hand and funding strategies developed, here are some real world funding options and strategies to consider when Lenders’ purse strings become increasingly hard to access.
Increase Your Network: This is a big one and can be very effective! Work on increasing your networking groups and activities. Join morning executive meetings, chamber of commerce networking events, lions/rotary/kiwanis club meetings, business networking clubs and the like. This can be a great way to find private finances as well as find good bankers who are willing to listen to a business owner’s finance needs. Other business owners can be very helpful in your business finance quest- just need to ask! You will find that local area investors are a lot more approachable in hard times as they feel that connection to the local business community even more. Use networking to increase the odds of finding that finance mix that will meet your funding strategy needs.
Supplier and Trade Credit Finance: According to Rosalind Resuick, CEO of Axxess Business Consulting, no outside party has a bigger interest in your company’s success than your trade partners and suppliers. Having your supplier as an Equity Partner can be very advantageous when you are having difficulty making payments or want to straightaway develop a new market. The active Equity Stake is assigned to your past trends, present and future orders. Start-up Consultant, Joe Fulvio, suggests your Business Plan “show not only a direct return on investment, but also the value of future business to be gained”. By making your supplier a partner in your business, the supplier is better suited to understand your Finance needs
Lease Finance: When times are tough and your cash is tightening, Leasing can be the answer. Small deposit, lower payments and flexibleness are often attached with Lease verses Buy Terms. At the end of the lease, you can easily upgrade equipment and roll into the Lease Payments so your out of pocket costs are much smaller than a typical finance loan.
Local and Community Banks: Amy Loera, owner of Tio’s Mexican restaurant chain, was denied at nine different banks, for a loan to open a new restaurant, although she ran a very successful business. These Lenders cited the Nation-wide downturn of restaurant sales due to the current recession as the chief reason for the loan declination. There is no doubt a year ago, these banks would have lent to her. Instead of throwing in the towel, Ms. Loera turned to a local, community lender, Arrowhead Credit Union, and she was approved for a $643,000 loan. What was the difference? The Credit Union was based in her business region, and she could make a strong case for the health of her restaurant chain. Reasons Ms. Loera cited for her success in obtaining her expansion loan:
- Low overhead costs
- sensible Prices
- Family-Style restaurants picking up the slack from people by the Fancier establishments in the area.
- Smaller, localized lenders are typically in better shape during an Economic Downturn
- Community Banks are more cognizant of the local economy’s health and vigor
- Larger / Regional / National Banks are more reliant on Credit Scores and cookie cutter Applications. Local Banks rely more on a Business Plan.
- Niche Market: Suburban market that likes an affordable meal at the end of a busy day
- Historical Financials show track record
- Debt-free
- 12 month Realistic Projection for the new restaurant
- Comprehensive Business Plan; every detail about the business
- Received approval from the Credit Union due to:
- Experience
- Existing locations cash flowing well
- Affordable meals in a recessionary environment
- Detailed, well-thought-out Business Plan
– What the Local Bank Looks For…The Inside Story…
- Not Credit Score Driven
- Look behind the scenes of the business
- Cash Flow is Key: An important indicator of the ability to pay off the loan.
- Believable, forward-looking Cash Flow Projections for the new business. Realistic Financial Statements.
- Provide Best & Worst Case Scenarios on your Financial Projections
- Small, Community Banks assess a business loan on a case by case basis. This is a huge advantage over Regional Bank Loan decision making, especially, in an economic down-turn.
- In recessionary times, certain industries will be hit harder than others, like Construction Companies or Auto Dealerships; therefore, it is very important to have a well developed Business Plan and a forward looking Strategic Plan that includes a well researched 12-18 month industry expectation, based upon a believable Marketing Plan.
- Small Bankers can see successful pocket areas in a struggling local economy. These pocket areas often have a Strong Niche Marketing Offering
- Financial problems are best disclosed to the bank early on so a mutual solution can be implemented
- Small Banks do loan to Companies showing past financial “hiccups” if they can show they were proactive and overcame the issue
Consider hiring an experienced Business Consultant to develop that Business Plan and Loan Package that will help you obtain finance in this tough lending market. It is money well worth spent and make sure your business consultant has a background and experience in business finance.
About the Writer – Frank Goley of ABC Business Consulting
Frank Goley is a business consultant, business turnaround consultant and business plan consultant for ABC Business Consulting. He has been helping companies to succeed for many years. Frank wrote his first business plan over twenty years ago. He is an expert in developing business plans, marketing plans, funding plans, strategic plans, turnaround plans, web marketing strategies, and project specific business plans. Frank is also a business coach and a web development, web marketing and web seo consultant. Frank is the author of a business plan book, The Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook – A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning, and he has over 50 published articles and e-books on business success strategies. He also writes the Business Success Strategies Blog.
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