DIY Business Financing

In my first business, I set out to find $300,000 to buy much needed equipment.  I went through 26 banks! Each time, I tried to learn why I was turned down and made adjustments in my business plan for the bankers.  It finally worked, after 26 banks and close to a year of learning, before I met an old-fashioned banker who based his decisions on gut instinct and approved my loan.  Yay for me!!!

Here’s the takeaway.  I found a needle in a haystack by tripping over it.  I patted my own back for tenacity, but it was pure luck finding a banker who believed in me and believed in my business.  Now, having done this professionally for over 40 years, I have eleven different ways to get funding for this type of project that can be done within a week. What it cost me in lost time that could have been used growing my business, and the lost revenue opportunities over that year was freaky scary.  Easily in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I could have paid off the equipment I had just purchased with what I could have earned off it in that one year.  Even then, finding that one banker out of 26 was probably more dumb luck than a fine-tuned proposal.

Most larger businesses sub out anything that doesn’t focus on as their business model.  Now you know why. They have the resources to focus on their core business while someone else tackles these mundane tasks. We were established with the understanding that most small businesses do not have that luxury. And you can count on us to get this stuff done while you do what you do best – run your business.