Look for a
banker who
thinks beyond
temporary
solutions
have lengthy pay cycles – even up to
90 or 120 days. Talk with your banker
about how these factors affect your
cash flow, so he or she can design an
appropriate solution. In some cases,
your bank can offer a working capital
line of credit against your receivables.
Expenses: Do you have a realistic
understanding of both current and
potential expenses? Take a look at
the size of your business and its
growth potential. If you have one
office, you may not need a controller
or human resources professional
now — but that could change
dramatically if you open multiple
locations. Your vision for growth
needs the infrastructure to match.
guaranteed loan program assists
borrowers who have strong financial
aggressive in financing its growth with indicators even if they lack collateral
debt – practices often associated with or an established track record.
high levels of risk. It’s also important
to be transparent about weaknesses Securing a loan can be a complex
in your business model or financial undertaking, and your relationship
history. If you disclose these issues with your lender is a vital component
in advance, you and your banker to your growth. In making an educated
can approach them proactively. decision about your financial future,
choose a banker who reflects the
Types of Loans: Where are you in your principles that your practice has
business life cycle? A well-qualified been built upon: personalized
banker will want to know where care with a vision for success.
you are professionally to determine
the appropriate metrics needed
for a conventional bank loan. In
some cases, an SBA 7A loan may
be a better fit. This government-
Tom Coletta is a Senior Vice President
for commercial banking at Axiom
Bank, a Maitland-based bank that
specializes in commercial loans for
real estate and business purposes.
Risk: Conversations about risk should
happen upfront. Banks look at
debt levels, cash flow, and liquidity
carefully. It is important to understand
your bank’s guidelines in these areas.
Once banks start lending outside of a
3-to-1 debt-to-worth ratio, the loan
request tends to get more scrutiny, as
it appears to be riskier. As an example,
a high debt/equity ratio generally
means that a company has been
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