Articles

The End of Another Year - How Was Your Year?

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

December 2024

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

“The End of Another Year - How Was Your Year?”

Well, here we are again at the end of another year, and as a business advisor, I ask business owners some questions I would hope that they would be able to answer. The questions are not hard questions or do they need a lot of time to think about, but instead are some basic questions every business owner should know about his or her business, and here they are:

Were you able to answer those questions off the top of your head? Why should you be able to have that information in your head about your business without having to get with your bookkeeper or your accountant? Because, as a business owner the business or the company is yours, and not only is it in most cases the source of your and your family’s livelihood, it is probably the largest single asset you own. In addition, your employees depend on their jobs with your business for theirs and their family’s livelihood. And, oh yes, as a business owner you are in a leadership position, and as a leader the direction and success of the business falls directly on your shoulders. So, not having some key performance indicators at your fingertips makes it difficult to make those tough decisions that need to be made day in and day out.

If you could not answer these questions, I would guess you likely do not do an annual business plan or an annual budget for your business or monitor the actual results monthly or quarterly against the business plan and budget. If you have never done either one or both of these key documents, you still have time to get started before the year ends and the new begins.

If you need help with a business plan or budget, I would recommend you seek an experienced business advisor, coach, consultant or mentor with a financial or business background for your Company: Contact a Silver Fox Advisor. Remember, having experience on your side always helps.

We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org or www.silverfoxadvisors.com to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, our Associates, and their businesses, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.

How Much Can I Borrow?

Richard Hendee
Silver Fox Advisor
November 2024

“HOW MUCH CAN I BORROW”?

In my 45 years of being in the financial services business most of my career was spent loaning the Bank’s money to business owners. Loaning money is kind of an art in that a lender is accessing historical information and data, analyzing a set of financial projections, then looking essentially into a crystal ball for future trends and market conditions. Armed with all this material the lender makes a decision.  

 One of the questions that I hated to hear from a customer or potential client was, “How much can I borrow?” That question told me more about the business owner’s situation than all the facts and figures I could ever gather about the loan request. When confronted with that type of application, I rarely spent much time on it because it typically led to a declined loan request. Why, because it told me a lot about the borrower:

As I tell my clients today, “You only get one chance to make a positive first impression on your Banker.” Bankers typically have a number of loan requests that they are analyzing at any point in time. Loan requests that are well-detailed and contain all the supporting documents typically get most Bankers’ attention because they have the best chance of getting approved.  Think about your own business, do you like spending time with clients who know want they want and make the buying decision quickly, or, clients who ask a million questions, lead you on for days, weeks or even months, and then don’t buy anything from you? That is called “lost opportunity costs.” 

If you have a need to borrow money or are planning to do so in the future, before you contact your Banker and ask, “How much can I borrow?”, I would recommend  you seek an experienced business advisor, coach, consultant or mentor with a financial or business background for your Company: Contact a Silver Fox Advisor. Remember, having experience on your side always helps.

We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org or www.silverfoxadvisors.com to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, our Associates and their businesses, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.