Articles

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.

Being Thankful To Those Who Mean So Much

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

November2024

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

“Being Thankful To Those Who Mean So Much”

The Thanksgiving tradition in America dates back to 1621. Many years later President George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God", and calling on Americans to "unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions." A message that is also very meaningful today some 235 years later!

As we all gather with our families and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving 2024 on Thursday, November 28^th, I would suggest that if you are a business owner that you take a little time the week of Thanksgiving to also give thanks to your employees and customers. I think too often we get caught up in our own personal issues and problems, and we forget who the people that work for us and our customers have many of the same issues and problems, and just maybe even bigger issues and problems that we don’t know about.

How many times in your life has someone said “Thank You” to you for something you did for them or for someone that they love: remember how that made you feel! I would bet you could not put a price tag on the feeling that you had.

Our employees are the face of our business for the most part, and what our businesses are today can be traced back to what these employees have done. So why not say “Thank you for all you do for our business. Without you we would not have a business, and we appreciate you being part of what we do and how we do it. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday”.

Also, do something similar for your customers either by thanking them in-person or sending them a Thanksgiving greeting in the mail or on-line.

Saying these messages of thanks is not a big expense other than your time, but I can assure you without a doubt it might just be the best time you spend all year long.

So, I will take my own advice here by expressing my heartful thank-you to you for taking the time each month to read this “Business Tips” article. I enjoy thinking of topics and then putting my thought and ideas into words that hopefully offer you some insight and advice that you can use in your business or life in general. I certainly do not have all the answers, but even if you can use pieces of what I express, then I’m please and happy I took the time to make a difference in your life. 

If you need help or assistance in your business, talk to a business advisor who has knowledge and experience in many areas of business operations, finance, growth, expansion, accounting and legal. We encourage you to visit our Web-site at www.silverfox.org and to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, and how they can assist you with your business needs, as well as to discover more about our great programs and community outreach endeavors.