As I sat with her, I could feel the weight of her frustration and lack of clarity. With each passing second, I wanted to leave and never look back. For one, I didn't want to have to visit and give her the news anyway. I was hoping to send a letter (yes, this was over 15 years ago and we still sent letters in mail), an email, or leave a voicemail. Anything, but having to visit and talk with her face to face.
After getting to her place of business, I delayed as much as possible. I was full of fear and anxiety. After about 10 minutes of small talk, I jumped in with both feet. I told her that her business loan was in default and non-performing. Also, if she didn't make a payment to bring the loan current by the end of business day, I'd have to send her to collections. What happened next, I couldn't prepare myself for.
I would have expected her to become silent or even start crying. Instead, see became angry. She began telling me what I wasn't going to do. I wasn't going to take to her house (which she pledged as collateral for the business loan). I wasn't going to shut her business down no matter how much she was behind on payments. Luckily, I had already been through enough of these meetings to where I didn't take anything she told me . More than anything, I felt helpless. I wanted to switch sides and help her rather than being on the side that I was on.
My job was managing a CDFI loan fund. We focused on making microloans to minority and women owned businesses. 75% of the loans within all the funds I managed at the time were severe late pays. This means they were in the early stages of being non performing loans.
What's the point in telling you this story?
Remember, I wanted to help rather than harm this woman-owned small business. But, due to my job at the time, my hands were completely tied. Now, after some time and life experience, I'm on the other side and helping small business owners. I help small business owners overcome difficult business situations such as:
1) Improving Cash Flow
2) Having More Cash Available in the Bank
3) Growing the Business Based on the Owner's Goals
I'm a small business financial management consultant with 15+ years of experience. I provide value to small business owners in 3 primary ways:
1) Help to Make Sense of the Numbers in Plain English
2) Train You to Take Control of Your Business By Knowing Your Numbers
3) Encourage Motivation and Action to Grow and Expand Your Business Based on Your Goals
What motivates me to provide this value? I'm motivated to help those small business owners that have a good business, but they need help to make it great. What's a great business, you ask? A great business is a business that accomplishes the owner's goals.