I talk to a great many people who are trying to borrow money to start a business or expand their business. Most don’t have a business plan competed. If you’re going to borrow money to try to start or grow a business, you must have a business plan which includes a pro forma financial analysis of your operations including your sales and projected profits for at least three years and projected balance sheet for the same period.
Many novice businesspeople think that a banker is just going to loan them money because they come in and ask for it, and many of the entrepreneurs borrowing funds think that the business plan is something they prepare just for the banker, but it is not.
It is important that you have a business plan with monthly results and that you’ve thought about those results. You should plan on using that business plan and plan on looking at it every month to see if you have achieved the results. If you have not, you should make a plan to fix the disparity and get back on track so that you are meeting what you said you would achieve when you applied for the loan.
Your banker will be watching to see how you perform against your projections and will be interested in your plan if you have a miss. Even on the simplest of loans, like a small SBA loan, you should expect to produce the business plan and projected financials. As you prepare your business plan, remember it’s not just for your banker.
Ron Sturgeon, Mr. Mission Possible, has been a successful business owner for more than 35 years. As a small business consultant, he can deliver wisdom and advice gleaned from an enviable business career that started when he opened a VW repair business as a homeless 17-year-old and culminated in the sale of several businesses he built to Fortune 500 companies.
Ron has helped bankers, lawyers, insurance agents, restaurant owners, and body shop owners, as well as countless salvage yard owners to become more successful business people. He is an expert in helping small business owners set the right business strategies, implement pay-for- performance, and find new customers on the web.
As a consultant, Ron shares his expertise in strategic planning, capitalization, compensation, growing market share, and more in his signature plainspoken style, providing field-proven, and high-profit best practices well ahead of the business news curve. Ron is the author of nine books, including How to Salvage More Millions from Your Small Business.
To inquire about consulting or keynote speaking, contact Ron at 817-834-3625, ext. 232, rons@MrMissionPossible.com, 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117.