Up Your Business LLC

Imagine you are walking with a good friend, a business mentor, down the beach having a friendly, lively and stimulating conversation. At one point your friend stops and turns to you and says, “Walk with me into the ocean.” You both turn and begin to walk into the surf.

Now in your imagination see yourself entering the surf, the waves hitting at first around your ankles and the water is cool and refreshing. You follow your friend into the surf until the water is waist high.  As he continues to walk, you follow him silently further into the surf. You think to yourself, “What is the lesson my friend is trying to teach me?”

Your past experience with your friend and mentor is that he will often use times together to prove a point or teach you something of value.  He knows telling you something is not nearly as effective as getting you physically or emotionally involved. So, with trust and anticipation you continue walking silently with your friend deeper and deeper into the surf.

As the water gets to shoulder height, you reach out and grab your friend’s arm and ask him, “What’s the point?” Your friend turns towards you and grabs your head and with both of his hands pushes you under the water, completely catching you off guard. As he continues to hold you under the crashing waves, you wonder again what might be the lesson or point from this exercise.

As you begin to run out of air, adrenaline rushes through your body and you desperately struggle to get back to the surface. Punching and kicking now to get free your air supply is exhausted and you black out.  Your friend pulls you ashore and resuscitates you.

Regaining consciousness, you angrily strike out at your friend as he has never tried to hurt you before. With fire in your eyes you accuse your friend of trying to drown you.  As he helps you up from the wet sand he states, “If I had intended to drown you, I would not have pulled you ashore.”

You scream back at him, “Then why did you do that?” He calmly replies, “When you desire cash flow in your business like you desired that breath of air, then you shall have it!”

You realize your friend and mentor knows you are struggling in your business and you are ignoring the fact cash flow for your business is like oxygen for your body – life.  Your business cannot exist without cash flow just as your body couldn’t exist without air.  Because your friend is smart, understands you and wants to see you succeed, he was trying to save you and your business.  He knew the only way that could happen was to truly change your attitude about cash flow projections and a cash flow management system for your business. 

You now understand the need to implement a system to monitor the flow of cash in your business letting you know where you stand at any moment as well as where you are headed in the future. Having the answers to these two questions, rather than being in a desperate, reactive, survival mode, you can, with much less stress and anxiety, come up with ways to  create and sustain cash flow bringing life and longevity to your  business.  

Now imagine the joy of fulfilling your desire to provide things for yourself, your family, your employees and customers and to make a difference in other people’s lives, in your community and ultimately the world.

I believe business first and foremost is relational. Think or imagine what you do daily – everything in business touches a person, a relationship.

There is a silent thief running free and loose in many businesses today. He doesn’t make much noise – but sure steals a lot from you. All that is needed to help perpetuate this silent thief is to do nothing. Who is this silent thief? Neglect! Neglect of important relationships in your business – employees and customers primarily. What you don’t take care of, you may very well lose. Neglect is very damaging in your important relationships. Your business may be like a spinning gerbil wheel, but the thief doesn’t care. The
longer you let relationships go, the harder it’s going to be to fix.

Let me ask you a question, “What’s important to you about Valentine’s Day? I ask that question at times when I speak and usually the majority of the responses I get are “romance.” What is important about romance to you? Of course romance means different things to different people but to some of the groups I speak to it means: attention, time spent being fully present, respect, thoughtfulness, interest, listening with the intent to hear, understanding, significance, acceptance and love.

Make an emotional investment by romancing each and every employee, customer, prospect, supplier, person who calls or drops into your location, etc. Treat and have each employee treat every person they speak to or see as if it were Valentine’s Day each day and the other person was the most important person in their life. The fruit of a Valentine’s Day mindset daily in business is: heightened productivity, greater efficiency, increased sales, greater understanding, improved morale, less stress, less absenteeism, less sickness, more joy and cooperation in the workplace. Your business will create greater value causing sales to soar.

Are there times in business where you feel you and others you are communicating with are speaking different dialects? I believe the universal dialect is ‘LOVE’. Everyone is, regardless of their language, able to understand love. Go and speak to them in this dialect.

Put in a different context, many problems experienced in business today, I believe, are the result of an orphan spirit in the workplace as well as the lack of a true godly, supernatural fathering spirit. Where the orphan spirit exists and the fathering spirit is absent relationships disintegrate.

This fathering spirit is characterized by unconditional love, exhibited by our Heavenly Father Himself, as He gave freely His son, Jesus, to redeem and accept fully mankind. This highly desired spirit needed and wanted in the workplace is contrasted by what is mostly seen and exhibited today – a heart that is self centered, self-absorbed, self-serving and puts itself above all others. The fatherless spirit exists when business owners, executives, supervisors and managers “abandon” those under their charge in the workplace by focusing and centering themselves on their own needs and desires at the expense of others.
The lack of a true, godly supernatural fathering spirit promotes the orphan spirit in the workplace. Several characteristics of the orphan spirit usually witnessed in the workplace are:

• Obsession with self
• Inaccurate perception of the value of both themselves and others
• Compulsive drive to succeed at all costs
• Insecurity accompanied by the need to control others
• Inability to handle rejection properly, feeling they are most always rejected by others and they will be rejected by others and they deserve to be rejected
• Critical, judgmental spirit
• Uncontrollable anger

Several root words describing the fathering spirit are: a nourisher, protector, upholder, comforter, exhorter, one called to another’s side, aid, and advocate.

Question: what is the most valuable asset in each business?

It is my opinion that for many years the most valuable asset in any organization – the employees – have been reappraised downward or devalued by fatherless owners, executive management, supervisors and managers. I believe God is telling us that one of the ways to improve the economy and individual businesses is to unleash the “fathering spirit” in each business as well as to romance all relationships in the business. This is truly the strong stimulus package each individual, business and the economy needs.

Does teamwork, loyalty and communication sound like utopia rather than the norm in your business? What does teamwork really look and act like?  Teamwork has been in practice for centuries in the world’s oldest business – Nature. One of the most profound and effective examples is in a wolf pack.  Being an integral, respected, loved member of an organized social order is the most important thing in the life of a wolf. Those in the pack exist for each other. In other words – relationship is their key to life and success.

Upon arriving home late one Friday night, business consultant Twyman Towery felt depressed as he recalled the many ways the corporate group he was engaged by to help, found ways to one-up one another, lie to each other and stab each other in the back. Attempting to escape from the thoughts of his most recent consulting assignment, he turned on the public television channel. There he witnessed a show on the wolf pack. His thought, after several minutes of viewing, was “what could human organizations accomplish if they lived by the principles exhibited by a wolf pack?”

The next morning and for many days thereafter Twyman spent time in the library as well as out in nature absorbing everything he could learn about the wolf. The result of his efforts was a book called The Wisdom of Wolves. Twyman shares the parallels between the wolf pack and human behavior…in business life, family life and personal life.

Who knew that the key to success might just be patterning your attitude and relationships after that of a wolf pack?   “Ancient man did not view animals as inferiors, but as partners in nature’s intricate ecosystem” states Twyman in his book.   The caves of the world have yielded a vast amount of information about prehistoric man.  One often overlooked fact is that early man seldom drew paintings of people, preferring instead to focus on the animals he observed daily in his quest to survive.  The wolf is one of the most frequently portrayed animals in these paintings.  Why the emphasis on animals rather than man?  Could it be that early man saw that there was much to learn from animals and nature, which were able to exist and thrive in a hostile, competitive environment?  He may well have found animals and nature more intelligent than himself and to be modeled and respected, a difficult concept in this age of self importance, self indulgence and instant gratification.   Then man began to believe that he was superior and that he no longer needed animals and nature to help guide his life and to learn from.  Whether out of envy, fear, ignorance, complacency, indifference or pride, man is in many ways destroying some of God’s most valuable teachers – animals and nature.

In my book – Romancing the Loan – 14 Principles For Opening Your Lender’s Vault I state, “Relationships are the most vital asset of a business, the fuel that keeps the business running and many entrepreneurs don’t have a handle on their relationship with their lender.” If you want to increase or even develop teamwork, loyalty and communication with your lender during and after this economic recession, I recommend reading and applying the principles discussed in this book I wrote to not only help businesses survive, but to prosper.

Are you a business owner faced with making a loan proposal to your lender to obtain capital you want or need? Does the task threaten to consume weeks of time better spent on something else?

Which of the following most resembles your anticipation of this process:

1. A visit to the proctologist
2. A week helping your in-laws move
3. Unclogging a backed-up toilet

For most business owners, making a loan proposal to a lender is an unpleasant, daunting chore. However, if it’s capital that you want or need it is a necessity.

I know how you feel because I’ve been helping people just like you for over 30 years. Today I want to give you some tips that can change both your anticipation and your experience of obtaining a loan.

1)  IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A CHORE OR CONSUME WEEKS OF YOUR TIME.

As a good leader you recognize that individuals working with their talents and gifts make a more efficient and productive company. Making a loan proposal to a lender is no different; it requires specialization and knowledge. Hire or assign the bulk of this task to someone who has the knowledge and skill. Check with your CPA, insurance agent, lender or other business owners to find out who they use or recommend who has the expertise and experience.  With over 30 years of business lending experience I advise and assist business owners in acquiring capital, getting it done with ease and professionalism.

2)  THINK OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LENDER AS A BANK ACCOUNT.

When you ask someone to do something for you, in a sense you are seeking a withdrawal. If your ‘account balance’ with them is zero, the other person will either ignore or have a difficult time honoring your request.  It is no different with your lender. Most business owners try to make a WITHDRAWAL (loan request) from a lender before they’ve made a DEPOSIT (try to understand the lender first and give the lender what they want and need).  If you want a loan, it is almost impossible to receive what you want (think of it as a withdrawal from your bank account unless you have made deposits first.

I recently wrote and published a book – “Romancing the Loan” to help business owners with the process of preparing and making loan requests to lenders and develop and maintain better relationships with their lenders.

Lenders are VASTLY more responsive to loan requests (withdrawals) if they have been ‘romanced’ (deposits being made) first building trust and credibility.

To attract more of what you want from your lender, receive the help and expertise you need by clicking here and purchase my book – Romancing the Loan.

To experience growth in your business most business owners will need the support and backing of banks, lenders and investors at some time in their future. In other words, your lenders can be a strong, silent partner where much of the capital, insight, and assistance will come from to help your business grow strong and profitable. Just as in nature where plants and trees require water, nutrients, light and warmth to grow; your business can obtain from these ‘silent partners’ (lenders): insight, knowledge, guidance, education, information and communication (water); cash and capital (nutrients); encouragement, acceptance and nurturing (warmth); inspiration and vision (light).

To get their support and backing they have to have confidence in you and your company. The word confidence denotes trust, persuasion, assurance, belief in, courage, credibility and affirmation. Are these words or phrases your lender would use to describe you and your business?

As a former business lender for over 30 years, my basic perception of a borrower was influenced by a book (“Banker’s Guide to Financial Statements”) I bought the first year in my lending career. One sentence changed my thinking and perception towards all future borrowers and I’ve quoted it to borrowers thousands of times. The book said, “lending money is 50% confidence in the borrower to do what they said they would do.”  Among other things confidence meant my ability to trust and put my faith in the financial information provided by the borrower. Many times I put my career on the line because I had confidence in the business owner and the numbers they supplied me. 

In setting about to create confidence in the minds of your lenders it is important to consider their frame of reference. Lenders are financially oriented people. It’s difficult to create confidence in lender’s minds without a strong accounting and financial function in your business providing them insightful and relevant information on a frequent basis.

Most business owners are very conscious of the confidence their employees, customers, prospects and suppliers have in them and their businesses. In these economic times confidence of lenders in you and your business needs to be added to that list.  

During these economic times it is vital to your business that lenders be able to have confidence in you and your business. I wrote “Romancing the Loan” as a guide to help you gain the confidence and support of your lender. To obtain the secret combination to your lender’s vault go to http://www.createspace.com/3485208 and purchase your copy of “Romancing the Loan”. 

I recently asked a number of business owners, from a wide variety of industries and across the country, what they really wanted from their lenders/financial institution. There were no surprises in this list, pretty basic. However, in this season of recession, or even in times of plenty, are business owners receiving what they want from their lenders?
In their own words here is what they wanted and in no particular order:
1. Solvency/Financial stability of the financial institution
2. Ethics
3. Market Knowledge
4. Affordable Rates and competitive terms
5. Convenient Locations
6. Work as a partner rather than just as a lender
7. Not “meddle” too much into the business affairs (meddling is different from participating)
8. Show some patience during times of distress
9. Spot bad characters (customers likely to default) in their loan portfolios early and take appropriate action, go after the bad apples/characters but help me and the others of good character and who are trying even though we might be struggling
10. Keep paperwork and bureaucracy to the minimum
11. Online banking
12. Good customer service (the book “Our Toilets are not for Customers” by Floyd Coates was mentioned as a good book/reference on customer service)
13. Be able to communicate as close to the actual decision-maker as possible (preferably to the decision maker) in order to tell my story.
14. Be assured that the lender is ready, willing and able to lend for my type of need, and is interested in my business
15. Crystal clear expectations about the process, the players, the timeline, the criteria
16. A feeling that it is not the lender’s way or the highway, but rather you work with the borrower and customize to fit — I am a unique person with a unique business, with a unique financial need — let me tell you my story, show interest in it and consider it in the lending process. (Don’t throw me a bunch of paperwork to fill out and then tell me we will let you know)
17. Clearly and plainly ask me in terms that we both understand and then listen: How much do I need? How long do I need it? What is the best way to finance it? How do I plan to pay it back? If my plans fail, how will I pay it back?
18. Comfortable and experienced with that type loan I need?
19. Interested in my loan size and terms of loan (interest rate, collateral, guaranties, etc)
20. Willing and able to modify the demands to work with me if problems arise? Present alternatives?
21. The bottom line to me is this. Do I view them as a partner in my success or a threat to my existence? (When I deal with them, am I a victim or a victor?)
22. The lender will be there when I need them (not just in good times).
23. Honesty
24. Willing to be an advisor in business matters.
25. Willingness to understand my business.
26. Treat me like a real person and not just like another loan number.
27. Understanding that a loan is a two way street.
28. Need some leverage: up to 70% LTV.
29. Low and reasonable fees not exceeding 1% of loan amount.
30. Fast decisions and closings.
31. Relationship – May well be the most important in that I have to feel that I trust the lender has my best interests at heart while at the same time making a profit himself.
32. Competence – We certainly can’t be experts in all areas; however, I’d like to think my lender is “on top” of his subject matter when dealing with me. This includes coming up with creative solutions to some pretty complex lending needs that I may not otherwise know about.
33. Flexibility – Realizing the “times” we’re in there is still a right and a wrong way to handle things…i.e. year-end financial statements, special requests, etc. Feeling as though it is my partner & NOT ‘Big Brother’ I’m dealing with is very important to me. Often once the ink is dry the relationship mysteriously changes. At the same time, just like the rules for the lender change from time to time…dealing with a lender that understands changes may occur for the customer is also important. (i.e. Making a customer go late on a series of payments BEFORE being willing to discuss amending terms – that has never made sense to me if both parties act in good faith)
34. Clear credit guidelines – What I mean by this is that almost every banker will tell you they can complete a financing request during the initial meeting and after you have worked, sometimes for weeks, with the banker they will choose to not move forward for a reason that was clearly stated at the initial meeting. I am good with having to check with someone about moving forward, but to go through the amount of work necessary for a transaction and then be turned down before going to the credit officer or committee is frustrating and almost immoral.
35. Access to the information being provided to the credit officer or loan committee – There have been more than a few times where the information provided to the banker from the organization did not match the information presented at loan committee (or to the credit officer). I know I have lost transactions over inaccurate information prepared by a junior banker that did not ask questions or did not understand well enough to prepare an accurate picture of the financial position of the organization. Being provided access to the analysis could create a dialogue that would clear up discrepancies prior to loan committee. This would also help the organization prepare information in a more meaningful way to the banker to avoid future discrepancies.
36. Quick and concise decision to the credit request – In many cases there is a complicated process for approval with multiple approvals needed or even multiple committees. To know up front the necessary steps for approval and a timeline that is adhered to during the process is essential.
37. Finishing the loan process before being barraged by other services at the bank – It is always a frustration to spend time and effort looking at bank services before the transaction is approved and finalized. Once the transaction is final then it is appropriate to spend time with the treasury managers and private bankers.
38. Show an ongoing interest in how the business is progressing. Take the initiative to come to see me and how my business operates. Get out from behind the desk.
39. Offer business operating resources to help the success of my business in areas that are outside of what the bank offers.
40. Become part of my network… become an advocate and champion of my business.

My hope in publishing this list is that lenders will read and take action. It is my personal opinion that the customer actually pays the lender’s salary and helps make a job available for him/her. For without a satisfied customer there would be no job or financial institution. Maybe it’s time to listen to the tune business owners/borrowers are singing!

I believe your numbers are simply telling stories about the relationships, processes and knowledge running deeply through your business.  The production or publishing of your numbers should not be the end goal!  It is my goal in my business and this blog to emphasize the importance of the story of why your numbers are what they are. 

When your story is told through your numbers, the first criterion lenders require before they allow themselves be influenced by your story is, can they trust your numbers and you?  Lenders want to know, “Who are you and why are you here?” If you don’t take the time to tell a story about your numbers and answer these two questions, lenders will make up their own answers to these two questions, and usually it will be negative. It is human nature to expect that anyone out to influence others has something to gain. Most people subconsciously assume your gain will be their loss. You thus need to tell a story that demonstrates you are the kind of business owner that they can trust.

Lenders really don’t want more information. They are up to their eyeballs in information.  However, lenders want faith – faith in you, your goals, your success, your business and more importantly faith in the story you tell them. Recall, the greatest book in the world- The Bible – says it’s faith that moves mountains, not facts!

Faith needs a story to sustain it – a story that inspires belief in you and renews hope that your ideas and actions offer what you promise. Influence goes beyond getting people to do what you want them to do. It means they believe. Faith has proven to overcome any obstacle, achieve any goal. Money, power, authority, political advantage, and brute force have all, at one time or another, been overcome by faith.

Story is your path to creating faith. Telling a meaningful story based on your numbers means inspiring your lender(s) to reach the same conclusions you have reached and decide for themselves to believe what you say and then do what you want them to do. People value their own conclusions more highly than yours. They will only have faith in a story that has become real for them personally. Once lenders make your story their story, you have tapped into the powerful force of faith. Story is a pull strategy versus a push strategy.  If your story is good enough, lenders – of their own free will – come to the conclusion they can trust you and the message you bring.

Think about your own experience with anyone who has ever tried to influence you – coworker, salesperson, or consultant. Think of one person who succeeded and one who failed. How connected did you feel to each? Did you “feel connected” because this person influenced you or did they influence you because you felt connected? What made you trust one and not the other? Chances are that it was important for you to know what kind of person they were and what they stood to gain from your cooperation. Also, they most likely succeeded in influencing you by telling you a story that demonstrated who they were rather than telling you who they were, making themselves more believable. A story lets you demonstrate who you are.

It has been proven that more decisions are made by our emotions than our logic. Shouldn’t it then make sense to appeal to the lenders’ emotions (right brain) as well as their logic (left brain)? Just pure numbers appeal more to one’s left brain. The secrets of storytelling reside in the creative side of your brain, your right brain which is guided by emotions.

A roomful of lending executives locked in a room deciding your financial future is a dangerous place unless you know how to tell a good story. Clothing truth in story is a powerful way to get lenders to open the doors of both their minds and their vault to you.  When you want to influence a lender, there is no tool more important than story.  Story creates power and creates a mental imprint.  With story you can mold perceptions and touch the unconscious mind.  When you connect with the lender’s unconscious mind through story, you hold a leverage of influence over their current thoughts and perceptions.

What does this mean to you as a business owner?  First, make sure your numbers accurately reflect what happened in your business. Second, develop a story around your numbers that speaks to what has happened in your business and why and what is next for your business. Don’t let the numbers just speak for themselves!  Lenders will make up their own stories about your business from those numbers.

Let your story, along with your numbers, influence your lender.

It has been a while since I last played golf.  Last week I played in a charity golf tournament; it was terrific to get back on a beautiful course for a worthy cause and meet and play with new friends.

One of the players hit a great drive on the 18^th hole that split the fairway. He followed that shot with a superb iron shot to the green and knocked it within six feet of the hole. Flushed with the anticipation of a birdie and finishing strong, he lined up his putt,  stroked it and knocked it four feet by the hole. He casually walked up and without stopping and focusing, put the ball past the hole again. His face turned red and a string of expletives poured out of his mouth. He had hoped to finish strong with a birdie but ended up with a bogey and was embarrassed, not by his golf game, but by his anger and allowing his emotions to get the best of himself.

Many golfers have experienced that agonizing moment when important matches have been lost by the release of negative emotions.

Reflecting back over the golf tournament, I considered how many lessons from the game of golf can be applied to business.  My father fell in love with the game of golf when I was in elementary school and my brothers and I took up the game shortly after he did. He would tell us, “One day you will discover there are many lessons you can take from golf and apply to business and how you can use the game to learn about people as well as reveal your character to others.” 

How we approach others in business is critical; how we read the business opportunity is vital; how we shape our strategy is important, but if we can’t apply the finesse to connect effectively with people, all the brilliant efforts that preceded the close of a deal are futile – much like missing the putts on the 18^th hole!

Golf’s big money winners follow some fundamental rules for success in the game. Surprisingly, those rules also apply to business.

• Never use a putter until the ball is on the green. Amateurs sometimes try to roll their ball from off the green with the putter. This strategy rarely works. Business owners, executives and sales people who apply a closing technique before the customer is ready (a connection is made and trust has been established) will rarely get the chance to conclude the sale.
• Study the roll of every green. You and your staff need to carefully survey the prospect’s emotional landscape. It’s better to read the customer’s or prospect’s intentions, motivations and emotions than to analyze and dissect the logical content of their statements.
• Never use force. Pros putt with an easy, effortless, pendulum-like swing. Like the golf pro, professionals in business do not force a close or situation on a customer or prospect.
• Keep your eyes directly over the ball. When your head is not directly above the ball, it is much harder to line up the putter. Golf pros visualize the path the ball will take from the putter to the hole before they strike the ball. Similarly, top business professionals keep their eyes squarely focused on the customer’s position in relation to closing a deal.
• Don’t rush. If the putt has too much speed, the ball will bounce right over the hole. A fast-talking employee bent on pitching the features of your service or product has little chance of turning an open-minded prospect into a customer. Top business professionals are able to select the right pace that is comfortable for everyone.

Many people in business get too anxious when it comes to closing deals. Top business professionals follow a process, and unlike, the abovementioned player, they don’t allow their emotions to override that process. They confidently focus on the course of action that results in everyone’s progress.

Bobby Jones, the great golf statesman, said, “The real way to enjoy playing golf is to take pleasure not in the score, but in the execution of the strokes.” How true this is to business as well.  Business, as well as golf, is ultimately about relationships with others. In business the goal should be to create rewarding and satisfactory relationships with employees, customers, suppliers and everyone associated with that business. Yes, profit is the goal of a business, but that profit should be the result or fruit of creating those solid relationships with others.   

When it comes to golf or business, play well with others!

Here’s a checklist to point you to a financial institution that fits your business

When Tom and Linda Swift’s small bank was gobbled up by another bank recently, it was a rude awakening for the two owners of a small business who were customers of mine. The personal treatment they’d come to expect suddenly came to a halt. The Swift’s new loan officer didn’t understand their product, market, sales cycles, or cash flow needs and treated the two business owners as if they’d wandered in off the street begging for a handout!  “I said, ‘Time out,’” Tom recalls as he was telling me the story of their recent experience with the new bank and loan officer. “I’m a viable customer, not an old mule in their stable to be used however way they see fit.”

If your bank (money store) is not providing the services you need to aid your business in its survival and or growth, it’s time to shop around. And it’s not just respect you should seek. Here’s a checklist to help you choose the right small-business bank.

• Avoid the sting of killer fees. With the economy in the dumps and most banks suffering from the effects of poor lending practices and the consequences of the economy on their borrowing customers, banks are looking for ways to generate income to offset their losses on the loan side of the balance sheet. In many instances what once was a free service may now be provided for a fee. Bank charges for the services you use can add up to a hefty sum. My advice is to review your bank statements closely and search for all the fees the bank is deducting from your account for services it is providing you. Make sure you know and understand what each service is used for and begin to question the use and or need for each service. Sit down with a bank officer and go over all your fees and services with the goal of keeping those services that are needed but reducing the total costs to you.
• Give yourself credit. Most businesses today accept payment for products and services both inside the business and on their website via credit card payments. My advice is to examine all the charges associated with the processing of these payments and investigate ways to lower your total cost with your current vendor or others as well as try to get your money faster.
• Pay attention to size. Banks with more than $1 billion in assets often snub small businesses, especially those looking for loans.  A loan of $250,000 or less may be too small to mess with in the eyes of a big regional bank at this time. Visit with loan officers of the bank to determine their willingness to lend money to meet your expectant needs. Also, visit with other local business owners who use that bank to learn of their borrowing experience with the bank. Even if you don’t borrow, it pays to visit with the bank first to determine their attitude towards providing you the type of service and attention you deserve and need.
• Ask how much it knows about your industry. If you envision a line of credit or loan application in your future, you’ll be best served by a bank that understands your business. Not all banks have the same loan appetites or competencies. It pays to “date your banker” first to get better acquainted.
• Assess your loan options in advance. I’ve worked with thousands of business owners over almost four decades and I’ve never seen or heard of one losing sleep over where to deposit their money. However, I’ve witnessed hundreds and hundreds that did lose sleep over whether or not they would be able to obtain the needed loan to fuel their business. Top banks are prepared to offer options to their business clients. It is my advice to business owners to always sit down with their loan officer way ahead of time and discuss loan options and availability. Don’t sweat the rates, unless you are borrowing millions. Slight variations in interest rates don’t matter much. It’s more important to shop for a banker who, if your venture doesn’t perform as expected, will restructure your loan and willingly work with you rather than seek foreclosure.
• Seek a bank that is customer-focused rather than self-focused. You might be saying to yourself that this point doesn’t make sense as a bank wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t customer oriented. Too many banks today, because of all their loan problems, are more self-focused than customer-focused. They are too busy licking their wounds to care or notice what is going on with their customers and their wants. My advice is to visit with the loan officer. Determine, via good question, if they have an interest in you and your business or if they are too busy with other matters to give you the attention you deserve.  
• Ignore geography. To a large degree technology has replaced the need for convenience in banking. Shop for the bank that meets most of your wants and you feel will work with you in good and bad times (yours and theirs). The Swifts moved from a bank that was just blocks away to one in the next town. By scouting out the different banks in the area, getting referrals from friends and from others in their industry they found a bank and banker they could place their faith in. This far out weighted the need for convenience.
• Scout for a responsive bank. Once, when the Swift’s loan officer didn’t return their phone calls, they pulled rank and contacted the bank’s chairman. It wasn’t long before the officer called to apologize. Such personalized service is a rare but precious commodity in the current era of banking. I’ve found that a responsive and caring bank is the most important ingredient in a bank relationship.

What really makes the economy and world function is people and love. Since everything starts and ends with someone in a business transaction (an exchange), what are you doing to enhance, develop or romance those relationships? I see profits or money as the fruit of working with and developing relationships. Many in business have the exact opposite view- they are forsaking relationships and work to achieve profits at all costs. Money is leveraged in order to achieve growth and profits.  I say relationships and love come first; leverage relationships in order to grow and produce profits.

Colleen Barrett, former president of Southwest Airlines, blazed a trail in developing a culture at Southwest that promoted validating the very best in every employee. She celebrated the Southwest family and the many achievements of its employees.  A champion at valuing and empowering the employee, her leadership philosophy was grounded in giving employees the authority to make decisions.  “The people on the front lines are the ones who face the challenges every day. They are in the best position to come up with solutions,” Barrett declared.  In her estimation, it was “rare” for an employee to let her (or the company) down because “when they realize the success of the company is tied to their own personal success, that we’re all in this together, everybody wins.”

Do you empower your employees, coworkers and other associates?  Is there a spirit of celebration that comes from your heart when others accomplish company or office goals?  When is the last time you celebrated someone’s special achievement in your organization?  If you as the owner, CEO, supervisor or department head don’t, who will?  The loyalty and good will that such celebration builds into an employee is huge and often underestimated.  When people are validated for who they are, what they achieve and for their significance they become fiercely loyal.  We all have a need to be valued and respected. Boiled down to its core, it is the need to be cherished and loved. 

Embrace a new way of doing business: love someone!  Appreciate those in your employ and workplace. Tell your employees customers, and all your stakeholders why you value them.  Celebrate someone’s accomplishment.  Show some leadership: get a $10 cake and have a 10-minute surprise party for an employee or coworker who has just reached a milestone or done something special in the office.  “We don’t do that in our company,” you say?  Why not?  Start now!  Your small investment in validating (loving) those in your work-world may be just the traction your company needs. Give others the freedom to reach beyond themselves. Cultivate a festive atmosphere!  Come on…work hard, have fun and encourage the human spirit all around you!  If you will, you and your company may gain the traction to climb higher and further than ever before. 

Economics can be defined as the science and study of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. In reality it is the flow of money, or the cycle of money through a business.  At this time rather than concentrating on the economy and all the negative effects on money and sales, I suggest focusing on relationship economics. I define it as the flow of love throughout your business as it relates to all your stakeholders. My hope is for you and all your team members to make an emotional investment by romancing each and every employee, customer, prospect, supplier, person who calls or drops into your location. Treat them as if each day is Valentine’s Day and the other person is the most important person in your life. I believe by transacting business in this way great things will happen in your business such as: heightened productivity, greater efficiency, increased sales, greater understanding, improved morale, less stress, less absenteeism, less sickness and more joy and cooperation in the workplace. Your business will create greater value causing sales to soar.

Recall the Fram Oil Filter TV commercial of the 70s?  Its theme was, “pay me now or pay me later.” In other words, an ounce of romance can produce a pound of rewards.

To complete the story about Shackleton and his crew – he and his crew reached the settlement, as their slide down the mountain in the dark led them to safety and not death. In addition to this 1914 trip, in 1908 Shackleton was the first explorer to come within 100 miles of the South Pole, but failed in his quest to reach the Pole. The 1914 mission actually became five historic survival stories, just as harrowing as the one mentioned above and with each involving heroism of the highest degree possible and each a success against all odds. The fact that Shackleton never lost one man, on either of his trips to the South Pole makes his story truly incredible. One of the reasons Shackleton failed to reach the Pole is that relationships were more important to him than achievement, colleagues more important than conquests and campaigns.  Success of the mission and personal honors were secondary to the value of his relationship to his crew.

What really can help give your business traction? It is people and LOVE. There’s an old song from the early 80s by a group called the Motels titled, “Take the L out of Lover and its OVER”.  This song title is absolutely true about your business. Without being or playing the lover in all your business relationships it just might be OVER!