Business Owners Guide to Small Business Finance

Everything you need to know about small business financing

As a small business owner, you probably have hundreds of things flying at you at any given time.  There are employee issues, customer issues, dealing with vendors, payroll, AP and AR, etc.  The list is endless and one thing that is a necessary evil is dealing with your bank.  Small business finance is probably one of the things that owners dread the most.  Most business owners have the philosophy that if they have more money in their checking account than they did last month, they must be doing something right.  Or they think that since they are working there day to day, they know by their gut how the business is doing at any given time. 

My name is Dave Ross and I am a small business owner and former small business lender for a large midwestern bank.  I mainly dealt with companies under 10 million in revenue, but most of them were right around 1 million dollars.  I learned a lot when I was doing small business financing and I took that knowledge and put it to use when I started my business.  Matter of fact, towards the end of my career doing small business loans, I made it my goal to not only be my clients banker but to also be a consultant to them.  For my years in small business lending, I noticed quite a few things about some of my client. I noticed that most of my clients did not understand the basics of small business financing and lending and the worst part was that most of them did not care about their finances. It was good enough for them to know that they had money or checking accounts and cash to pay their employees.

As a small business owner, I can completely understand that we don't need another thing on her plates. We want to stick with what we know best, and outsource the rest.  Unfortunately too few small business owners realize that it is their business to understand every aspect of their companies income statement and balance sheet. It's not necessary for business owners know how to structure those things, but it will go a long way to understanding the basics of your company's financial condition. By understanding your company's finances. You will put you and your company in a more advantageous position when it comes to negotiating credit terms, rates, and the structure of your small business loan. It will also come in handy if you ever decide to sell your business. My goal in this website is to provide small business owners with practical and useful advice and will give them the necessary tools and their toolbox. So they can quickly and easily understand their company's financial position and better manage their companies for the future. If there are any conflicts that you wish for me to discuss. Please feel free to contact me and I will address your question directly. 

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