There are certain times when a business loan is absolutely necessary. The future growth needs, the recurring debts, and periodic payroll must be identified and financed ahead of time. A successful business has to be planned and adequately financed. Whenever a business loan is contemplated, it should require the same type of intense planning that the new year's budget requires. A business loan is an emergency, it is a proclamation that the company has a shortfall in it's current capital funds. It should not be considered as an isolated incident but one that has many parts. Each of these parts has to be reviewed, determined whether there are steps that can be taken to improve, what excess there might be eliminated and how the business can repay the loan in the fastest and most effective manner. Essentially, the business should be asking, 'How can we avoid ever having to take a business loan again?' There are several ways by which a business loan can be created or occur. One way is for small businesses to obtain a business loan from a local bank. This can be a line of credit loan based on the credit history of the business. If a larger loan from a bank has to be secured, then something of recognized value has to be surrendered. This can be company stock, if the firm is traded on the stock exchange, or it can be real estate. Whenever such an action occurs, a measure of control disappears from the business. This can be extremely dangerous for the health of a newly established business. Whenever control slips from the owner of a business then issues such as hiring practices or technical issues can be dictated by the mortgage holder. An important telecommunications company had to dispose of critical equipment needed for the enhancement and retransmission of local internet signals and reduce the number of mission critical personnel because of the demands of a local bank. These issues developed because there wasn't a clear understanding of the critical role backup equipment played in keeping an internet backbone operational 24 hours a day. The loss of control, meant the loss of reliable service to thousands of customers, poor service created revenue loss and revenue loss eventually meant bankruptcy. Business loans should be avoided at all costs. Managers and owners should know exactly how much utilities, rent cost each month. The payroll of the required personnel should be forecast to include both hourly and commission wages. The actual cost of personnel, if it is a retail business or a manufacturing one should be calculated on a very simple formula approved by the Department of Labor and Congress. The man hours per year when calculating the accepted holidays is 2080 hours per employee. When calculating the necessary staff, the human resource should know exactly how many repairmen, salesmen and clerks are needed. The needed material for manufacture or products to sale are obtainable from the past year's records. The sales objectives of the past give the planner the income projection for the future as long as they adjust their sales goals to local economy traits. Business loans should only be used in an extreme emergency, every tool exists to help the conscientious business person to succeed. |
