Navigating the Business Loan - Morton Glantz

Navigating the Business Loan (eBook)

Guidelines for Financiers, Small-Business Owners, and Entrepreneurs

Morton Glantz (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2014 | 1. Auflage
172 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-12-801806-4 (ISBN)

The need for 'back to basics' information about credit risk has not disappeared; in fact, it has grown among lenders and investors who have no easy ways to learn about their clients. This short and readable book guides readers through core risk/performance issues. Readers learn the ways and means of running more efficient businesses, review bank and investor requirements as they evaluate funding requests, gain knowledge selling themselves, confidence in business plans, and their ability to make good on loans. They can download powerful tools such as banker's cash flow models and forecast equations programmable into a cell or tablet. Readers can punch keys to ascertain financial needs, calculate sales growth rates calling for external financing, profits required to internally finance their firms, and ways to position revenue growth rates in equilibrium with their firm's capital structure - a rock-solid selling point among smart lenders and investors. The book's 'how-to,' practical and systematical guide to credit and risk analysis draws upon case studies and online tools, such as videos, spreadsheets, and slides in providing a concise risk/return methodology. - Introduces ways to define and manage risk - Uses case studies and online tools to extend and apply credit analysis and business management tools - Surveys 'hard' and 'soft' data and ways they help lenders, other financiers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs spot potential problems, write optimal business plans, and deliver effective loan or /investor geared presentations

Professor Morton Glantz serves as a financial consultant, educator, and adviser to a broad spectrum of professionals, including corporate financial executives, government ministers, privatization managers, investment and commercial bankers, public accounting firms, members of merger and acquisition teams, strategic planning executives, management consultants, attorneys, and representatives of foreign governments and international banks. Professor Morton Glantz is a principal of Real Consulting and Real Options Valuation, firms specializing in risk consulting, training, certification, and advanced analytical software in the areas of risk quantification, analysis, and management solutions.As a JP Morgan Chase (heritage bank) senior banker, Professor Glantz built a progressive career path specializing in credit analysis and credit risk management, risk grading systems, valuation models, and professional training. He was instrumental in the reorganization and development of the credit analysis module of the Bank's Management Training Program-Finance, which at the time was recognized as one of the foremost training programs in the banking industry.Professor Glantz is on the (adjunct) finance faculty of the Fordham Graduate School of Business. He has appeared in the Harvard University International Directory of Business and Management Scholars and Research, and has earned Fordham University Deans Award for Faculty Excellence on three occasions. He is a Board Member of the International Standards Board, International Institute of Professional Education and Research (IIPER). The IIPER is a global institute with partners and offices around the world, including the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, Nigeria, and Malaysia. Professor Glantz is widely published in financial journals and has authored 8 books.

The need for "e;back to basics"e; information about credit risk has not disappeared; in fact, it has grown among lenders and investors who have no easy ways to learn about their clients. This short and readable book guides readers through core risk/performance issues. Readers learn the ways and means of running more efficient businesses, review bank and investor requirements as they evaluate funding requests, gain knowledge selling themselves, confidence in business plans, and their ability to make good on loans. They can download powerful tools such as banker's cash flow models and forecast equations programmable into a cell or tablet. Readers can punch keys to ascertain financial needs, calculate sales growth rates calling for external financing, profits required to internally finance their firms, and ways to position revenue growth rates in equilibrium with their firm's capital structure - a rock-solid selling point among smart lenders and investors. The book's "e;how-to,"e; practical and systematical guide to credit and risk analysis draws upon case studies and online tools, such as videos, spreadsheets, and slides in providing a concise risk/return methodology. - Introduces ways to define and manage risk- Uses case studies and online tools to extend and apply credit analysis and business management tools- Surveys "e;hard"e; and "e;soft"e; data and ways they help lenders, other financiers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs spot potential problems, write optimal business plans, and deliver effective loan or /investor geared presentations

Foreword

When my best friend, Mort Glantz, asked me to write a foreword for his ninth book, I was both flabbergasted and intimidated. How could I adequately introduce a man recognized as one of the foremost global experts on financial risk management? Mort told me not to worry, and simply asked me to share my story about how I became an entrepreneur, my relationship with risk, and my experience with bankers and investors – a kind of case study, if you will.

I am often asked, “Why are entrepreneurs more tolerant to risk and how did you become an entrepreneur?” My answer is that the notion that entrepreneurs are big risk takers is fundamentally wrong. As an entrepreneur, my relationship with risk is simple. My view is that the best way to make risk more acceptable is to have more direct control over it. In fact, the entrepreneur’s two most important skills are the ability to minimize the risk associated with making his or her dreams come true and the ability to run an up-and-coming business. Entrepreneurs are not bigger risk takers than others; we simply have a greater appetite to take accountability for that risk, and spend our energy and focus in managing risk by having more control over it. As an entrepreneur, my biggest fear is being in a situation in which I have little personal control over managing my risk.

My attitude toward risk also explains how I became an entrepreneur. In 1989, I was recently married, I had been in a new job for only 1 year, and I had recently used my vacation days to honeymoon. One evening, my wife and I were watching the news, witnessing the imminent downfall of the Berlin Wall. We locked eyes and said, “Let’s go to Berlin and help tear it down!” The next day, I requested a week of unpaid leave, but my boss and HR denied my request. Our division’s HR director lectured me about professional priorities, and gave me a choice: my job or Berlin.

I chose Berlin. It was at this moment that I realized that I could not accept a life in which the risks to my well-being, my employment, and my destiny rested in the hands of another person, outside of my control. I realized that whatever risk was going to be introduced in my life, I would be more likely to accept it if I had a direct and meaningful role in managing it.

So Genny and I flew to Berlin and chipped away at that ominous wall. One week later, with no job to go back to, I decided to start my first business: importing vodka. My goal was to introduce a premium Russian vodka to compete with Stolichnaya, the only Russian vodka sold in the United States. Nine months later, I secured an export license and shipped six containers of my designer Russian vodka to the United States.

Throughout my entrepreneurial career, I learned a great deal about raising growth capital, dealing with bankers, and establishing critical relationships with the right venture capitalists. During those years, I was fortunate to enjoy a close relationship with Morton Glantz, who helped me develop the financials of my last venture’s business plan, and who was always available to me for sound business and financial advice.

The first time I needed money to start a business, I was in my early twenties. I was going to take the US vodka market by storm by introducing the first designer vodka from Russia that would be an alternative to Stolichnaya. So, I visited my local bank, where I had banked for many years, and I asked for a $100,000 business loan to launch my venture. Morton had cautioned me that commercial banks do not normally give unsecured loans to new businesses, but are pleased to offer suggestions and advice about alternative choices, such as SBA loans, for example. However, as I attempted to describe my business, the banker kept interrupting with only three words during the meeting: collateral and guarantees. Of course, if I had the funds to provide a guarantee, I would not have needed a loan! Evidently (as Morton cautioned me earlier), as a startup, my company was an unacceptable risk to a commercial bank.

A few days after my disappointing experience with the bank, I had lunch with Morton. I shared my disappointment. Mort laughed and said, “Ara, entrepreneurs don’t go to banks to raise startup money. But when you attain growth status, yes – possibly.” There was a small caveat, he went on: “Arrive very prepared with a track record supported by a respectable client base, know the rules of the bank lending game, and be ready to inquire about alternative funding sources like SBA loans if unsecured or secured loans are not in the cards quite yet.”

Thanks to Morton, I learned to be prepared for the variety of questions commercial bankers ask, and was sure to respond with solid facts and figures. I realized that when you approach a lender, you are selling yourself and your confidence in your business plan, as well as your ability to make good on your loan. I was sure to communicate clearly how much money I needed, what I intended to use it for, and exactly how the business loan would be allocated. Frankly, the first banker I met with was probably not insightful enough to assess whether my business was an acceptable risk or not – nor did he really care. I talked to the wrong banker and decided to walk out, never to speak to that bank again.

Morton helped me with a few introductions, and started my quest for the right financial partner, an investor who would share my vision and who would believe it would work. Looking back now at 20 years’ worth of entrepreneurial endeavors and the interdependence I shared with my investors, I can see that I made some good decisions, and some bad ones. The following anecdotes will hopefully be useful to you.

• My biggest and most frequent mistake: consistently overestimating revenue projection while underestimating the runway needed and the costs associated with building growth. Consequently, I have spent too much time raising new funds and giving away equity.

• I always overestimated how helpful my bankers would be. Alas, unless you are building a business with concrete assets that can be collateralized by a bank, commercial bankers tend to shy away from entrepreneurs. If you run a software firm, your riches walk in and out of the door every day. Your assets are your people and their ideas – intangibles bankers do not normally accept as collateral.

• If you need growth money but cannot afford to give away any more equity, you may have a hidden asset you can leverage: your client list. At a time when my business was in dire need of growth capital, Mort advised me to consider leveraging my blue-chip client list and the stellar historical payment history I enjoyed with them. So I learned to factor our invoices, and access the cash we needed to further invest in research and development and growth.

• Choose your investors carefully. Not all money is good money, even when it comes from reputable venture capitalists. Align your vision and culture with your financial partner, your venture capitalists. The wrong relationship will be a loss–loss right off the bat. My standard for managing my venture capital risk was always to look for “high-octane” money.

• Seeking growth capital may require accepting a substantial risk and sharing your destiny with a board of directors. The worst risk for an entrepreneur, from my perspective, is accepting money from what seems to be a great investor group and inheriting “green” MBA analysts to sit on one’s board. My risk tolerance for board members has always been low, and I have established a clear set of criteria for accepting a board member, which I would recommend to other entrepreneurs. Potential board members:

1. Must have built and operated a business of their own – they must have been entrepreneurs.

2.Must share your values and philosophy and show genuine care and empathy for people.

3.Must have pockets that are deep enough and an appetite big enough to invest in multiple rounds, because you will always underestimate how much you really need.

Looking back, I am glad that I decided I would take a more active role in managing the risks associated with my professional and financial life. I have been blessed with a fabulous life. Genny and I have been married for 25 years; we have three great kids; and together we have traveled the world. In the process I have built three businesses, and I am thankful to have received Morton’s advice as I built each one.

The first business was the most adventurous, but did not succeed (but we drank a lot of vodka!). The second venture secured our financial success. My third business, which Deloitte named one of the “top ten hottest startups in the New York area,” grew into a global learning technology leader, and was recently acquired by one of the largest enterprise software firms in the world. Not only did the buyout send a couple of coins into my pockets, but also it resulted in the acquiring company’s CEO asking me to stay on and build a new game – changing global business.

Morton’s book covers a broad stretch of material, ranging from how banks evaluate a loan application to how a business’s worth is evaluated. Navigating the Business Loan reads smoothly, not like the usual technical texts about small and mid-sized businesses. In this book I discovered...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	10.11.2014
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Recht / Steuern ► Wirtschaftsrecht
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Finanzierung
	Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Spezielle Betriebswirtschaftslehre ► Bankbetriebslehre
	Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
ISBN-10	0-12-801806-2 / 0128018062
ISBN-13	978-0-12-801806-4 / 9780128018064

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