fbpx

Stories from the bank: “Your money can work HARDER than you do”

I had a conversation with a wealthy married couple who wanted to borrow money to renovate two houses for quick resale. They were both financially savvy, and the wife was a talented decorator. At first, they asked about a mortgage to do this, hoping to hold the mortgages for a short period of time and Read More

Stories from the bank: “Recession? Participation is OPTIONAL”

“Ed” owns an outdoor clothing and equipment store. While he did well selling clothing and footwear for camping, hunting, skiing, and other outdoor recreation, he wanted to expand his store. He needed room for additional inventory that would now include kayaks and paddles, tents, skis, and other equipment. While profitable, those products are large and Read More

Stories from the bank: “Big loan, low rate, quick approval”

“Manny” called late one afternoon and needed a $1.5 million commercial real estate loan. Before discussing his bank relationship over the phone or initiating an application, I had to “authenticate” him. Authentication involves a series of questions about his bank relationship that only the proper owner could answer correctly. He answered them correctly and without Read More

Stories from the bank: “Business assumes owners’ personal debts”

A husband and wife team owned a plant nursery and garden store. The store was small, and located in a relatively upscale, established neighborhood. We saw each other from time to time when they came in to make deposits with the tellers. One day, they sat down with me and told me that they had Read More

Stories from the bank:”A warrior starts a business”

“Justin” is a 28 year old entrepreneur who sells nutritional supplements online. After a four-year tour as a U.S. Army infantry officer, he was able to amass approximately $40,000 in personal savings, thanks largely to exclusions on income tax of combat zone pay. He contacted me for assistance with setting up his business banking. He Read More

Now You Really Can Ask the Crowd to Finance Your Startup

Crowdfunding can be a misunderstood term and as a funding option, has not been nearly as widespread or readily available as believed. The concept seemed simple enough; large numbers of people could just fund your startup if they chose to. However, that notion of crowdfunding was not available because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Read More