One of the most important things you can do as a business owner, is manage your finances and invest in your company and its future. The key to that is having a working relationship with a banker. That relationship means you must learn to speak a new language.
Bankerease. Ya gotta know their lingo.
It all starts with the first questions they ask you:
- Can you pay?
- Will you pay?
- What if you don’t pay?
Sure, their goal, is to grant you a loan and then service it. But a big part of that is making sure you pay it back.
So, what else in is their vocabulary? Here are a few terms you might hear in your conversations with a banker with whom you are doing business:
- Credit
- Debit
- Debt
- Standing order
- Credit limit
- EBITDA
- Balance sheet
The whole point here is this: like any other business relationship, the key word is relationship. You have to be able to communicate and communicate well. Your banker needs to see you and know you beyond the balance sheet and tax returns. You need to give them confidence that you know what are doing and that you have confidence in your business.
For more on being prepared for that banking conversation, call or write to us. TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their finances from the back office to the boardroom.
*photos courtesy of Unsplash and Paramount Pictures