The downturn has effected several Generals who I work with and some payments have been delayed. My business has been growing which means that I often need to borrow to make the difference between an increased payroll and the receivables from the last 30-60 days. We are currently fine because we have a couple of lines of credit we can tap but when I asked the bank to increase my credit line in anticipation of greater revenues they declined. Credit is definitely not as available as it was a couple of years ago.
John - 15 years ago
I have been in remodeling since 1973 and this recession is by far the worst that I have experienced,and I think we have some time to go before this cycle has run it's course and when it does we will be facing inflation and high interest rate's
I had to go with other. As a new business under two years old there aren't really any healthy loan options available to us. Myself and my business partner have put money into the business over the last couple of months due to the slowdown, but we expect to be okay after looking at our latest projections and making some hard decisions on cut backs. Last year we put money aside to carry us through the winter, but this year I think it will be a little harder. Hopefully someone will get in there and fight for the small businesses to keep some of the new taxes from making it harder to function.
Name Withheld - 15 years ago
We bank with a small local bank that has now called our line of credit ,after 15 years. It has put our business into a bad situation. I was told they were doing the same with all of thier clients in our sector.
Worrisome. Couple of bad employee choices and Emerge Homes not paying on a $20,000.00 debt of 3 years has me barely covering monthly debts. Creditors are shutting down (Advanta) shop, and others drop limits with every payment.
All of the creditors have bent over backwards for us, consolidating and lowering payments. Way different than 10 years ago.
But, I have to say-- I still love what I do
It's like Pharaoh's dream. I set aside some of the surplus of the fat years, to keep the company going through the lean. Hopefully there will be enough to keep us afloat through the crisis.
Nonetheless, If I were to exhaust my reserves, I would not go in debt to keep things going, as there is no guarantee that the economy will return to the level that made our work profitable.
Name Withheld - 15 years ago
We had a significant line of credit which the bank called due in March, it has put us in a terrible position.
We are fine. We bank with a local bank. Keep our savings with them. Through them we have a line of credit with fantastic terms, they seem to be small business friendly. Plus we do our personal banking there as well.
Dennis and others: As I understand, the SBA's ARC (America's Recovery Capital) loan program is available only to established businesses that are facing immediate financial hardship. It may be used to make payments on existing debt. Learn more about it here: http://www.sba.gov/recovery/arcloanprogram/
I'm talking with some SBA folks to learn more about loans that are available to businesses that are currently in better financial shape.
BTW, if you're a military veteran, you may also be eligible for a "Patriot Express" loan for small businesses. http://www.sba.gov/patriotexpress/index.html
We have a line of credit in place that we use as needed. However if the ARC program is willing to lend us $35,000 at no interest then I'm interested. How does one qualify for these kind of things when our company is solvent and we appear to not be in need?
We have never borrowed money for our business and in 2008 a large bank to remain unnamed decided to not renew our heft credit line. Currently we don't need additional funds but it would be nice to know it was there in the event that we had a cash crunch.
The downturn has effected several Generals who I work with and some payments have been delayed. My business has been growing which means that I often need to borrow to make the difference between an increased payroll and the receivables from the last 30-60 days. We are currently fine because we have a couple of lines of credit we can tap but when I asked the bank to increase my credit line in anticipation of greater revenues they declined. Credit is definitely not as available as it was a couple of years ago.
I have been in remodeling since 1973 and this recession is by far the worst that I have experienced,and I think we have some time to go before this cycle has run it's course and when it does we will be facing inflation and high interest rate's
I had to go with other. As a new business under two years old there aren't really any healthy loan options available to us. Myself and my business partner have put money into the business over the last couple of months due to the slowdown, but we expect to be okay after looking at our latest projections and making some hard decisions on cut backs. Last year we put money aside to carry us through the winter, but this year I think it will be a little harder. Hopefully someone will get in there and fight for the small businesses to keep some of the new taxes from making it harder to function.
We bank with a small local bank that has now called our line of credit ,after 15 years. It has put our business into a bad situation. I was told they were doing the same with all of thier clients in our sector.
Worrisome. Couple of bad employee choices and Emerge Homes not paying on a $20,000.00 debt of 3 years has me barely covering monthly debts. Creditors are shutting down (Advanta) shop, and others drop limits with every payment.
All of the creditors have bent over backwards for us, consolidating and lowering payments. Way different than 10 years ago.
But, I have to say-- I still love what I do
It's like Pharaoh's dream. I set aside some of the surplus of the fat years, to keep the company going through the lean. Hopefully there will be enough to keep us afloat through the crisis.
Nonetheless, If I were to exhaust my reserves, I would not go in debt to keep things going, as there is no guarantee that the economy will return to the level that made our work profitable.
We had a significant line of credit which the bank called due in March, it has put us in a terrible position.
We are fine. We bank with a local bank. Keep our savings with them. Through them we have a line of credit with fantastic terms, they seem to be small business friendly. Plus we do our personal banking there as well.
I selected Fine, but we are using our credit line now, for some operating expenses as well as some improvements to our office.
Dennis and others: As I understand, the SBA's ARC (America's Recovery Capital) loan program is available only to established businesses that are facing immediate financial hardship. It may be used to make payments on existing debt. Learn more about it here: http://www.sba.gov/recovery/arcloanprogram/
I'm talking with some SBA folks to learn more about loans that are available to businesses that are currently in better financial shape.
BTW, if you're a military veteran, you may also be eligible for a "Patriot Express" loan for small businesses. http://www.sba.gov/patriotexpress/index.html
-- Leah
We have a line of credit in place that we use as needed. However if the ARC program is willing to lend us $35,000 at no interest then I'm interested. How does one qualify for these kind of things when our company is solvent and we appear to not be in need?
We have never borrowed money for our business and in 2008 a large bank to remain unnamed decided to not renew our heft credit line. Currently we don't need additional funds but it would be nice to know it was there in the event that we had a cash crunch.
I would have checked-off the first one (Strong...) except for the "We have never borrowed money..." part.
So, my ammended answer would be:
"Strong. We have borrowed money for our business in the past, but expect we never will again."