“Success Does Start With Preparation, Regardless Of What The Objective Your Trying To Achieve”

The Superbowl didn’t go so well yesterday for my Steelers… that is for the part of the game I actually got to see versus chasing my kids around.

Regardless of who won, what was well known before the game began was that both teams were prepared to play, that sufficient preparation had gone into the two weeks leading up to the big game and for both the Packers and Steelers, success was only going to be possible through the necessary preparation, or at least it would considerably strengthen the odds of winning the game.

With business financing, there is a view among many business owners that securing third party capital in the form of debt financing or equity investing does not require a great deal of preparation and that knowing the process and managing the details of what leads you to getting business financing in the first place are not overly important.

The football equivalent to this type of thinking would be for the Steeler and the Packers to take two weeks off prior to the game, arrive a couple hours before the game began, and then get ready to play. This is not to say that this approach could not be successful, but their are long odds against it which is why no one does it.

Yet in the business world, the process of looking and securing capital for a business is very much like this at times. The business owner, once again in many but not all cases, doesn’t really understand the full process, starts preparing too close to the time the money is required, and assumes that he or she will be able to convince a lender or investor to provide capital without much effort or time being extended.

Once again, this approach can prove to be successful, as it has in the past, especially in the economic period prior to the last recession.

Which is what has also led us into the current economic downturn…too many people prepared to borrow or invest too much money into situations that were not prepared to receive and properly manage capital.

Now that things have tightened up in the capital markets, success once again goes to prepared more so than the unprepared.

While developing business plans, financial projections, and project plans for the future as well as developing a solid working understanding of the performance metrics of the past are not going to be viewed to be overly sexy by most business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs, the same can likely be said towards doing extra film study, extended practice time, and team meetings.

One of the things that has kept me a Steeler fan for over 30 years is their steadfast approach to running a business in a consistent fashion. Focusing on a proven model only makes the future results better. Flip flopping from approach to approach surely will not, especially over time.

Most business owners have a goal to be in business for a long period of time, and modeling out success for many will include the periodic or ongoing need for third party financing. To maintain stability with this critical business component requires a great deal of diligence and at times preparation.

Preparation never guarantees the outcome, but almost without fail will increase the probability of success and make the outcome more realistic to achieve.

Click Here To Speak With Business Financing Specialist Brent Finlay