Most business borrowers don’t have the right information to help them navigate difficult times. Businesses will benefit from business finance consulting that offers practical advice on how to overcome current lending problems. However, working capital management advice is becoming a rare commodity in today’s chaotic commercial financing environment. Business financing specialists are not easy to find, despite being in high demand.
Business owners can get very useful and efficient advice on business finance at no cost. The Working Capital Journal, and The Commercial Mortgages Guide are two examples of free online resources. The normal complexity of small-business loans and the chaotic commercial lending environment will make it more important to get individualized advice from a commercial finance expert.
It will be difficult to find such personalized business finance consulting assistance as you might expect. Commercial financing advisors will not charge a fixed fee for consulting on commercial finance. This is because it requires them to spend more time, and often offers them less compensation than the lucrative loan fees of up to $5000. A small business owner can find a professional commercial loan advisor willing to offer these services at a reasonable fixed cost. This would be between $1500 and $3000 for a basic, but thorough, consulting effort.
Commercial borrowers need to work with qualified business finance consultants to discuss contingency financing options that might be required due to current financial market turmoil. Since many years, I have been a strong advocate of the importance to always have a plan B for working capital financing and other financing.
Many banks have reduced or removed business lines of credit, recalled commercial loans, and it is now that the real value of contingency plans has become apparent for small business loans and commercial property financing. Business owners will have a harder time finding alternative financing sources if they are not prepared. Business owners who have a contingency plan for financing will not be surprised if the current lender changes their mind or cancels commercial finance agreements.
Many small business owners have areas of particular interest. A candid business finance consultant can help them to explore the “Plan B” situation. It doesn’t matter what topic, it is usually beneficial for business borrowers to have a simple conversation with a small-business loan expert.
These discussions could be viewed as “getting another opinion” in certain cases for commercial financing or refinancing existing debt. Although business owners may not have seen the value in paying a small consulting fee in order to obtain a second opinion, recent events have changed this view. Many banks are now proving that it is possible to make big mistakes if the right questions have not been asked before making a decision.