Benjamin Zander and his wife wrote a book entitled: The Art
of Possibility; Transforming Professional and Personal Life. Their idea is
that you can create a passionate energy permeating The Art of Possibility that
will be a true force in your life. You can make your own rules. Their book is
inspirational. You will be inspired if you buy and read it. The question is:
how does this pertain to accounts receivable financing?
Its all about attitude, enthusiasm and point of view
regarding how to conduct your business. Can you make your own rules regarding
how banks, commercial finance companies and other financial entities operate?
Of course not. Can you make your own rules regarding how you utilize the
financial recourses that are available to finance your business? Absolutely!
Here are three examples how to harness the power of accounts
receivable financing sometimes with other types of financing to grow your B2B business.
Case Study One:
A Solar Energy Company that designed and supervised the
installation of renewable energy systems was unable to obtain bank financing.
They were one of the areas lowest cost providers of solar panels, system
design and supervision. One of their biggest assets was State Solar Tax Credits
that are paid to homeowners who install the solar energy systems. An obligation
from a State to a consumer is not within the definition of an account
receivable. In other words, it could not be financed because it was not an
obligation to a business. Using the art of possibility, the homeowners were
persuaded to assign their solar tax credits to the Solar Energy Company. This
transformed a consumer receivable into a commercial accounts receivable. Voila!
The Solar Energy Company received accounts receivable financing it needed to
grow.
Case Study Two:
An individual purchased an Importing Company that had been
financed with a banks SBA loan. As collateral for the loan, the bank placed a
UCC1 filing on the accounts receivable and inventory of the business. UCC
refers to the Uniform Commercial Code in effect throughout the United
States of America. In some respects, it
simplifies the process of lending, selling and borrowing nationally. In other
ways it is very complex. A UCC1 filing by a bank usually prevents any further
financing because there is no collateral left to be financed. It is similar to
a first mortgage loan on a house. If you
have a 95% loan on your house, no other financing is available on the house
because there is no equity to lend on. Using the art of possibility, the
Importing Company was successful in convincing the bank to subordinate their
UCC1 filing to another commercial lenders UCC1. The Importing Company
convinced the bank that it would be mutually beneficial to lower the banks UCC1
lien to a secondary position to allow a commercial finance company to offer new
accounts receivable financing and inventory financing. Voila! The Importing
business has a new credit line available for growth. It is now more profitable
and the bank is more likely to be repaid. This is a win-win situation.