361. 60 days late on SBA, 30 days late on rent, goal is survive another 65 days

Chapters

• 1:03 Bank starts making collection calls
• 2:09 Weighing bankruptcy options
• 3:10 The 60-day runway strategy
• 5:15 Business closure is inevitable
• 6:19 Caring for members despite closure

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:32

Good morning. So today there's a little bit of traction with the bank and lenders wanting to get paid. We'll just say that. So I got a call yesterday from oh gosh, where was it Got a call from one of the. So my bank, my bank, both underwrote the loan as well as they are servicing the loan. So they, they created the loan when I got the loan and now, like, I make my monthly payment to the same bank. So there was no broker involved, so it's the same entity. But he just some guy from the business, from the bank said hey, nathan, this is so-and-so, give me a call at your earliest convenience, or my business banker could me call your earliest convenience, something of that level. So very, very easy going. They're still in collaboration mode.

Speaker 1: 1:24

I called my go-to banker like four months ago and said hey, man, like I don't have the cash to do this, I things are going to start slowing down. Like what are my options? And I think I did an episode for that. I can't remember but the gist of it. We said well, you don't want to declare bankruptcy. If you do that, you'll never get a. Like he literally said it'll be very difficult to ever get a business loan again. And he used the word again almost like my life was over at 33 years old and I've still got another 80 years of runway to go. Over at 33 years old and I've still got another 80 years of runway to go. So I know, right then, and there I'm not going to be able to listen to any of the rest of his input because he's jaded by fear and putting that fear onto me. So that's not, that's a no go. I said no, that's not true. Um, and then what else happened? Uh, shoot, I'm supposed to turn left there. I was supposed to turn left there. Um, hmm, how am I gonna do this? Uh, so apologies about that. So I know my business banker isn't gonna be very helpful, because if he's being truthful then he doesn't know the right things, and if he's being deceptive then I know I can't trust him. So, either way, I know he's not a good source of information.

Speaker 1: 2:34

So yesterday I got a call from a random person representing the bank saying hey, let's talk. And so we're talking. I'll just ignore him for now, because I need another 60 days of runway, the way I see it as of today, and these episodes aren't going to get released until everything is said and done, so no worries on that, but the bank is currently 60 days behind on payments. So they were supposed to get paid 60 days ago, didn't pay that. Then they were supposed to get paid again 30 days ago. Is that the timeline? I can't remember now, and so, anyhow, I'm behind on the bank. I'm only 30 days behind on the rent, and so they're the ones that I'm more scared of, because if the bank shuts it down, then you're guaranteed everything is done. If the landlord shuts you down, it's likely that things are done, and so, either way, all I know is that there's no reason to be afraid, and so right now I'm just playing the who can I delay? Game, and so I'm scheduled to meet with my attorney on my bankruptcy situation this Friday.

Speaker 1: 3:38

They get dibs on my time If I ignore everyone else. I mean, it doesn't, it buys me time. If I, if I'm highly engaged and communicating and interactive, then I'll either be gaslighting them, and then they'll just get fed up with me, or they'll. If I am straight up, like hey, here's exactly how many days behind I am, here's my checking account, here's how much I'm going to be behind on sales every month, and I give them, like all of my behind the scenes information. They'll just see yeah, this thing is not. It does nothing to let the business stay open. They may as well just close the account now, and so that expedites destruction, and that's my assessment, that's my assumption. I'm sure someone else would push back on that. But all that to say, based on those options and outcomes, it's best to not engage on that front, and so my goal is to make it another.

Speaker 1: 4:30

What day are we at? October 9th, my goal is to make it another 65 days and then close things from there, and so anything that impedes that I should avoid. So the outcome is going to be the same and the doors are going to be closing. There's going to be a bankruptcy, it's due to a business failure. Uh, there's no benefit to trying to.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Anyhow, I'm blabbering far too much. Hopefully, this episode can be shortened up when the book comes out, which, yes, I do want to turn this all into a book someday, and right now we're just going to play that game. So, uh, yeah, we'll call it there. So I'm not stressed. I'd be stressed if there was a way to save the business versus not save the business. The business is not savable. That is an undeniable scenario here, and so I'm going to engage and interact as much as I possibly can. At the end of the day, I'm going to care for the members, I'm going to take care of my personal future and I'm not going to lie to anyone and I'm not going to hurt anyone along the way. And unfortunately, my craters are going to get dinged from this, and that's unfortunate, as you can tell from my voice. So I'm going to just pause there. I've made my point. We're going to go enjoy life. We're going to go be purposeful and live to fight another day. That's where we're at at. That's where we're going. That's rock and roll.