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The Story That Wants Out

"An SBA loan could really boost your business," said the banker. "Here are the application forms. And, by the way, you'll need a business plan."

Few activities in a business owner's life are dreaded more than putting together a business plan. Excuses for not having one outnumber the reasons for needing one, and most excuses have the desperate ring of genuine procrastination: It can't be done. I don't like to write. I have it all in my head anyway. I have no time. I like to wing it. Plans are pedestrian. Plans are for losers.

As the witty poet and dramatist Don Marquis once said, "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." Planning, on the other hand, means seeing tomorrow with today's eyes. And loan money can be the fuel of tomorrow's growth. What's a man to do?

Write a story. Compose a miniature novel. There's a book in every person, and that book wants out. Let this book be your business plan.

Not every novel has a clear purpose, goal or message, but a business plan always should. You, as its author, may want the plan to be your roadmap with all milestones identified. Or maybe you need an objective view of your company to use as a communication tool for your employees or suppliers. For this article, let's say you want to get that elusive SBA loan. That's the purpose of your story.

Once upon a time...

Well, you don't have to begin like that. But early in your story, you do need to describe the present state of your company: what it offers, who your customers are and how long you've been around. A novelist calls this the stasis, which is like the status quo of your business. And now, as it does in any good plot, something out of the ordinary needs to happen to put the story in motion. In Homer's Illiad, Helena was abducted. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Charles Baskerville died under mysterious circumstances.

For you, this trigger for action is your purpose. Let the cat out of the bag: You want a loan. Now you have the reader's attention. The banker wants to read on because there's a commission in it for him. But you need to work on him and satisfy his need for more information. So you explain why you want and need the loan: a new truck, one more employee or debt consolidation. With that, you and your reader are venturing out on a quest together. If you were Homer, you'd have just sent Odysseus to Troy; if you were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the game would be afoot.

But things can't go too smoothly in a story---that would be boring. And in a business plan, that would be unrealistic. There are problems, there is adversity, there is competition. For Odysseus, there was the infighting of the Greek warriors. For Sherlock Holmes, there were red herrings like the Barrymores and the cunning of Moriarty. Although a banker isn't an adversary, he or she will have concerns. Why should you get the loan and not your competitor, who's been in business longer?

Now you really need to play your cards, show why you're special and the better bet. Talk marketing and about the glorious future fueled by the loan. Surprise and woo your banker with your savvy and vision. Prove you present a low risk.

In your story, you need to remain plausible, and your picture of the future has to be credible. In Coleridge's phrase, don't go beyond your "reader's willing suspension of disbelief." Painting a colorful picture is OK; lying is not.

The plot thickens

We've now come to the critical moment in your story. Odysseus' Trojan Horse is rolling into Troy. You're now inside the banker's head. Sherlock is out on the moors and has the villain---almost. Suspense rises; the hound is loose. What's left is the coup de gra^ce. Your final ace should be the cold objective numbers that support your compelling story.

Numbers don't lie. At least; don't make them lie. Carefully list the assumptions underlying the figures in your income projections.

Be open. Show your personal financial profile (your balance sheet). Be conservative with cash flow predictions. Openness is disarming in a story's hero, assumptions can disarm a banker.

In many classical dramas, action such as battle and murder happens offstage and in the background. Likewise, the climax in your story will play out away from you---in the banker's mind---and it may take a few days for him or her to sort out. Do you have the necessary skill and experience? What about your credit rating? Do you have collateral to secure the loan? Are your projections in line with industry standards?

Underwriters play a large role in this subplot. And finally, the bank's loan committee chimes in like the chorus on Sophocles' stage. The climax has come; and your application receives approval...or not.

In literary terms, this is the moment of denouement, the untying of the plot, the resolution of your worries, the end of the quest. Troy has fallen. The hound is dead. The murderous Stapleton has drowned in the marshlands of the moors. Justice has been served.

Life goes on

But it's not quite over yet. The denouement has an effect on the characters of the story. It'll take Odysseus 10 more years to go home. Beryl Stapleton, the murderer's alleged sister and accomplice, turns out to be his harried wife. She's vindicated and has to go on with her life. Watson draws his conclusion about good and evil.

You and the people in your company, who are the characters in the story that is your business plan, are different now as well. With the loan approved, the life of your company will change. A truck will be bought, a new driver will be hired, more customers need to be served. Your salary may rise. And so a new state of affairs develops, a new stasis establishes itself. Which means that, eventually, after six months or a year, you'll have to revise your plan again. Until then, you'll be editing your script, preparing a new edition, perhaps even going on another quest.

Your fans can't wait for the sequel.

Wulf Rehder, Ph.D., is a business consultant specializing in small business financing opportunities and business planning. He's also the workshop chair of the North Coast chapter of SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business. Before his career in consulting and management, he was a professor of mathematics. You can reach him at wulfrehder@earthlink.net.