Breaking News: Fall 1919, Somewhere Over France:

World War I Flying Ace “Snoopy” (flying WITHOUT a Wingman) is shot down by the Red Baron….

As this old headline reports, Snoopy was shot down and while he was able to land his doghouse…errr,  Sopwith Camel, behind enemy lines and work his way back to safety, you can’t help but wonder if the story would have turned out differently if he had a Wingman.

Where was Woodstock and what was Snoopy’s mistake?

Well, I can’t answer for Woodstock, but Snoopy underestimated the task at hand.

With a good Wingman on his team he may have spotted the Red Baron and avoided disaster, but as this “historical footage” reveals, it was not meant to be:

Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.

In reviewing the footage, you notice how Snoopy cavalierly takes off into the blue sky, confident he has what it takes to defeat his nemesis. You also notice that the skies soon turn dark and ominous with flack.  You see that he is alone up there and obviously ill prepared.  He gets a rush of adrenalin and starts firing away, but then realizes he is in trouble.  Soon his head is on a swivel and he doesn’t know up from down and eventually he crashes, his doghouse bullet-ridden and his ego wounded.

Pretty dramatic stuff, huh?

Luckily for Snoopy the landing wasn’t too harsh, so he lived to fight another day, but he lost valuable time and he had to leave his doghouse in France 😉

What the heck does this have to do with SBA Lending?

Well, not much, but there is a good lesson here…It is important to understand the task at hand and to have an accurate picture of the current environment and what you are about to attempt.

Put it this way, if your business hasn’t skipped a beat over the last few years and you have an “easy” loan, then you should be able to avoid the kind of mini-disaster that Snoopy lived through.

However, if, like many business owners, the last few years have left you feeling like you’ve just been in a dogfight with the Red Baron…or if your banker has donned his Red Baron garb, shot you down and kicked you to the curb…you might just need a Wingman.

Commercial Loan Reality

The reality is that many banks are not lending at the moment and many others (who are lending) are “cherry picking” the easy deals.

Finding a suitable lender and applying for an SBA loan (or any commercial loan) is not as dangerous as being in a dogfight,  but you could waste a lot of time and you may feel the need to get up close and personal with the air sickness bag.

If you enlist our help, I can’t promise a bump-free ride or guarantee an approval, but I can tell you that there are lenders out there who will take a good hard look at your file and listen to your story.

We also now have access to an “A Minus” 504 Loan Program for those who had a few “bullet-ridden” years, but have since repaired the damage and are back to profitability.

As your SBA Wingman, we may just be able to guide you past the flack to an approval.

p.s. Post fueled by Dunkin Donuts Coffee.

By the way, SBA 7a and 504 Loans, are an excellent way to finance a Dunkin Donuts franchise 🙂

Earlier Posts:

SBA Wingman Services – Part 1