If you learn to think like your banker, you will no doubt get more help for your small business from your bank.
In decades of teaching bankers proven approaches to evaluating requests for business loans, I have shaped the thinking of countless small business bankers.
Six C's Lead to Creditworthiness I teach commercial loan officers to consider "Six C's of Commercial Credit" -- Character, Capacity, Conditions, Capital, Collateral, and Cash flow -- before making a loan.
Those criteria help bankers be more thorough in their examination of financial and business data from their borrowers, and make sure the crucial items are not overlooked.
When you can go inside the mind of your banker to anticipate the kinds of questions you are likely to get around each of these elements, you do a better job of telling your own individual business story, enhancing your opportunity to get the financing you need.
Capital "Capital" refers to your ability to weather a downturn, whether in the general economy, the borrower's industry, or the borrower's business in particular.
It focuses on financial means to cope with changes in business conditions.
The banker is trying to find out what financial resources the borrower has to get through tight times and emerge in good health on the other side.
That leads to questions like these, when you come in to request a loan:

• Are the borrower's combined debt and equity sufficient to maintain operations for a reasonable period of time in the face of sharply reduced sales or a marked increase in expenditures?
• Has the borrower exhausted, or nearly exhausted, access to credit and equity? Or are there sources of credit and investment the borrower could tap in a crisis?
• Is the ownership in a position, and willing, to reduce their own compensation for the sake of the business, during a tough stretch?
• Does the company regularly build net worth/owners' equity through retained earnings? Are the amounts taken out of the company (salaries, dividends, perks, etc.
  ) appropriate and sustainable?
• Does management explicitly talk about, and manage, capital to ensure their ability to handle a sudden downturn in their fortunes?
• Does the ownership have the personal resources (guaranty) to back the business, if needed?
• Is the business's capital at the service of the owner, or is the owner's net worth at the service of the business?

Do Try This At Home! These are tough questions, and it doesn't help your case to be fumbling for answers when you're sitting across the desk from your banker.
Take the time to practice handling these issues.
Sit down with a colleague, or even someone who knows little about your industry, and rehearse until you can tell your story smoothly and confidently.
With thorough preparation, you can show your banker that you and your business have the Capital to support that loan you are after.