Is Your Bank Simply an Investor in Your Business When It Should Be a Partner?
While I am not suggesting that your bank become a business partner in the traditional sense, I do advocate you asking your bank to be more than just an investor in your business.
An investor does nothing more than provide capital with the expectation that it will, over time, earn a return on that investment. A partner, on the other hand makes its knowledge and experience available to help a business prosper.
Your bank should be a resource that can help you answer some very important questions. Such as:
- Are your labor costs in line?
- Are you carrying too much inventory?
- Should your receivables be a concern?
- Are your banking costs too high?
- Are you properly protected from fraud?
Your business will certainly benefit if you have a partnership with your bank and do not look to it as only a source of capital.