Do Not Wait Until the Repo Man Shows Up

Your chances of a successful restructure are greatly reduced if your lenders have gotten to the point of sending out the repo man.

Over the past several years we've quoted well over 150 clients to assist in their debt restructures. Several have deferred, indicating they thought they could do it themselves.

Over the past several months, however, we've had many of them call back saying, "We've reconsidered and want to retain your services to assist us in building the proper forecast and plans for our business that will give our banks the information they requested... and oh, by the way, the repo man is standing at my desk... do you think you can make him go away?"

As I have indicated in several previous articles, it's important to stay ahead of this company-jeopardizing type of event. Your chances of a successful restructure are greatly reduced if your lenders have gotten to the point of sending out the repo man. Having said that, we've been successful, when called upon, in slowing down the debilitating process that results in this visit, and have even accomplished the debt restructuring job. But it makes that job much more difficult and more costly for you, the client.

It's imperative that you recognize - and face squarely, no matter how much it might hurt - the financial problems your business might be running into before they actually occur, and that you move quickly to fix them. Your actions might not only assure your bankers that you're taking your commitment to them seriously and in good faith - it could very well save your business.

So remember... stay ahead of the repo man.

Questions or comments? Contact Mike Farley at [email protected].

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