Women for Women in Business

Women for Women in Business An organisation specialising in empowering Women in Business, and building a better financial foundation for young women.

24/01/2026

"BORROW MONEY FROM BANKS WHEN YOU DON'T NEED IT ..."

Banks prefer to lend to businesses that already have money and show signs of good financial health. ( I learnt this the hard way. There's a day I borrowed my bank some money to keep me afloat and they denied me. I went out of my way, got the money, resuscitated my business and just when my balance sheet begun to look healthy again, they agreed to give me the money) Why? These businesses are most likely to pay back loans and thus are a low risk. On the otherhand, distressed businesses are a high risk and won’t find many conventional loan products at a major bank. They must seek alternative financing that invariably carries higher interest rates.

Sounds counterintuitive, but banks and many other lending institutions operate this way. In another example of reverse logic, few people know that banks consider deposits liabilities, not assets. Your ordinary financial advisors won't tell you this. Ni mimi nakusho.

When your business is experiencing high growth and increased revenues, strengthen your capital structure. For example, apply for additional credit lines or request an extension of your current lines.Moreover, apply for an installment loan if appropriate to fuel more growth. Also, raise money from
investors. After any economic depression, as the economy shows small signs of recovery, banks start promoting new products and begin to take greater risks. Take advantage of these opportunities.

Entrepreneurs must be mindful that recessions and economic downturns are inevitable. If you are in business long enough, you will experience one. I've had my firm for some time now ; I'm not sharing this out of nowhere. Preparing your business to weather these storms is part of your job. One of the best ways to do this is to secure your business’s financial welfare by applying for and receiving credit when you don’t need it. If you wait until you need it, you might end up in an irreversible situation and you won't be able to save your business.

27/08/2025

Prepayment is king :

3:34 am going through leaked court documents revealing co-founder of Facebook frustration with a client who refused to pay him for his computer programming services .He wrote in January 2004, “I contracted out my services formoney, and even though I seem to continually be providing services, I don’t seem to be receivingmoney from you guys.” The client was a man named Paul Ceglia. Ceglia later replied in February, “Iwill do my best to try to raise the cash needed to pay the amount requested though I honestly cannotguarantee it.” When this reply was sent, Ceglia owed Zuckerberg $10,000. The facebook was foundedduring the same month that these last e-mails were exchanged. In 2011, Ceglia sued Zuckerberg for a50 percent stake in Facebook, claiming that Zuckerberg stole his idea. Ceglia eventually withdrew hiscase.

While some reports on this frivolous case focus on Zuckerberg’s frustration, I'm thinking something different: Why was Zuckerberg doing work for a client and not getting paid?Isn’t this guy supposed to be really smart? haha!

Sincerely speaking, it’s never a good idea to do work with questionable payment arrangements or to continuework with a delinquent client. From this scandal and from my own experience, here are a few strategies I've adopted throughout the years in business to ensure faster payment :

1. Build trust immediately. During the selling or price negotiation process, work hard to buildtrust so that you can ask for and receive prepayment for services or a product. Give references before the client asks for them. Also, ensure that your brands and work are presented in the most
professional manner, so that the client feels comfortable paying upfront.

2. Be clear with your payment terms. Make sure that terms are well-defined for both sides fromthe very beginning—and in writing. Always present a clear and concise policy for payment terms, sothat the client knows exactly what to expect and what you expect.

3. Be aggressive w with your timeline. Ask for prepayment first, and then consider longer paymentperiods if necessary. Do whatever it takes to get paid on time. Don’t be afraid to ask for what youwant. Pick up the check in person, if you have to. In a perfect world, there is no such thing as net thirtydays. I prefer net now.

The nature of business is that buyers want to pay as late as possible, and sellers want to be paidas early as possible. Your goal as an entrepreneur is to maintain good cash flow, and the best way todo that is to receive your money as soon as possible. You must be confident and direct about whenyou expect to be paid. Yes, it can be awkward and uncomfortable at times, but take it from
Zuckerberg and me: it sure beats not being paid at all or having to go to court

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