Small Biz Finance

WOJTOWICZ: Is small-business ownership for you?

November 30, 2012
Jean Wojtowicz
The horror stories are sobering: Dun & Bradstreet reported earlier this year that businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37 percent chance of surviving four years and just 9 percent will be around 10 years.
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WOJTOWICZ: Lenders need financial statements to protect investment

August 27, 2012
Jean Wojtowicz
The bank needs to know how your business is doing right now (usually the most recent 30 or 60 days), rather than rely on your current year’s tax return that may have aged several months.
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WOJTOWICZ: It pays to know environmental requirements

June 29, 2012
Jean Wojtowicz
Unexpected problems add to the headaches of opening or relocating a business, and we hear a lot about the hang-ups of required, but annoying, environmental investigations.
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WOJTOWICZ: Temporary program helps refinance commercial mortgages

February 24, 2012
Jean Wojtowicz
A recent study from Credit Suisse found that over $15 billion of small commercial mortgages (under $5 million) are coming due in the next few years.
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WOJTOWICZ: Do homework before meeting business lender

December 19, 2011
Jean Wojtowicz
Prepare to talk in detail about your business, the plans you are making and the reasons for expanding before you show the banker the facts and figures.
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WOJTOWICZ: Character always counts—even in loan decisions

September 23, 2011
Jean Wojtowicz
During these difficult times, small-business lenders are looking harder at intangibles—including a borrower’s character.
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WOJTOWICZ: Missed tax payments could affect business loans

July 1, 2011
Jean Wojtowicz
Property tax billing and collection were at their most confusing during the recession, when businesses were experiencing lost revenue, poor projections and, in general, toughing it out as best they could.
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WOJTOWICZ: Relief available for firms with falling real estate values

June 3, 2011
Jean Wojtowicz
New law allows banks to refinance existing real estate and equipment debt through the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program.
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WOJTOWICZ: How to lay your hands on working capital

December 6, 2010
Jean Wojtowicz
Small-business owners looking for working capital would be well-served to do their research in advance and can ask their bankers about several approaches, including financing based on assets.
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WOJTOWICZ: Be careful when locking in low loan rate

August 27, 2010
Jean Wojtowicz
This may be a golden opportunity for small-business owners to lock in a low rate to finance expansion. But make sure you understand the loan agreement.
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WOJTOWICZ: Is it time to buy rather than lease space?Restricted Content

November 28, 2009
Jean Wojtowicz
Buying a building for your business is still possible in a tight lending market, but bankers will review real estate purchases carefully.
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WOJTOWICZ: Stimulus is expanding small-biz lendingRestricted Content

July 27, 2009
Jean Wojtowicz
The economic stimulus package allocated $375 million to the U.S. Small Business Administration so it could offer more generous terms to small-business borrowers.
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Small Business Administration grants loans to Indy businessesRestricted Content

February 23, 2009
These businesses have received loans from financial institutions with a guarantee from the SBA.
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To survive lean times ahead, small businesses must plan nowRestricted Content

November 24, 2008
David Clegg
Small businesses should plan for the worst while being attuned to what is happening in their industries, and to their customers.
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Lean companies have best chance to surviveRestricted Content

November 24, 2008
Jean Wojtowicz
Make your business look as attractive as possible to your banker because you are competing for financing with other small businesses.
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  1. Good ole' Obamacare. Thanks liberals and those who didn't bother to vote.

  2. Yes. Blame those who were too lazy to go vote Obama out and those who voted him in again. That's my take on it. I know folks won't get it on the left. OK. Start berating me now!

  3. Serioulsy, people are AGINST this project? Most communities would be salivating over a project like this. You'd rather have an empty eye-sore gas station and shacks posing as apartments? This project is exactly what BR needs. BUILD IT MR MAYOR. And yes, I am a BR resident, and have been for 20 years.

  4. As a St. Vincent employee of over 20 years, I am saddened and disheartened by this announcement. Unfortunately, as the healthcare "industry" continues on this political and corporate path, all that St. Vincent Hospital has stood for spiritually for its employees and this community is being sucked dry. I know it truly has no choice. It is not just Obamacare or just competition or just any single thing. This trend started long before I was even born when the government became involved in healthcare and it became an "industry." I grieve for those who will lose their jobs, one of whom may be me, but I also grieve for this hospital which I have served for over 20 years. May God give us and it the grace to withstand the future of healthcare.

  5. Why do people constantly harp on this issue and act ignorant about what a city population measures? A city's population is the city's population. There is no argument or debate about it. If you want to measure the density of a city--measure it. If you want to measure the size of a metropolitan area, then measure the metropolitan population. City boundaries cover different sized areas--and they always have (though the disparity has probably increased since about 1900 or so when more cities began annexing their surrounding communities). For example, San Francisco only covers 49 square miles while Houston cover nearly 600 square miles. No one argues about the population rankings of either city even though they clearly cover extremely different sized areas. Indianapolis is the 13 largest city by population in the U.S. That is a fact. While the population of a metropolitan area may give you a better sense of how large a community is, as noted, even metro areas can vary widely in the size of geographic area they cover--so that is not a perfect comparison either.

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