Mountain Top

The last two weeks have felt as though...

...I were climbing a steep mountainside thickly covered with brush and trees that blocked my view. There was no pathway, so I was forcing my way along being tugged and pulled at every step. There were even a few landslides where I lost my footing and stumbled or had to dodge bouncing bolders headed straight at me!

This is the picture that comes to mind regarding getting an SBA loan!

I've gotten mortgages before, which are complicated important legal contracts, full of details that can cost a lot of money for the fool who assumes the best or over-looks a detail. A business loan is all of that times THREE.

We had been assured by Maaco that we'd have 6 weeks to close this monster, which is about right! Two items on my checklist required even more time than that, so I got those done before any hint of which date we'd need to close by... October 10, November 3 or even December or January!

On September 16th we received our first suggestion, "October looks good based on your construction progress" - the official word came on the 19th... IF we could get the loan closed!

OCTOBER!

I guessed I'd have about 3 weeks, which is half of what we needed, but maybe if I pushed hard, we could get it all done in three weeks? I dived in with enthusiasm! I started the process on everything on my Closing Checklist, dating my contacts and messages and crossing them off as they were finished and in the hands of Jennifer at CIT, my Closer.

On the 19th, I was very excited and hopeful... VERY excited and hopeful! The following week I realized how hard some of these items would be to get! A simple signiture took 3 follow up calls! The business insurance bids were getting hung up in proceedural checks. And that Life Insurance was taking it's sweet time on desks and piles and traveling around at snail pace!! I called Matt, my uncle/agent, and caught him up to speed on my timeline!

What exactly WAS my timeline?! I called Jenn, too, to clarify I had 'til the 10th. Oh, no. Oh my, NO! She needed 7 days, she said, and Matt needed 5.... how many did Maaco need?! They wanted the loan closed BEFORE Training began! And Training in October began on the 6th!

So, during the final week of September I learned that it was my ONLY week to close this loan.

But like the excited, enthusiastic fool that I was, I didn't give up. I should have called up someone at Maaco and taken out my frustration on them regarding their LACK of communication!!!!!! Who would lose, tho, by my giving up. Me. My husband. My family.

What if we could do it?

I was able to have medical records faxed directly to the Insurance company, saving 1-3 weeks off the process. That was enough to encourage me to TRY the rest. I pushed on everyone, the relunctant signers, the insurance agents, the people who never answered their phones. And I tracked down every receipt, every check, every dollar sent and changed our bank account to reflect our new endeavor.... 'cause we were gonna go ALL THE WAY!!!!

Every day Jeremy and I asked each other whether we were going to make it or not. Every day we weren't sure. But for two years we'd been trying. We had the same conversation over and over.... if we were ever going to give up, we should have walked away last Spring when we could have filed a lawsuit and gotten our money back out, at least.

Every morning I woke up and checked my email on my cell phone. At 6am, I didn't have anything, yet, but as everyone on the East Coast got working, my phone would buzz "incoming". I could follow along while I got the boys ready for school, and then at 7:30 am, I'd get to work. I'd clarify the problem or obstacle and then figure out a way around or through it. If I couldn't come up with a solution on my own, I took it to Jeremy and we'd see it from another angle.

I didn't make the Monday deadline Jenn and I had discussed, but we wrapped up the business insurance and the automatic withdrawals. The only item remaining was the Life Insurance. Tuesday we rec'd the message that Jeremy was "approved" and I paid a year's premium personally, asking for assistance personally, too!

Wednesday looked like it just couldn't be done, but that night Matt gave me an idea and Thursday morning I got Jenn all the proof she needed that the policy and Collateral Assignment would be written... and she was able to deliver our documents to a lawyer for review and overnighting to us.

Friday we signed... and notarized the Loan Documents, including a direct request that CIT pay the first payment to Maaco the following Monday.

Friday evening we celebrated - somberly. We ate out with friends, but our exhileration was dulled by the fact glaring at us now.... Jeremy was going to Training on Sunday. We had ONE more day together for packing and he would have to leave for 4 weeks! There's just no levity or flippant enjoyment at looking down the barrel of that sort of sentence.

So... basically, I worked harder than I ever have, accomplishing more than I ever did before, and all to send my husband away within hours. OUCH! But not just to send him away... no.

Now he is learning how to run our business, getting along with those East Coast attitudes and Maaco knowledgeable personas! My job may be more demanding... taking care of our home and four children without his help, but I think it's much preferred!!

"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, yes! I have a good inheritance!!"

This is really a transition. We passed the starting line finally, and we're on to Training followed by Installation and Hiring tumbling towards Opening Day and a new life for the Armstrongs!!!