This isn’t all that surprising but debt will bury you. This is an area where the business owner is going to think it is impossible, but it may be time to renegotiate terms. The key is to have a good relationship with your bank/banker. There is an old expression and it is “Feed your Banker”. 



You should be feeding your banker both literally and figuratively. You should be taking them out to lunch, but you should also constantly communicate to them about your business. They need to understand your business so when times are tough they will understand how you will pull through.

The confidence that you have in your business should be communicated to your bank so they have confidence in your business. However, if you do not have such a relationship I suggest that you create one. In the meantime, you need to go back to your bank or lender and renegotiate your loan. Just like with the landlord you need to have financial statements with good reliable numbers.

You need to identify the key metrics in your business and show the bank your business’s strengths and weaknesses. You have to be transparent and show the bank as much information as possible. Areas to negotiate are interest rate reductions, increase in the number of years or interest only payments. One trade off may be offering the bank a higher interest rate but getting interest only payments in return resulting in lower overall payments. Do everything you can to stay away from those companies selling extraordinarily high interest loans.

You will never pay them off and the companies who sell those loans know you will always have to come back to them for more money.

It is a vicious circle/game that you will likely lose!