AmiSight 11/20: Calm Isn’t Pretending That Everything’s Fine

I used to think staying calm during a business crisis was something other people did — the kind of entrepreneurs who somehow manage to keep their composure while the world around them is on fire. That wasn’t me. When things went sideways, I’d lose sleep, pace the floors, and worry myself sick. But something’s changed over time. Maybe it’s experience. Perhaps it’s just having lived through enough storms to realize that panic never helps.

The recent government shutdown was a good test. Since 93 percent of our revenue is tied to the SBA program, the shutdown hit us hard. During a shutdown, we can still close loans that already have SBA loan numbers issued — and we always try to obtain as many of those as possible ahead of time — but we cannot issue new numbers. Once that pool of pre-approved loans runs dry, everything at the SBA effectively comes to a standstill. Head over to my 21 Hats column to continue reading.