This survey offered a variety of lessons for the lending process. One lesson is that bankers still need to be educated about the fitness industry, so providing industry data, as well as summary historical club data,canhelp. Banks were especially concerned abouthow fitness facilities responded to the recent recession.
Facility owners and managersalsolearned that banks had final decision-makers whom they might never meet; they related only to the local loan officer (analogous to a salesperson), who would turn over the files to analysts and underwriters, who would then make the final decision on the loan and specific terms. So, educating the loan officer did not always guarantee the ideal end result.
Many of those surveyedsuggested starting early and using local professionals (lawyers, accountants) and senior business executives for high-level bank introductions. All recommended working with more than one bank, and several strongly suggested keeping two banking relationships at all times, with at least 80 percent of the company’s assets placed with one bank.
Several smaller clubs suggested that graduating from a SBA loan (or SBA-guarantee) was significant.
All agreed that refinancing was worthwhile, and often ideal when the overall business climate was somewhat unfavorable.