Financing Your Business (1)

Finding the money you need to keep your business running

As Ben and Sandy Johnson continue setting up their new company, Uncle Bob offers them some valuable advice about financing.

Bob: Hey, Ben, how's the business coming along?

Ben: Well, Uncle Bob, we followed your advice and signed up for a small business program through our local community development association. The crucial challenge now is financing.

Obviously, we will fund the company with our savings, but I'm  worried that we've underestimated costs and could run out of money.

Bob: That is a very important issue for small business to deal with. After all, undercapitalization is one of the major reasons that small businesses often fail.

Bob: I know. We're looking into small business loans, but the interest rates seem really high. How did you pay your hardware store when you first started?

Ben: To be honest, I actually didn't start the first store. Instead, your Anut June and I used our savings to buy into an existing business. Later, we bought out our business partner and then expanded the business.

Bob: So you didn't arrange outside financing?

Ben: Not at first. Like you said, lenders often charge a premium for small business loans because they are so risky. We were worried that cost of servicing a loan would actually hurt the business.

Bob: I hadn't thought of that.

Info Cloud
advice/suggestion
advice n. [noncount]
an opinion or suggestion about what someone should do (concept)
three pieces of advice
suggestions n.  [count]
an idea about what someone should do or how someone should behave (quality)
three suggestions

information uncountable
airplanes / aircraft no s

Grammar Gym
to look into = to investigate
"We're looking into small business loans,..."
The mayor promised the widow that he would personally look into the case of her missing child.
The boss is busy and has asked his secretary to look into this matter.

Language Lab
How's... coming along?
How's the project coming along?
How's the job search coming along?
How's your homework coming along?
It's coming along. = It's in process, not finish yet.

crucial adj. extremely important 重要的, 決定性的
/ˈkru:ʃəl/
A healthy and nutritious diet is crucial for children.
健康又營養的飲食對兒童來說非常重要
Puberty is a crucial stage of life. Parents need to be wise and patient.
青春期是人生重要時刻. 家長必需要有智慧和耐心
This decision is crucial for my future.
When you doing a speech, timing is crucial.

puberty n.
/ˈpju:bɚti/
the period of life when a person's sexual organs mature and he or she becomes able to have children

undercapitalization n. [noncount]  資金不足
under 不足 不及
capitalization 資本額
The company suffered from undercapitalization from the beginning.
這家公司一開始就保受資金不足之苦
undercapitalize v.投資不足
The restaurant was severely undercapitalized, so it only stayed in business for three months.
餐廳嚴重的資金不足, 所以只維持了三個月

buy out [v phrase] take over: take over ownership of; of corporations and companies 買斷,收購
We decided to buy out the store's whole inventory.
我們決定要買斷這家店所有的存貨
The shares owned by the original owner were bought out by a competitor.
原先老闆的股份被他的競爭對手給買斷了

service v. to pay interest on (a loan or debt) 支付利息
David bought a convertible on impulse, and now 30% of his monthly income goes to service his car loan.
David 一時衝動買了一部跑車, 現在他每個月收入的百分之三十都要付車貸的利息
service v. to do the work that is needed to keep (a machine or vehicle) in good condition  維修
I had my car serviced last week.
我的車上個星期維修過了

premium n. 
An amount to be paid for an insurance policy; A sum added to an ordinary price or charge.

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