NOTICE: This is one of the most important blog posts you’ll read here.
In early March, I was invited by the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College to be a guest lecturer for their Executive Class on Entrepreneurship. I got to tell my story to this group – the story of how Mercantile Capital Corporation became a successful small business lender – and used it to teach them some important things about entrepreneurship.
When I sat down to prepare for the lecture, I identified 18 lessons for successful entrepreneurs and 4 reasons you (the proverbial “you”) should become an entrepreneur. The video below is the first 8 lessons I outlined for the students. I hope you spend a few minutes watching it because I think it’ll be encouraging to you (and you might even learn a thing or two).
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this video are mine, and may not reflect those of our other executives.
Remember, this is just part one of a three-part series. I’ll soon post the other 10 lessons for successful entrepreneurs (for a total of 18), as well as my list of 4 reasons you (anybody, really) should become an entrepreneur. The lecture ended up being over two hours of video, and I’m sparing you the origin stories of Mercantile and Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club (my other business), lessons I’ve learned along the way, and the Q&A session at the end. I’ve boiled it down to the most important stuff, so be sure to watch it and share it with someone you know who is a business owner or someone who works with business owners.
And, as always, please let me know what you think. Even if you disagree with me completely, I’d love to hear your side, so leave a comment below or email me at ChrisHurn@MercantileCC.com and tell me about it.
Dedicated to Your Continued Success,
Chris
P.S. If you know of someone who ought to own their commercial real estate (instead of throwing away their money renting), introduce me to them right away. Call me at 1-866-622-4504 or email me at ChrisHurn@MercantileCC.com today!
P.P.S. If you haven’t connected with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube, you should probably do that soon, too.
Tags: business lender, Business_Finance, Chris Hurn, commercial property finance, Crummer, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Graduate School, Mercantile Capital Corporation, real estate, Rollins College, SBA 504 Expert, SBA 504 Loan, small business entrepreneur, small business finance
Tammy Youst says:
Thank you, I will watch and reply.
Have a great day!
Dave Block says:
I love the videos! I am learning so much from you. Thank you!
Jerry Tarnopol says:
Great Blog.
Clay Kearney says:
Hi Chris -
Just my two cents worth . . . the 504 we have is a real pain because of the annual financial statement requirement. We’re always behind about a year for the IRS reporting and every year I have to go back and forth with extensions, accounting reports, bank statements, etc . . . just so they won’t “close” our loan, which incidentally is pain via auto withdrawal and has never been late. I’ve often thought of taking the 10% penalty and paying it off just so I don’t have to deal with
them anymore. I would never recommend an SBA loan to a friend. Just my two cents.
Chris Hurn says:
Sorry you feel that way, Clay. All lenders require annual financial reporting — that isn’t something unique to the SBA. The regulators (whether federal or state) require lenders to get them from you. If you wanted a non- regulated lenders’ deal (i.e. a hard money lender), you probably could do what you want, but then you’d complain about the above-market interest rate and fees.
In your deal, you put half as much down (in equity) as the marketplace required and you got a below-market, long-term fixed interest rate on almost half your combined loans. I’m not sure why it now bothers you so.
You probably wouldn’t have quite as much as a 10% prepayment penalty, if you were to pay it off early, since you’ve been paying it down for several years.
I’d refocus on your business, if I were you, instead of badmouthing the SBA. It isn’t very helpful and sounds like you might spread misinformation and look bad doing so.
Just my two cents…
Clay Kearney says:
Thank you for your advice about refocusing on my business. Here’s my advice to you – don’t ask for opinions if you’ll get offended if they differ from yours. Just my two cents . . .
Chris Hurn says:
I wasn’t offended at all, Clay. You gave your two cents and so I gave you mine. Yours was an opinion; I want to make sure you have some facts as well. That’s all.
Tony Bunn says:
Chris:
I agree with your first 8 lessons. I made the full commitment to 100% commercial about a month ago and, due to my banking background and connections, I am rapidly becoming a “player” up here. I also am enjoying it much more than I ever did residential. I already have 4 deals in the pipeline (one of them for 8.2M).
Rebecca Pourghafari says:
You should have your own talk show!
Al says:
You have a great website & I enjoyed portion of your commentaries.
SBA is still functioning & is one of the best kept secret or misunderstood finance programs for small businesses.
Scott Dennison says:
Just a quick shout out to you Chris for the powerful video you delivered on your blog today. I’m looking forward to seeing the other segments. I’ve seen you in most of the roles you describe (driven, passionate, willing to take risks, blunt (my choice of words – you used a different one) and you’ve not only achieved alot but left a deep mark on those who’ve spent time with you. On the day I discovered that Keything is no more, I only wish that I could have implemented more of your ideas . . . the great news is I lived to fight another day . . .
Chris Hurn says:
Thanks, Scott. Failure is never permanent unless we choose it to be.
Braudis says:
I have 3 words for your content Chris: excellent, excellent, excellent.
Chris Hurn says:
Thanks for the very kind words. Feel free to share this content with others.