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100 • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams

Review this on at least a monthly basis. Do it weekly if you are managing a
difficult situation. The trick is to generate one that reflects your business very well,
and needs little work to update it. Doing it without a spreadsheet on a computer is
truly doing it the hard way.

Idea 57 - Smile until your face aches

Your relationship with your banker is at least as crucial as your relationship with

your biggest customer. The aiming point can be described as follows:

Your relation- When you make a mistake (inevitable) or when one of your payers lets

ship with your you down either by delaying a payment or going bust (very likely), you

banker isat need to be able to turn to your bank manager, tell him or her a version of

least as crucial what has happened and have them step in with the necessary short-term

os your rela- or long-term cash to solve the problem at a more reasonable price than if

tionship with he or she did not like or trust you.

your biggest How do you do it? Keep them in the picture. Make presentations to

customer. them with properly prepared visual aids with their names on them, to

show that you have taken effort to present your affairs as accurately as

possible. Demonstrate that your finger is firmly on the cash button. Smile a lot and

show confidence that the thing will come through in the end, even if you have not

slept much for a while. Take them out to lunch to 'thank them' when something you

were forecasting actually comes through. Don't take them to an expensive customer

hospitality event just after you lose a big order, and so on. You plan the relationship

with your biggest customer don't you? So do it with your banker too.

Idea 58 - Go for as much as you can get

Having a big borrowing facility is very useful, so go for as much of a facility as you