Her Family Cut You Out of the Business—Then 2008 Made Them Sell You All of It!

Friday, March 2009. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ninety-one people stand in the yard of Harmon Lumber and Supply while the bank counts down to noon. Dale Kessler has worked there for 44 years. He was never on the sign. His father-in-law made sure of that, and his brother-in-law tells the crowd Dale doesn't work there. Five money rules run through the story: Count the bad year while the good one is still running. Put every promise on paper, even from family. Customers follow the man, not the sign. A credit line is a promise the bank can break. In a crash, buy the running business, not the pile. Chapters (replace with cut times): 0:00 The yard at 6:40 a.m. _:_ Walt's index card _:_ The March 2001 meeting _:_ Kessler Truss _:_ The credit line _:_ The liquidator's offer _:_ The deal and the SBA loan 11:03 The loading dock _:_ Rick's desk _:_ A year later This is a dramatization. The characters, the companies, the offers and the dollar figures are fictional or illustrative. Some background figures come from public sources, including Census housing starts, BLS business survival data, Federal Reserve lending surveys and the 2009 SBA changes. Not financial, tax or legal advice. #FamilyBusiness #SmallBusiness #Recession2008 #MoneyLessons #PersonalFinance