Embracing a Bullseye in Specialty Lending

For years, I resisted the notion that I was a specialist.

“For any commercial lending need, call Marius.” After all, my Rolodex could surely meet the needs of any owner I couldn’t serve directly.

But I’ve learned that attempting to be “all things to all people” is the bigger risk. As Al Ries and Jack Trout explain in their book "Positioning," a brand that stands for something specific in the mind is more powerful than one that stands for everything.

Here’s the reality I’ve come to embrace: I specialize in helping business owners whose borrowing needs fail to check the boxes of rigid lending programs. Perhaps they have a trove of valuable inventory, but operate a seasonal business. Perhaps they’d make a great candidate for equity investment, but time is of the essence. I help them get credit for accounts receivable and inventory, literally and figuratively.

Do I hope bankers and business owners will think of me as more than that? Certainly. But when you paint a bullseye, some arrows strike the outer rings, too.