What Do You See?

We've applied to and been turned down by nearly a half dozen banks for an unsecured loan to give us the last 1/3 of needed capital to start. So we are both "seeing yellow" right now. What do we mean?

Take a look at the traffic signal in the accompanying graphic. What do you see? How do you interpret it? It's a still picture so you really can't tell what action is occurring. Most often the yellow light is the warning to communicate to automobile operators that a transition from flow to stop is about to occur. According to the North Carolina Drivers manual: "A circular yellow signal means 'caution' and indicates that the signal is about to turn red." Everyone knows that red means STOP. But the illuminated light could also be flashing. The NCDM makes that distinction in stating: "The flashing yellow signal has the same meaning as a warning sign. Slow down and proceed with caution."

Which one is it? That's what we want to know. God is either telling us to be ready to stop or to proceed slowly with caution.

We've both determined that unless we are able to have the last portion of the resources needed to launch, then we cannot proceed with what we dreamed and imagined. We're not afraid to come to that conclusion for fear of creating an impression of "failure." But (as we've learned over and over and over) there are always the possibility of "God-surprises" along our path.

To be upfront with you and according to the business plan ("counting the cost"), we need about $30k to lay the groundwork. We've got about $60k either available or already invested at this writing. We've avoided asking friends and family to help fill the gap as we are aware of the cultural track-record of damaged relationships that can result. But perhaps it is time to ask others to take a risk. All we can guarantee is that this portion would be our number priority within our budget to compensate. We have a very high credit score and have never been in hot water with excessive debt. That's just what we're thinking primarily. Perhaps 3 could help us by providing 10k each; or 6 with 5k; 10 with 1k...

If we can approach this route, we would find someone to collect our payments and distribute them on a monthly basis with agreed interest and late fees to facilitate prompt disbursement.

We'll visit this and proceed if we determine that the light is flashing and not about to turn red.

Shalom!