The Capital Equation: What Small Businesses Need to Grow with Corinne Goble

When capital becomes a conversation: recognizing the inflection point for small business growth

There is a moment in many entrepreneurial stories when momentum outpaces resources: orders pile up, customers keep asking for more, and an ambitious opportunity — a new storefront, a product line extension, or a strategic acquisition — requires cash beyond what bootstrapping can sustainably deliver. Corinne Goble, CEO of the Association of Women's Business Centers, treats that moment less like a crisis and more like a decision point. Her approach reframes financing as a tool to be selected deliberately, not a last-ditch scramble.

Why mindset shapes the capital pathway

Goble insists that the first barrier is psychological. Entrepreneurs who treat funding as an inevitable part of growth are more prepared than those who avoid the vocabulary of capital for fear of debt or stigma. The distinction is simple but powerful: funding is a strategic lever; debt is not a moral failing. That mental reframe opens the door to planning—putting business plans and projections on paper, running credit checks early, and building confidence before lenders ever enter the conversation.

The cost of skipping foundational steps

Rushing past fundamentals—leasing space without projections, hiring without documented cash flow models, or simply assuming demand will persist—creates fragility. Lenders expect a clear plan for how borrowed funds will be used and who on the team can operate the new initiative. These are practical, evidentiary signals that distinguish speculative optimism from ready-to-scale businesses.

What lenders actually look for

When a bank or funder evaluates a request, Goble says the checklist is surprisingly straightforward: clarity of purpose, realistic financials, and demonstrated operational capability. Lenders want to know how the capital will propel the business forward, not just service old debts. They also look for governance—the right person or management team assigned to run the new location or product line—because operational competence reduces risk.

Transparency matters

Another recurring lesson is transparency about credit and tax compliance. Many prospective borrowers discover late-stage credit issues or missing tax filings only when a lender asks; addressing those problems proactively shortens the path to approval and avoids the embarrassment or surprise that can derail momentum.

Choosing the right kind of money: debt versus equity

One of Goble's most pragmatic warnings is about matching funding type to business goals. Equity capital may seem attractive because it doesn’t require immediate repayment, but it comes with shared ownership and diluted control. Debt preserves ownership and decision-making, but different loan products carry radically different costs and repayment dynamics.

Beware the debt that silently compounds risk

In particular, merchant cash advances and similar arrangements can appear convenient but conceal high effective interest rates and payments structured as percentages of sales. Those terms can create a cash-flow spiral: as sales drop or costs rise, repayment pressures worsen, sometimes making refinancing impossible under federal loan rules. Knowing the exact annual percentage rate and the structure of payments is essential to avoid costlier problems later.

Practical supports: technical assistance and free assessment tools

Goble highlights a resource many small business owners overlook: free technical assistance and funding assessments. These services demystify lender requirements, provide confidential readiness checks, and offer one-to-one counseling to build a pathway toward funding. A structured assessment helps entrepreneurs determine whether they are prepared to borrow and what missing pieces need attention.

• Use an independent funding assessment to confirm readiness before approaching lenders.
• Document projections and assemble a personal financial statement early in the planning process.
• Address credit issues and tax filings before they become stumbling blocks during underwriting.

Turning 'no' into 'yes': the value of targeted matching

Not every lender serves every sector. Goble recalls working with a boudoir photographer whose initial loan applications failed not because the business lacked merit, but because her product category made some banks uncomfortable. The solution was targeted: locate financial institutions familiar with that business model and present clean documentation. In other words, a rejection can be an invitation to refine strategy and seek a better fit.

Matching lender appetites to niche business models

That case also underlines an operational truth: finding capital often requires research and matchmaking, not just persuasion. Banks vary in appetite by industry, loan size, and collateral expectations; learning which institutions have previously financed similar businesses changes a door shut into a door opened.

Small changes that compound into funding readiness

Goble recommends a short list of practical starting moves: write even a simple business plan, quantify projected cash flow, identify the team lead for new growth initiatives, and check personal and business credit early. These actions build both the narrative lenders want to hear and the internal discipline a business needs to scale well.

Resources that reduce intimidation

Finally, seeking help early reduces anxiety around the language of capital. Free counseling and clear assessment tools replace mystique with action steps: file taxes, clean up credit reports, and outline how borrowed funds will be invested. When those boxes are checked, conversations with funders become transactions rather than trials.

Capital is not a single moment of rescue; it is a set of choices made with confidence and evidence. For business owners who prepare methodically—documenting plans, understanding the trade-offs between debt and equity, and pursuing targeted support—funding becomes a lever to translate demand into durable growth. The quieter truth Goble brings forward is that readiness, not desperation, determines whether capital will accelerate a vision or amplify a risk, and that realization changes how entrepreneurs enter the market for money.

At the end of the process, what matters most is the posture: approach funding as governance of the future, not as a remedy for past scarcity. That perspective compels different questions, different partners, and ultimately different outcomes.