Mandy Parmer—
The first official ACS office. 130 expansive square feet in heart of the City of Fairfax, and within walking distance to the post office (and bank).
When we first started the business, we decided to bank with PNC Bank. Why PNC, you ask? Well, for all the very right reasons—it was right next to the post office. What could be better? You pick up a check from the mail, and then immediately deposit it at the bank. Voila! Expedience and convenience. And all was going well for the first year of business.
And then in the summer of 2014, we hired 9 new employees. We went from an employee base of 3 in May to 12 in September. We knew by July that we would need a line of credit to cover payroll, as that jump wouldn’t be covered by the cash on hand.
So we went to PNC—and they didn’t know us from a hole in the wall. You can imagine that discussion didn’t go well. First, we apparently didn’t have any corporate credit history. Despite a year of paying off Amex bills under the ACS name, we had no history. It was actually suggested to us that a solution might be to default on a payment one month to then turn around and start paying it off again. To show “improvement.” Say whaaaat??
Despite a year with PNC and a decent looking amount in the bank, we had no relationship. They offered us 20% of the previous year’s revenue—a year where only two of us had been billing and we hadn’t started work until April.
So what did we do? Tune in later for the answer.
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ACS Origins, Part 12: Business Finance for Dummies—A Lesson for All of Us (by Mandy Parmer)
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Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Assured Consulting Solutions is a well-respected and trusted partner, domain expert, and provider of expert-level support. ACS is a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) that delivers advanced technology solutions and strategic support services in support of critical national security missions for Intelligence, Defense, and Federal Civilian customers. Learn more at www.assured-consulting.com.
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