“I visited a Southampton pub in England while in the U.S. Navy. So, I wanted to bring cask conditioned beers to the U.S. – and I did.” – Robert Durant, Owner and CEO, Inland Wharf Brewing Co.

HIS STORY

Robert came to the SBDC with a passion for beer, a world of knowledge, and a vision for his business. He spent 23 years traveling all over the world serving in the U.S. Navy. While stationed in Southampton, England, Robert encountered cask ales and dreamed about bringing them stateside. Fast forward several years, Robert was back home and ready to dust off that dream.

HE NEEDED A PLAN…BUT DIDN’T KNOW WHERE TO START

What Robert lacked was major funding to turn his dream into reality. The bridge between Robert’s business goals and funding was a bank plan. This is where Paul Nolta, Robert’s SBDC consultant, stepped in to help. A bank plan is designed to communicate to lenders the financial feasibility of your business plans.“It starts with filling in the numbers. We had to figure out the financial projections, which can be a complex process,” Paul says. The financial projections include several statements, including profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow.

Paul helped Robert estimate futures sales based on past performance in the same market and a similar location. What makes this important task tricky is that sometimes the numbers don’t work out. When that happens – as was the case with Robert’s financials, Paul explains, “it’s time to figure out how to reduce costs or increase revenue. This is a common hurdle new business owners face, but one that must be cleared to get funding.” Once the numbers made sense and represented a close approximation of how the business would perform, it was time to create a narrative that spoke to bankers. Together, Paul and Robert told the story of Inland Wharf Brewing through numbers.

THE RESULTS WERE BIG

After working closely with Robert and seeing his clear dedication, Paul connected Robert with his bank contacts in Murrietta and Temecula. In the end, Paul not only helped Robert create a rock-solid bank plan, but he also helped him obtain a competitive rate for his loan. In less than two weeks after creating the plan, Robert was approved for his loan and had his funds in hand.

Where you can find them:

26440 JEFFERSON AVE, STE A
MURRIETA, CA 92562

Inland Wharf Brewing Co.

HOW SBDC HELPED

SUPPORT  10 Hours of Prep & Consultation – at no cost 3 + Workshops in Accounting & Financing

INSIGHT  Financial Projection Development + Bank Plan Development + Loan Packaging + Community Lender Introduction

IMPACT  Started Business + Obtained a Loan + Created 4 New Jobs