Seasonal Working Capital <2024>

The loan officer, a woman named Fatima who smelled like coffee and competence, asked one question: "What's your plan if the crop fails?"

She paid down her most urgent bills. But the seasonal cycle had left scars. Her credit card debt had crept up. Her equipment was older. And she owed the IRS a quarterly estimated tax payment based on her inflated summer revenue, not her actual cash-on-hand. seasonal working capital

She smiled. This spring, she wouldn't need a bridge. She would be the bridge. The loan officer, a woman named Fatima who

She signed. The money hit her account at 8:14 AM the next day. By noon, the pump was whirring. By dusk, the first seasonal crew from Oaxaca was setting up tents in the bunkhouse. Her equipment was older

"Start a reserve fund in the fall. Take the cash from your harvest and set aside 20% in a separate account. Don't touch it. Use it next spring instead of me. You'll lose the opportunity cost of that cash sitting idle for six months, but you'll gain control."

Her father, Silas, had run Suncrest Orchards for forty years using the "three-envelope method"—one for the taxman, one for the diesel man, and one for emergencies. But last fall, the diesel man stopped coming. The old irrigation pump had seized, and a late frost had killed a third of the crop. The emergency envelope was empty.