Spank the Bank is a business finance book about alternative financing options. But it is also an excellent primer on business finance for the uninitiated and does explain banking financing options in addition to the alternative sources.

And pro-tip. Don’t google “spank the bank” without quotes. You’ll get a lot of “spank bank” suggestions. Ie. naughty photos. Whoops. Not what I wanted! Go back, go back!

I find I have mixed feelings about Spank the Bank. It’s a gold mine of a resource for someone new to business, like myself, but there were a few things I found offputting. Namely, in the intro and section 3, there are a number of religious, specifically Christian, references. For anyone, not Christian, and perhaps even some Christians, this will be off-putting. Not everyone inserts any god into their business plan. However, getting past that, Section 2 is particularly good. Also, Section 3 gets into some of that “just think good things and good things will happen to you!” nonsense. SorryNotSorry, but I’m a scientist and I’m highly skeptical of that idea.

Each chapter in Section 2 walks though a type of financing and explains the pros and cons as well as the acceptance criteria. This it is organized such that this book can easily be used for reference. It is useful to read this book through at least once so you get a sense of the breadth of options. This section is a bit of a dry read, but well worth it.

Other than Section 2 the writing is dynamic and entertaining. These sections are packed with useful information for a budding entrepreneur  Especially one like me who has zero business background. This book goes beyond just financing. It covers diversification and outside resources (such as the Small Business Administration). They also talk about writing a business plan and getting an accountant and lawyer! This has been a theme in several books. Business plan. Lawyer. Financial Expert/Accountant.

Application to my business: The author talks a lot about passion and focus in Section 3. And it made me realize I have an almost obsessive focus on horses. In high school, I drove my peers nuts by talking about horses WAY TOO MUCH. I connect almost everything to horses. So focus and passion will not be an issue for me here. Once I even started to consider the idea for a horse business I could think of little else.