"He makes it his business to study firms that are going to the wall and
locate their trouble and puts them on their feet again, if possible. I
took him with me to Mr. Panoff, and I believe he could go there a while
and find out what the difficulty is. It used to be a good business when
Panoff bought it, but he seems to have lost his grip some way, and he
can't see far enough ahead because he is so crowded by the daily
troubles. An outsider will be able to see with a better perspective."
"Are we goin' to let this Mr. Panoff have the money?"
"No; not at present. Here is my scheme. I want you to put Frank in
there for a time and let him find out if there are any possibilities of
getting the business back on its feet. If Frank succeeds, we will let
Panoff have the money on his personal note, if he agrees to follow out
the suggestions of Frank.
"I have another idea that I have been thinking about. There are a lot
of small business ventures that are running to seed, where the owner is
getting discouraged, and lacks the broad outlook that would keep him
going, and needs some one who is a professional setter-up like Frank,
to put him wise, and to readjust his business. I suggest that we hire
Frank, for at least a part of his time--he won't be expensive, as he is
just starting--to look into the affairs of the men who come to us for
money. The owner must agree to allow Frank to readjust things for him,
and then when his affairs are prospering again, he will pay a certain
sum for Frank's services, taking the expense away from us. It is also a
better guarantee for our loan, because Frank is a pretty level-headed
business man and if there are any possibilities in the run down
business, he will find them, and if there are not he will report to us.
What do you think of it?"
"I think it is a good thing; but is there enough things like that to
keep him busy?"