Let's get real for a hot minute.
You know that feeling when you submit your SBA loan application and suddenly
time moves like molasses? When every day feels like a month and you start
questioning every life decision that led you to this moment?
Yeah. That feeling.
I've been there. I've watched brilliant business owners slowly lose their
minds waiting for approval while their cash reserves drain faster than water
through a broken dam. And honestly? It's brutal.
But here's where it gets interesting. Marcus Aurelius - you know, the Roman
Emperor who basically invented the concept of "keeping your cool under
pressure" - dealt with way worse waiting games than we do. Plague outbreaks,
barbarian invasions, political backstabbing. And somehow, he figured out how
to stay sane through it all.
You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will
find strength.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
The SBA Approval Reality Check (Spoiler: It's Gonna Take Forever)
Before we dive into the Stoic stuff, let's acknowledge the elephant in the
room. SBA loan approvals are... how do I put this diplomatically... absolutely
unpredictable.
I know someone - let's call her Rachel - who runs a small manufacturing
business in Ohio. She submitted her SBA application in January. It's now
April. Still waiting. Her loan officer keeps saying "any day now" like he's
some kind of government fortune teller.
Current average SBA loan approval time: 30-90 days.
Reality: Sometimes
it's 6 months. Sometimes longer. Plan accordingly.
The thing is, Rachel started out confident. Week one, she was checking her
email every hour. Week four, she was calling her loan officer daily. Week
eight? She was googling "how to speed up SBA approval" at 2 AM while
stress-eating cereal.
Sound familiar?
Personal confession: I used to think people who talked
about "mindfulness" in business were just trying to sell expensive meditation
courses. Then I watched multiple entrepreneurs have complete meltdowns during
funding delays, and I realized... maybe there's something to this ancient
wisdom stuff after all.
Stoic Principle #1: Master Your Circle of Control
What You Can Control vs. What You Can't (And Why This Changes Everything)
Marcus Aurelius spent a lot of time thinking about control. Not the "I'm
gonna micromanage everything" kind of control, but the "I'm gonna focus my
energy on things I can actually influence" kind.
Here's what you CAN control during SBA approval hell:
-
Your daily cash burn rate - Cut the fluff, keep the
essentials
-
Your response time to lender requests - Be faster
than a Roman chariot
-
Your backup funding research - Always have Plan B
(and C)
-
Your mental state - This is the big one
What you CAN'T control:
-
How fast the SBA moves (spoiler: not fast)
-
Whether your loan officer is having a good day
-
Random policy changes that slow everything down
-
The guy in front of you in the approval queue
Tom, who owns a small restaurant in Denver, figured this out the hard way.
He spent the first month of his approval process calling the SBA daily,
googling conspiracy theories about loan delays, and generally making himself
miserable.
Then he switched strategies. Instead of obsessing over approval timing, he
used the waiting period to negotiate better supplier terms, optimize his
menu costs, and actually improve his cash flow. By the time his loan came
through, his business was in better shape than when he started.
Smart guy. Very Marcus Aurelius of him.
Reality check: Obsessing over things you can't control doesn't speed up
approval. It just makes you crazy.
Stoic Principle #2: The Art of Financial Fortification
Building Your Castle While Under Siege
Marcus never went into battle without proper preparation. In the business
world, this means having a cash buffer that could survive a zombie
apocalypse. Or at least a really slow loan approval.
Here's the thing most people don't want to hear: if you're completely
dependent on that SBA loan to survive the next 30 days, you're already in
trouble.
Ugh, I know. Nobody wants to hear that.
But consider Lisa, who runs a small tech consulting firm in Austin. When she
applied for her SBA loan, she had exactly two months of expenses in the
bank. Seemed reasonable, right? The loan officer said 30-45 days.
Four months later, she's maxed out her credit cards and considering selling
her car.
Contrast that with David, who runs a similar business in Portland. Before
applying for his SBA loan, he built up a six-month cash buffer. When his
approval took five months (yes, five), he was annoyed but not panicked. He
used the extra time to land two new clients and actually came out ahead.
The Marcus Aurelius Cash Rule: Assume your loan will
take twice as long as promised. Prepare accordingly. Hope for the best, plan
for the Roman bureaucracy.
If you're already in the approval process and your cash buffer is looking
thin, here's your emergency action plan:
-
Cut everything non-essential - And I mean everything
-
Negotiate payment terms - Most vendors prefer late
payment to no payment
-
Speed up collections - Offer early payment discounts
if needed
-
Consider bridge financing - Expensive, but better
than bankruptcy
Stoic Principle #3: The Daily Practice of Financial Mindfulness
Journaling Your Way to Sanity (No, Really)
Marcus Aurelius wrote "Meditations" as a personal journal. He wasn't
planning to publish it - he was just trying to stay sane while running an
empire.
You need your own version of this. Trust me on this one.
Every morning, spend 10 minutes writing down:
-
Your current cash position - Numbers don't lie
-
What you're worried about - Get it out of your head
-
What you can control today - Focus here
-
One thing you're grateful for - Even if it's just
coffee
Maria, who owns a small marketing agency in Phoenix, started doing this
during her three-month SBA approval marathon. She told me later that writing
down her worries actually helped her see patterns in her thinking.
"I realized I was catastrophizing every little delay," she said. "Once I
started tracking my thoughts, I could see when I was being rational versus
when I was just spiraling."
The bonus? Her journal became a record of how she handled challenges, which
helped her make better decisions as her business grew.
Stress Level Check: If you're checking your email every
15 minutes for loan updates, you need the journaling practice. Yesterday.
Survival Story: How "GreenTech Solutions" Turned a 6-Month Wait into a
Competitive Advantage
The Setup: Jason runs GreenTech Solutions, a small
renewable energy consulting firm in North Carolina. He applied for a
$150,000 SBA loan to expand his team and buy equipment.
The Reality: What was supposed to be a 45-day approval
turned into six months of bureaucratic ping-pong. His loan got transferred
between three different loan officers, additional documentation was
requested twice, and at one point, his file got "temporarily misplaced."
The Marcus Aurelius Approach:
Month 1: Jason panicked and called his loan officer
daily. Stress levels: through the roof. Productivity: basically zero.
Month 2: He discovered Stoic philosophy (thanks to a
friend's recommendation) and started implementing daily practices:
-
Morning cash flow review (5 minutes)
-
Worry journaling (10 minutes)
-
Focus on controllable actions only
Months 3-4: Instead of obsessing over approval timing,
Jason used the waiting period strategically:
-
Negotiated 60-day payment terms with suppliers
-
Landed two new contracts through focused networking
-
Streamlined operations to reduce monthly burn rate
Months 5-6: Jason actually stopped caring about the
loan timeline. His business was running better than ever, and he had
multiple backup funding options lined up.
The Plot Twist: When the loan finally got approved,
Jason was in a stronger position than when he started. The forced delay had
made him a better business owner.
His Biggest Lesson: "I spent the first month making
myself miserable over something I couldn't control. The next five months, I
focused on what I could control and actually built a better business. Marcus
Aurelius was onto something."
Your 30-Day Stoic Survival Plan
Week 1: Financial Fortress Building
-
Day 1-2: Calculate your exact cash runway (be
brutal, be honest)
-
Day 3-4: Cut all non-essential expenses (everything
that won't kill your business)
-
Day 5-7: Reach out to key suppliers about extended
payment terms
Week 2: Mind Management
-
Day 8-10: Start daily journaling practice (10
minutes max)
-
Day 11-12: Create your "circle of control" checklist
-
Day 13-14: Set up weekly (not daily) check-ins with
your loan officer
Week 3: Strategic Pivoting
-
Day 15-17: Research alternative funding sources
(just in case)
-
Day 18-19: Focus on accelerating current revenue
streams
-
Day 20-21: Optimize operations for lower cash burn
Week 4: Building Resilience
-
Day 22-24: Practice weekly scenario planning (best
case, worst case, most likely)
-
Day 25-26: Implement automated financial tracking
systems
-
Day 27-30: Document lessons learned and create your
"next time" playbook
Marcus Aurelius reminder: "Confine yourself to the
present." Stop projecting worst-case scenarios six months into the future.
Deal with today's problems today.
FAQ: The Questions Everyone's Afraid to Ask
Q: How long do SBA loans ACTUALLY take to get approved?
A: Officially? 30-90 days. Realistically? Plan for 3-6 months and be
pleasantly surprised if it's faster. I've seen approvals take a full year
(not joking).
Q: Can I do anything to speed up the process?
A: Be responsive to document requests, maintain regular (but not annoying)
contact with your loan officer, and pray to whatever deities you believe in.
Beyond that, it's out of your hands.
Q: What if my business can't survive the delay?
A: Then you need emergency measures: bridge financing, emergency cost cuts,
revenue acceleration, or negotiating with creditors. Don't wait until you're
desperate.
Q: Is this Stoic stuff actually helpful or just philosophical
mumbo-jumbo?
A: Look, I was skeptical too. But I've watched too many smart business
owners make terrible decisions because they were stressed about things they
couldn't control. The practices work.
Q: Should I apply for backup funding while waiting?
A: Absolutely. Always have Plan B, C, and D. Just be transparent about
pending applications when asked.
The Bottom Line: What Marcus Would Actually Tell You
Marcus Aurelius dealt with plagues, wars, political coups, and probably the
ancient Roman equivalent of bureaucratic red tape. You know what he didn't do?
Spend his days obsessing over things he couldn't control.
Instead, he focused on what he called "the work of human being" - doing what
needed to be done with wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline.
In the SBA approval context, this means:
-
Wisdom: Planning for delays and building financial
buffers
-
Justice: Being honest with employees, suppliers, and
yourself about the situation
-
Courage: Making tough decisions when cash gets tight
-
Self-discipline: Not checking your email every five
minutes for updates
Real talk: I've seen brilliant entrepreneurs destroy
their businesses not because they couldn't get funding, but because they
couldn't handle the uncertainty of waiting for funding. Don't be that person.
The truth is, the SBA approval process is going to test your patience, your
cash flow, and your sanity. But if you approach it like a Stoic emperor
instead of a panicked entrepreneur, you might just come out stronger on the
other side.
Plus, if you can survive SBA approval hell with your mental health intact, you
can probably handle anything business throws at you.
Final wisdom from Marcus: "When you arise in the
morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to
think, to enjoy, to love." Even when waiting for loan approval. Especially
then.
Now stop refreshing your email and go do something you can actually control.
Marcus would be proud.
