Late in August 2004, Chris Higgins was forced into the unenviable position of determining the future of Ring-A-Wing, a London, Ontario-based fast food producer of premium chicken wings for home delivery. After making a personal loan to a friend wishing to invest in the business, the situation devolved in less than nine months from Higgins being a passive lender to being a significant investor to sitting in a bankruptcy meeting trying to determine the future of the business.
This case is reflective of how financing a small business occasionally works. It provides students an effective window into the imperfect nature of people, the reality of having to make critical financial decisions without proper information and the inherent risks one takes when making even the most seemingly simple business decisions (such as making a personal loan to a friend).
