I joined the working world after graduating with a Business Studies degree in 1983. Initially trained as a credit analyst, face to face contact with business customers began in 1987 with Credit Factoring International.
After working for Credit Factoring, in both London & Birmingham until 1996, I set up on my own offering advisory and introductory services to UK SME’s, predominantly, but not exclusively, operating within the invoice finance market.
For the last 28 years I have fundamentally worked for myself although this time has included specific periods working, firstly, for one of the UK’s leading Professional Services businesses, Begbies Traynor; and secondly working with one of the more innovative of the peer to peer business lenders, ArchOver.
I have also undertaken specific, bespoke, training exercises for lenders both in the UK and (curiously) in Eastern Europe. Courses guided and improved delegates in the invoice finance sales process, as well as offering lenders an assortment of fraud prevention techniques including The 6 ‘V’s of Fraud Management.
I love the analysis of business and have a good track record in advising on the likely suitability of new customers from a credit perspective; there’s a lot of publicly available information about from which informed, experienced opinion can be given.
A decent amount of time is spent offering ad hoc advice to businesses, the majority of which fall in to a turnover range of up to £5m. I advise on all aspects affecting a business, in whichever part of its life it may find itself. After 40 years in finance I have a decent network of contacts, from legal to arbitration, from funders to collectors, from HR to Marketing.
I am very much in near retirement mode, undertaking no marketing whatsoever, picking up work solely on the basis of recommendation.