Aisa Direct

• Information
• Smart Money
• About Us
• Servicing you
• Best Buy Lists
• Ask an Expert
• Product Sales
• Financial Guidance
• Compliance Guides
• Qualifications

Secure Client log-in

This website contains information which may or may not be applicableto your own situation and circumstances.

Any information or advice on this site does not constitute a personal recommendation. If you have any doubts as to whether a product or service is suitable for you, please seek independent advice.

Benefits of Advice

If you look at Our Experience then you will immediately understand the benefit of advice!

So let us have a look at a few details:

Be pro-active with profits

Do not simply spend your profits like so many others. Re-investment into other real assets takes discipline, means jam tomorrow rather than today, but will ultimately make you a lot wealthier if you have planned correctly.

Understand what an asset is

Many people buy things which are not assets, and yet they will list them as such. For example, people will often list a car or property as an asset, whereas in fact most cars are expensive liabilities, and most properties with mortgages are liabilities!

Advice

It is essential to have professional advisers assist you, rather than friends or family who are more likely to encourage you blindly and tell you what you want to hear. Advisers will make you question yourself – you may not agree with their musing entirely, but it is highly unlikely you will not benefit from it and you will learn a lot.

Nothing is free

Nothing, absolutely nothing in business is free. Not the bank account, lunch bought for you, trade, etc. Everyone is doing something for a purpose, and that includes newspapers with ‘free’ articles. Did they get paid to feature that free article?

Cash is KING

Cash, as the old adage goes, is king, and nowhere is that more true than for the day-to-day operations of a business. If you have insufficient cash to pay a bill/invoice/salary you are INSOLVENT. Therefore, you should always hold a reserve (and not a credit card that you are using to pay bills until you have the cash!)

Managing cash flow is THE crucial part of a business. Never lose track of cash. Cash flow should be aligned with the business forecast, with a spreadsheet that details all the money coming in and going out. It is vital to have a good working relationship with your bank and to keep them fully informed as you may arrange an overdraft if appropriate.

Overdraft and borrowing

If a problem is temporary; then use a pre-arranged overdraft facility to tide you over, never credit cards or borrowing from peter to pay Paul, a certain recipe for disaster. If it suits your business, it may be better to improve cash flow by increasing gross margins; either increase the selling price of an item, generating additional cash flow, or decrease stock on products with poor gross margins.

Credit Checks

Run credit checks on your suppliers or clients; many people fail to do this which we believe is a foolish economy. Agencies such as Experian and Equifax charge a nominal fee of around £30 per credit check, which could actually save thousands of pounds, and has done so for us.

Business plan

Let an adviser examine your investment proposition, and expose any lazy assumptions, knowledge gaps or unrealistic projections.

Evaluate your abilities

Not you, let someone else do it. As per ‘Advice’ do not rely on friends or family. If you have existing work colleagues you probably already know some of the answers, but do you want to listen to their criticism!? Finally, do not believe you can do it yourself.

Create a scaleable business to interest investors

If you want investors (and not the bank) then you must make your project scaleable. Think of attending a course to assist you, for example, Gateway 2 Investment (G2I), a programme led by private-sector firms but partly funded with public money through the London Development Agency.

Get good people round you

Nothing else to add to that, other than to work with the wrong people out of some false loyalty ends up damaging all of you in the end. You can be ruthless without being either rude or illegal. You have to work with people and often they are aware if it is not going they way it is meant to be; therefore we just suggest honesty!

Use experience

What is the point of re-inventing the wheel. It costs time (and usually money) and time is also money. Obtain help from advisers, they may appear expensive but they will ultimately save you time and money.

Proceed cautiously

You will undoubtedly want to get going and no-one should take that enthusiasm away from you, but work within your means and your budget, stay disciplined and focused.

Do it well or not at all & expect hard work

This speaks for itself. Always plan for the worst and double check what you are saying! Nothing in business is simple. If it looks to good to be true, if the deal is large, if someone promises you the earth, then be sanguine until you see the evidence (usually in cash).