Top tips for avoiding a date with an insolvency expert

Jun 21 2007 By John Pennie, The Journal

Insolvency expert John Pennie sets out ten top tips to avoid having to meet him officially.

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One peculiarity of the English legal system is that it requires a person to hold a licence to be in charge of a car while not imposing any such restriction if they want to be in charge of a company. My top tips are:

1) Treat financial projections with care. Always look at the "worst case scenario" and see if your business can afford it.

2) Grow slowly and carefully rather than rush for growth; being busy does not equate to being profitable.

3) Employees generally cost you more than anything else. Choose them wisely and treat them well.

4) Take decisions that make sense - do not just respond to the first person who flatters you by offering you "a great deal".

5) Read the small print. If you do that, you will be in the top 5%. Knowledge is power.

6) You only have to be 10% better than your competitors to shine brightly.

7) Get advice from the right people at the right time.

8) Never let an accountant give you legal advice and never let a lawyer look after your books.

9) Ask a salesperson if they are receiving commission from any sale. Be wary of flattery.

10) Avoid complications, keep things simple. Keep an eye on the boring bits.

Finally, a lot of the successful business people I've met modestly reflect that they have no idea how they managed to make so much money. Perhaps they are just the ones who know how to seize an opportunity when it comes their way.

• John Pennie is an insolvency partner at Dickinson Dees LLP.