Earlier this month, Aaron Petrou was jailed was three years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to defraud through a two scams involving land banking and carbon credits. Using the false name of Giles Beaumont to sell Carbon Credits (under the guise of ‘Green Investments’), Petrou netted a £1.7m from almost 70 people. According to […]
Several years ago, I was approached with a ‘niche’ investment opportunity promising great returns. The sales pitch was assembled and presented well, but something didn’t sit right with me – I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to get my money back if I needed it. At the time, a friend of mine was examining
Several years ago, I came to the conclusion that anyone with serious money was unlikely to have the majority of it tied up in bonds and savings accounts available on the high-street. After all, those with above average wealth are unlikely to be handling their wealth in the same manner as the average investor –
Several weeks ago, I was commissioned on the build of a new website for a client. Their existing site is huge, spanning multiple service offerings, but with extraordinarily variable copy. As one would expect, the largest segment of the business has well-developed case studies and brochures, with glossy pictures and video content, but the smaller
Having a background in business and marketing, I’m occasionally approached by friends and colleagues looking to get my input on new ventures they’re thinking of pursuing. Sometimes, these ventures are well-thought out, original and are simply in need of a sounding board and someone willing to spend the time to make them work. Sadly, others
Attempting to conduct a negotiation over the phone is never an ideal scenario. Whenever I’m negotiating face-to-face with someone, I’ve got more control of the situation – I’ve usually got a team with me and can physically see the other side of the negotiation to gauge their responses and reactions to my suggestions. When I’m
How to level the playing field when conducting negotiations via phone Read More »
I once used to work with a chap who was a consummate salesman. Everyone’s best friend, he knew people all over the country; all over the world in fact. No matter what the problem was, he ‘knew a guy’ who could help fix it. This colleague would come out of the boss’s office with an
Those of you that follow me on social media might have noticed a few patterns over the last twelve months as I tried various tactics to grow my following. Some of these have been more successful than others, so I decided to carry out a quick review of the plan to determine whether I’m likely
Reading a lot of personal finance and investing material, I get the distinct impression that there are a class of investors out there who are looking for the ‘secret’ to investing success. These are the people who might not be earning a fortune. The ones who might save £100 a month. The ones who watch
When I first started renting, I was asked to provide a ‘guarantor’ of security before my landlord would take me on as a tenant. Being young and lacking experience, I called a relative, got their agreement to use them and then thought no more about it. Essentially, I was offering a ‘guarantee’ that if I
I’m a big advocate of investing in entrepreneurs. I’ve written time and time again that when done well, private investments can produce returns which far outperform regular market instruments. In my mind; it’s a no brainer. Banks, advisers, accountants, financiers; they all want their cut – but dealing directly with an entrepreneur removes these added
A few weeks ago, I was engaged in an email chain with one of my readers who asked me whether I thought he should be using his paycheque to pay down debts or to invest in income-producing assets. This sort of sent alarm bells ringing for me, as I’m clearly not a financial advisor, so
Reader Question: Should I pay down debts or should I invest my money? Read More »
Once again, Greece is back in the news following a fallout between European governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over how to handle the on-going bailout of the country. According to the IMF, Greece needs to be cut a bit of slack on its punitive debt repayment schedule before more funds are released. According
Earlier this year, I published an article on this blog about Donald Trump and his election to the American Presidency. A few weeks have gone by and, rather predictably, the world seems to have gotten ever more hysterical about his election. The first week of his Presidency saw global protests, the firing of the Attorney
I’ve been responsible for multiple freelancers in my career. Some were engaged directly by me, others were engaged by the company I worked for, but all reported directly to me. I’ve often heard people singing the virtues of hiring freelancers – they’re cheaper, they’re experts, they’re dedicated. In some situations, hiring freelancers makes total sense,
