Relationships and other complications
Jon Richardson, a famous UK comedian, once said “all relationships end, either one of you leaves or one of you dies” and that is true in business too. But sometimes the relationship can outlive...
The double-edged sword of subcontracting
With the boom in construction we as a nation have been experiencing during the last few years we have seen a proliferation of tradespeople who have taken the opportunity to jump from employment to...
The price for deception
We have all heard the saying, I wouldn’t do this or that for a million dollars. In my experience this is seldom true, save for the physically impossible or morally extreme behaviour.
After 13 years...
The carrot vs the stick
There has long been a debate in business regarding the carrot and the stick, as in what works better – an incentive to behave properly, or a disincentive to misbehave. When it comes to...
The pros of sending debt out for collection
My wife and I often have the same discussion about fixing things around the house. She wants me to embrace DIY, and I want to bring in a professional to do these tasks, which...
Breaking the politeness barrier
Manners are very important in conveying mutual respect. In the professional world, they can make the difference between success and failure. But sometimes the need to be polite and non-offensive can be very costly.
I...
Beware of ‘bad credit’ loans
In the responsible lending code (June 2017) it is suggested that one role of a responsible lender is to “assess whether a borrower will make repayments without substantial hardship, the lender should conduct more...
Stick to your knitting or pass on the needles
I’ve recently seen a few things that other advisors could really learn from.
I have learned that in 11 years of providing debt collection and debt prevention systems to my clients in the Bay of...
The dangers of the social media car yard
In my role as a private investigator specialising in fraud and financial recoveries, I have noticed two alarming developments – a new scam targeted at recent immigrants, and some dodgy deals aimed at vulnerable...
To guarantee credit or not
Without doubt, one of the most contentious and litigated issues in credit management these days is the practice of obtaining and providing personal guarantees.
We have just seen a large construction company personal guarantee case...
A year in reflection
By all accounts this past year has not been a typical one for anyone in NZ and that is certainly no different in the industries I work in. I thought I would take this...
How do you know who to believe?
This last month has been a revelation to me in two different ways. Firstly, I have seen multiple businesses fall victim to a repeat credit offender who has been allegedly defrauding many businesses for...
How to improve recovering your receivables
New Zealand has a large number of self-employed people who have overnight had their income reduced drastically, while their fixed costs of business and life have largely stayed the same.
This has been coupled with...
All flash and no cash
In my 13 years in the credit management and investigations industries I have noticed many behaviour traits that I see as counter-intuitive, but they keep presenting time and time again. One such trait is...
The power of passion
Have you ever been to the store to buy something and been greeted by a sour-faced auto-bot? You want to yell at them, “just leave your job if you hate it so much”.
You want...
Emotions do not improve business communication
In my time in the debt collection and dispute mediation industry I have had many instances where we step into a dispute that has been literally raging for 12 months with personal insults and...
How to avoid or get out of debt
One of the things that have really helped me in my role as a debt advisor, debt prevention advisor and especially a repossession company director, is that I genuinely understand debtors, debt collector avoidance...
Be scared – or be prepared
Billy Connolly once said “there is no such thing as bad weather, only a bad choice of clothes”. While that’s a typical Connolly quip, I think it rings true in a lot of situations,...
Enabling can be disabling
After nearly 15 years in credit management and almost six in the repossession industry I have noticed a few trends. One of these is that people will not learn from the consequences of their...
Some people just won’t hear your advice, no matter what
One of the most frustrating things about being a professional business advisor is when you are paid to give expert advice to clients that you genuinely care about, only to watch them do the...