So was Woolworths. Carillion. Thomas Cook. BHS. Wilko. The Body Shop. ISG.
Every one of them was a going concern, right up until it was not. And when it went, it did not just take the business. It took the suppliers who relied on it. It took the people it was owed money to. And in the end, it took the mortgage, the home, and the family depending on it.
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The truth nobody tells a company director
School fees, mortgage, food. All still due. The business does not care that it is the one that sank.
Because right now, in calm water, your business feels solid. So did every name above, a year before it happened. The only difference between them and you is whether you read this before the wave arrives, or after.
No theory. No spreadsheet you will never open again. No consultant's jargon. One book, in plain English, read in the bath tonight, acted on this weekend. Written the way Mark would say it to you across a table — because that is exactly what he has done, three thousand times over.
The one thing worth knowing before anything else
The quiet voice that says "this does not apply to me" does more damage than any recession. Mark Smillie has spent forty years sitting across the table from more than 3,000 company directors. Every one of them, a year before disaster struck, would have told you their business was solid too.
And here is the part most directors never hear. You do not need an MBA to fix it. You need about twenty minutes and this book. Most directors already have a lifeboat sitting right under their nose and have never once seen it for what it is. It costs about the same as a decent dinner to put in the water. Mark shows you exactly where to look — and how it makes your business stronger while the water is still calm.
The water is rising for everyone right now. The businesses that come through are not the lucky ones. They are the ones who got ready while things still looked fine.
Inside, in plain English
How to spot the warning signs in your own business, months before they become a crisis
Where the real money in your business is actually hiding, and how to get at it
How to build your lifeboat while things are good, and you still have the headspace to do it properly
The personal guarantee you signed without realising what it meant, and the handful of other traps that catch directors out under pressure
Who to trust when it hits, and which advisors are quietly working against you
How to protect the one asset everything else depends on: your own mind
A plain-English glossary for the letters that arrive when things go wrong, and what your real options actually are
The captains who carry a lifeboat are not the nervous ones. They are the ones who have seen rough water and know exactly what the sea can do.
Mark knows what the wave feels like
Properties across Spain. A chateau in France. A palace in Granada. The firm arranging the flotation said it would be one of the easiest of the year. Then Northern Rock collapsed — and took everything with it.
My wife was in our local pub one day, and she heard someone say that Mark had gone from being the richest man in the village to the poorest. That moment changed everything.
He rebuilt. And he decided he would spend the rest of his career making sure other directors never had to go through what he went through. Forty years and more than three thousand directors later, this book is the result of that decision.
I wish someone had handed me this book thirty years ago. I genuinely do.
Mark Smillie
Forty years alongside UK company directors. Founder of Ringrose Business Finance. Works on results only — no hourly fees, no retainers. Lives in Eastbourne with his wife Claire and their dog Gus.
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What an interesting and easy read. Mark must be an expert in giving knowledge in a few words. This book makes you aware that even if you have a successful company problems can still arise — and after reading it you're much better armoured to see a possible problem in advance and solve it. A must read for small to medium size business.
★★★★★ "Knowledgeable" · Hardcover
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A very useful advice book full of red flags that anyone running a business should recognise, written by someone who has obviously been there in person and as an advisor. Recognising these red flags and seeking early advice can possibly prevent business failure.
★★★★★ "Red flags all directors should know" · Kindle
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Heard about this book and bought the Kindle version yesterday. Absolutely loving it and read through to chapter 9 at first read. Really useful for anyone who owns a business. I love the concept of a lifeboat and wish I'd had the comfort of one when running my own business.
★★★★★ "Great read for business owners" · Kindle
Included with the book
Not a course. Not a glossy programme full of theory. A practical resource centre for the issues directors actually deal with every week — sales, collecting what you're owed, protecting margins, leading under pressure, and the conversations you cannot have with anyone else.
No credit card. No card details. No small print.
Buy the book to discover your FREE discount code.
And if you do not think it was worth a hundred times what you paid for it, tell Mark, and he will refund you in full. No questions asked.
— Mark Smillie
Build your lifeboat before you need it.