About the author:

Ian McIntosh

After leaving the Royal Air Force I then qualified as a heavy duty mechanic (Diesel mechanic) advancing my studies to gain my M.I.A.M.E., A.M.S.A.E. AND A.S.A.E. (USA). I have been in business since 1976 when I started work as a rail road contractor in Port Hedland, Western Australia before going into the marine sector; where I specialised in marine engineering, building boats, aluminium welding and fabrication. For the next 20 years I built aluminium boats from 17 feet to 165 feet, including Fire Boats, Patrol Boats, and Rig Tender Vessels through to a Wave Piercing Catamaran ferry of 140 feet.

I have travelled the world in my business, working in the UK, USA, UAE, RSA, Iran, Tanzania, Turkey and Malaysia. I have gained experience in many sectors outside of my preferred business activities as a result or having to make a dollar. I’ve been up and down and had to do whatever it takes.

As for business, I have made some serious errors of judgement in my day that has seen me go from over a million dollars to zero overnight and then crawl my way slowly back over the following years. More recently I have been involved in the housing sector as a contractor and building manager for new homes.

During these past 12 years I have been amazed at the number of people who go into business without a plan or model of any kind. Contractors have also shocked me with the admission that they never planned, did not understand business principles, did not know how to calculate their own hourly rate, in fact they lived and worked day to day relying on cash flow.

Many shop owners have also admitted that they did not plan to any extent because they did not know how to. Furthermore, they were not conversant with how to discount stock and still remain profitable, with many just guessing a discount and hoping for the best. Again, totally reliant on cash flow!

These reckless  business practises are what prompted me to decide on writing these 2 eBooks; written in layman’s terms and without the clinical and authoritative approach so often taken by accountants and academics when writing on this subject. I have based many of the experiences listed in these eBooks on my own experience and those of my associates. Of course I am older and wiser now and am totally sold on business modelling and planning. With the luxury of hindsight, I can now see where I could have saved myself countless dollars and problems had I known what I know now. This experience is what I have tried to impart in writing these eBooks in the hope that you as the reader will benefit in your endeavours.
All the best.

Ian McIntosh.