Who is Patrick Holford?He is a popular nutrition expert. He is British and is best known for his numerous nutrition books, with The Optimum Nutrition Bible being his most well-known book.He is also well-known for creating the Insitute of Optimum Nutrition, from which he retired in 1998.Is he a nutrition expert?Patrick Holford originally obtained a degree in experimental psychology. He was particularly interested in the development of mental health issues. He became aware of Dr Pfeiffer and Dr Hoffer, both of whom claimed to successfully treat various mental health issues using nutritional therapy.This sparked an interest in nutritional therapy within him, and a few years after his graduation, he founded the Institute of Optimum Nutrition. Here, he researched nutritional approaches to assisting depression, schizophrenia, ADHD and eating disorders.The Institute of Optimum Nutrition grew and began offering training events and even qualifications for other people to study there and qualify as nutritional therapists. The ION is now one of the most well-respected membership organisations for nutritional therapists and produces regular magazines for practitioners and the public.Food For The Brain FoundationPatrick Holford has maintained his strong interest in mental health issues and the combination of these issues with nutritional therapy.He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Food For The Brain Foundation, which promotes the use of nutritional therapy to support mental health.British Association for Nutritional Therapy (BANT)He is a Fellow of the British Association for Nutritional Therapy (BANT). This organisation is a membership and regulatory body for nutritional therapists.CriticismLike any practitioner at the edge of developing new and often controversial ideas, he has share of critics.His philosophy can be boiled down to the idea that, through optimum nutrition, we are more able to deal with the problems and challenges our body may face.While this may be a philosophy that is criticised by some people, it is neither an unusual nor new idea. Indeed, if we glance through a history book from any world civilization, we will quickly stumble across an old belief that a particular herb or plant was beneficial for health.Books by Patrick HolfordHe is the author or co-author of over 30 books, including the very popular titles below:The Optimum Nutrition Bible
Optimum Nutrition for the Mind
Optimum Nutrition for Your Child
100% Health
Say No To Diabetes
500 Health and Nutrition Questions AnsweredHere is a full list of all books by Patrick Holford.
Is Patrick Holford Really A Nutrition Expert?
Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?
There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.
In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.
But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.
Different Types of Financing
One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.
Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.
But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.
Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.
Alternative Financing Solutions
But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:
1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.
2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.
3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.
In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:
It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.
A Precious Commodity
Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).
Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.
Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?
Can Temporary Log Cabin Buildings Address the Urgent Need for Space in Educational Establishments?
Stephen Twigg, the shadow education secretary, called on George Osborne, the chancellor, to address this “urgent crisis” in his budget. He predicts that pupils will have to be taught in temporary buildings because schools will soon run out of space. In an article in The Guardian, Twigg claimed that, over the next few years, the government has promised to fund only an extra 100 schools. These are likely to be free schools – one of the coalition’s education reforms.
Official figures show the number of primary age children in the capital is set to soar from 595,000 to 701,000 over the next three to four years, raising the spectre of children having to be taught in school halls, hired buildings and temporary mobile classrooms. Education Secretary Michael Gove hit back by blaming Labour for the crisis, saying that warnings were ignored by the last government until it was too late to avert the problem. Several education authorities are already looking at emergency school accommodation.
Consider if the typical example of a temporary classroom is still an acceptable alternative to a purpose build, or custom designed classroom, ICT suite, canteen, sports pavilion or outdoor education centre? If the cost of hiring a temporary log classroom over five years was equivalent to owning outright a classroom that was designed to meet the key needs of your school, we have to ask if this could be considered a better use of the limited funds being given to schools to cope with the ever expanding needs for extra teaching space.
Log cabins are not only a great solution economically, but also environmentally. When considering the Carbon Footprint of your building, wood is both environmentally friendly, energy efficient and performs better than ‘traditional’ build structures. Wood is a natural material that is both beautiful and tactile and is therefore the first choice for all seasons. It’s insulation qualities ensure that heating and air conditioning costs are kept to a minimum, which makes it the ideal material for many types of school buildings. For example, some Log cabins have been independently certified and have exceeded the minimum U-values which can be proven to save schools between 30 – 40% on heating, lighting and cooling.
In the present era where saving energy and being as space and cost effective as possible is of paramount importance log cabins can provide the ideal solution to a problem of ever growing concern.