Focus and Keep It Simple in the Factoring Business

As much as I hate to admit it, I was never a fan of multi-tasking. Not in the factoring business or any industry.

Unfortunately in today’s texting, video conferencing, blogging and emailing business world you sometimes have no choice.

Do you too find it annoying when you’re talking to someone and they have their head down looking at their mobile phone acting like they’re listening to you?

In a past life when I was working as an executive for a publicly traded company, my typical day consisted of meetings, conference calls, and emails followed up with more meetings. I can remember many nights coming home and wondering what I actually accomplished that day. Some people call this success where I have a slightly different point of view.

Focus on Your Factoring Company Mission

When we first started our factoring company I made a vow that everyone in our company would be on the same page by following our mission which was,

“To Provide Immediate Cash Flow Solutions to Small Businesses with an Unsurpassed Level of Customer Service”.

We all agreed that our mission statement clearly defined our organization, why it existed and its reason for being. More importantly, the mission statement gave us focus.

Keeping the Factoring Business Simple

What initially drew me into the factoring industry was the simplicity of the transaction. Unlike a loan, a factoring transaction refers to an arrangement whereby a factor purchases an account(s) receivable from a business at a discount for a product or service that is completed, delivered, and accepted by their customer. This is about as straightforward of an industry there is.

Now many of you who are in the factoring business either as a broker or direct funder know there is a little more to a transaction than just giving money to anyone who hands you an invoice. We can always talk about the technical things like factoring agreements, notice of assignments and verifications which are all very important. However, at the end of the day, the basic concept is very easy to understand.

Finally, the best way to stay focused on what you do is to just say no. How many of you have received calls from a prospect or broker talking about a transaction that just didn’t make any sense? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to someone looking for funding and they had the most difficult time explaining their business model. My position has always been to walk away from a deal if a prospect cannot explain what they do and how they are paid in less than a minute.

Keep your factoring business simple and focused. As the great director George Lucas once said, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”

Don D’Ambrosio is the president of Oxygen Funding, Inc., an invoice factoring company located in Lake Forest, California.

For more information, he can be reached at don.dambrosio@oxygenfunding.com or you can visit his company’s website at www.oxygenfunding.com