First off, do you know what assets you have? This means both long-term assets (fixed assets) and short-term assets (current assets). The fixed assets are the ones it would take you a while to turn into cash and the current assets are the ones easily converted into readies. Have you listed them? If not, do so now. I’ll wait.

Back already? Got your list? I hope it has some of the following on it:

• property
• land
• motor vehicles
• pension funds
• cash
• goodwill
• works of art, antiques etc.
• investments
• money owed
• furniture and other possessions
• patents
• stocks and bonds
• intellectual properties.

If you have a business it may also include things like:

• stock
• work in progress
• raw materials
• plant and machinery
• equipment
• trade marks
• mailing lists.

Once you start writing them down as a list you begin to see endless possibilities for using assets to make more money. Basically the advice is:

• Don’t let an asset sit idle – if you own property, rent it out. And I don’t just mean buy-to-let. Some enterprising people have rented garages or small bits of land they don’t use in areas where there isn’t enough parking for commuters and so on. Think laterally and don’t discount anything!
• No asset is beautiful unless it is working for you – it has to be accumulating, increasing in value, to be worth keeping.
• Never leave cash sitting around – it tends to get bored and wander off. Make it work.