January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

Ralf Bieler Co-Founder, President, CEO Cash Flow Exclusive, LLC

My 2 Cents on… The New Year

hile there is a good chance that I

would easily bore everyone to

death with all those great New Year’s

resolutions I will have probably broken by

March anyway, I’d rather want to share with

you instead a real gem from way-back-

when that I stumbled upon while perusing

our Cash Flow Exclusive crypt during the

holidays.

What is this gem? Well, it is an interview I

did in December 2009 with one of my all-

time favorite cash flow people whom I’m not

only proud to call a long-time friend (and

short-term business partner) but who has

also been a great inspiration for me and for

quite a few other small-ticket factors as

well. In fact, he is a small ticket factoring

industry icon and – perhaps more

importantly – a real ‘mensch’ with a great

story and one of the most unusual cash

flow career paths I have ever come across.

So, without further ado, enjoy the interview

and be prepared to be inspired!

THE INTERVIEW

Jeff Callender is President of Dash Point

Financial and Dash Point Publishing in

Tacoma, Washington. He also provides

FactorFox software and has authored and

self-published numerous books, e-books,

articles, and resources for consultants and

smaller factors. He holds a BA in Sociology

from Whittier College in Whittier, CA and an

MDiv from Pacific School of Religion in

Berkeley, CA. But between his scholastic

education and current business ventures

lies a road paved with some rather unusual

– if not unique – experiences.

WWW

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

Ralf Bieler, President & CEO of Cash Flow

Exclusive, LLC, had a chance to talk with

Mr. Callender about his extraordinary life

and career development. Read on to find

how he came to be the successful cash

flow entrepreneur and small ticket factoring

icon he is today.

CFE: Jeff, you have one of the most

fascinating and diverse backgrounds of

all small ticket factors I have ever

known. Why don’t you give us a taste

and take us back to 1972, when you

traveled around Europe and India right

after your graduation from college. I

would imagine that after your

“theoretical” education in sociology,

this trip probably provided you with

some great “real life” education. What

did you learn from this trip and does this

learning still affect the way you do

things today?

Callender: Traveling alone with a

backpack across two continents for seven

months at the age of 22 taught me basic

self-preservation skills. I had to take care of

myself if I got lost, hurt, sick, or robbed (all

of which happened). So I learned self-

reliance, not to take unnecessary risks, to

take care of myself physically, to ask for

directions when needed, and to be frugal

with money. The longer it held out the

longer my travels lasted.

Being in the midst of so many different

countries, cultures, religions, and

languages, I came to see what we have in

common as a human race: family, laughter,

awareness of something greater than

ourselves, hunger, fear, and a (usually

culturally influenced) sense of right and

wrong.

Absolutely this experience affects me

today. First, the survival skills and self-

reliance I learned are required to run a

factoring business. Second, it molded my

outlook on life and how to deal with people.

Since we all share the same basic human

experiences, emotions, and needs, my

associations with factoring clients,

colleagues, and others is about more than

just money and the bottom line. It’s about

relationships, doing something good in the

world, helping people in various ways, and

making the world a better place. If my life is

only about making money then I haven’t

accomplished anything sincerely worthwhile

during my time here. I realize this truth

more and more the older I get.

CFE: While many people might consider

“getting serious” and getting a job after

such an amount of theoretical and

practical education, you did not. What

happened, and what did you do for the

next few years after you returned from

India in February 1973?

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

Callender: When I came home, my life was

wide open: “Now what?” I needed some

income to get started, and a summer job as

a horse wrangler became available at a

camp I where I had been a cabin counselor

during summers in college. I knew nothing

about horses but learned on the job. I’ve

enjoyed these beautiful creatures ever

since, though never wanted one for myself

after plenty of shovel duty that summer.

At the end of camp, I experienced a very

difficult personal loss. My former high

school sweetheart was murdered, and as I

was staying at her parents’ home on my

days off (my parents had moved out of

state). I was right in the middle of

everything in her death’s aftermath – the

family’s loss, funeral preparations, handling

the media (her family was prominent in the

area), and dealing with my own sudden

grief. It was an unexpected and devastating

turn in my life that changed everything.

I had to come to grips with the deepest

questions of life and death, why we’re on

this earth, and why such horrible things

happen. I was flailing about for answers,

and turned to my faith, which needed a lot

more foundation than it had then. So I

decided to go to seminary to search for the

answers. I didn’t go with the intention of

becoming a pastor, but to see what the

Bible and Christianity and other religions

had to say about what I was struggling with.

After a year of seminary I felt led to enter

the pastorate, so I completed my three-year

Master of Divinity degree and went through

the “trials of ordination” (as my

denomination so aptly calls it) to become a

minister. It certainly was not a calling I had

anticipated most of my life, but now I had a

“Rev.” in front of my name.

CFE: This additional education was the

starting point for what many might see

as the most unique and unusual period

and experience in the life of a successful

entrepreneur-to-be in the cash flow

business. What did Jeff Callender do for

the next fifteen years between 1977 and

1992?

Callender: I served three churches in

Washington State. My kids were born and

growing up, and the responsibilities of the

parish were quite demanding. What I had

learned about human nature and tragedy

and life and death were certainly put to use

on a regular basis. I did plenty of weddings

and funerals and classes and sermons and

weekly worship services and everything a

pastor does.

But after 10 years or so, I began to get

fidgety. I didn’t like all the long days and

working many nights and especially endless

meetings that seemed to accomplish little. I

didn’t like living in a fish bowl and having to

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

go to meetings instead of staying home with

my family.

I also had my share of difficult people to

deal with, and the last church was

especially trying. That congregation wasn’t

a good match theologically and my way of

thinking and looking at issues didn’t fit

there. It became clear this wasn’t the place

for me, and after some pretty unpleasant

experiences (a few church people can be

remarkably uncharitable I learned), I

realized I could serve God and help others

outside the parish, and probably be a lot

happier.

CFE: Jeff, you seem to possess this

relatively rare talent of deriving valuable

learning from almost everything you do

and applying it to whatever you decide

to do next. So, what did you learn from

this chapter of your life and how did it

affect what followed during 1993?

Callender: Getting divorced as it were from

the church – and my career of 14 years –

and what had become my identity as a

pastor – took a lot of adjusting. I could do

worthwhile work after resigning from my

church job. Yet this left me to figure out

what to do with my life (again) at the age of

42.

CFE: We’re getting to the point that may

describe one of the biggest chasms in

your career. How did you finally get from

“preaching to prospecting” so to speak?

In other words, what made you get into

the cash flow business and start buying

small receivables in 1994 after having

spent about a decade and one half as a

man of the cloth?

Callender: I’ve jokingly described the move

as going from “preaching to fleecing”. But

seriously, after I left the church I spent

about a year trying a couple different small

businesses that went nowhere. In the fall of

1993, I received a postcard from the

International Factoring Institute inviting me

to attend a free seminar to learn about

something called factoring. I literally had

nothing to lose and attended; my interest

was piqued.

I learned most business owners are sorely

in need of improved cash flow, and that

factoring can solve this for many. I had

never heard of factoring before but realized

this need was true, and was interested. I

heard the testimonials of business owners

saying how grateful they were for this

service, and the hook was set. I completed

the week-long training in January 1994,

prepared to become an independent

factoring broker.

I worked the business hard for the next

several months but experienced more

failure than success as a broker. I kept

finding very small deals that were too little

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

for most factors, and became frustrated

these businesses – which truly needed

improved cash flow and would be good

clients with good paying customers – didn’t

qualify for factoring.

Finally, after one too many turn-downs the

light bulb blinked on: “I’ll fund this myself!”

Why not? I didn’t have much money

compared to most factors, but I had enough

to fund a few very small deals. I had seen

enough paperwork to have the gumption to

do it myself. So I started looking for and

funding very small clients and my life as a

small factor began.

CFE: While early forms of factoring can

be traced back to ancient times and

large companies have used it as a

means of financing for many years, it is

probably fair to say that you have pretty

much “pioneered” small-ticket factoring

for “the little guy” – as you so aptly call

it –here in the US. In fact, you even

wrote and published your first book

“Factoring Small Receivables” in 1995.

So, since you started buying small

receivables in 1994, you had probably

built it into quite a successful business

for yourself over the next five years. Yet,

in 1999, you changed course again.

What happened, and what did you take

away from that experience?

Callender: As my business grew, I funded

more and more clients, making my share of

mistakes along the way, learning from each

one. I took on a partner to gain more

working capital and the business continued

to expand. However, I made the fatal error

of becoming quite over-concentrated in one

client who unfortunately defrauded us big

time. Since the bulk of our money was in

this client, when he went down he took us

with him. Even though my book was selling

well, I was mortified by the failure and left

the industry for a while to regroup.

CFE: OK, so you really did what every

self-respecting, successful entrepreneur

does after graduating from the school of

hard knocks. You got right up, dusted

yourself off, and started a new venture.

Now, what was that about and how did

that work for you?

Callender: I opened a franchise sign shop

and soon learned first-hand the value and

benefit of factoring. I was able to self-factor

some of my own invoices and came to

appreciate how factoring works from both

sides of the table. However, the business

model of this franchise didn’t work for me,

though I tried so hard and put in many long

hours. But after seeing the writing on the

wall, I closed the shop, realizing it would

take too long and too much money to make

it work.

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

Licking my wounds yet again, I did what

most people do after failing in business: I

got a job. I still had factoring contacts in the

area and one led me to a large national

factor with an office nearby where I was

hired as an account executive. AEs

manage clients’ accounts, handling the

invoices, verifications, advances, and

rebates on a daily basis. I managed a

portfolio of larger accounts and learned how

a big factor’s operation works from the

inside out. It furthered my factoring

education considerably.

However, after about a year and a half I

received another dose of corporate

education I didn’t see coming. One day I

came to work as usual and was called into

the manager’s office with four other

workers. We were handed our two-week

severance checks and told to take our

things and “go home now”. A few months

later most of the others were let go as the

location changed from an operations center

to a sales office, with only a couple people

remaining.

But for me, I was now 50 years old, laid off,

and facing the “what now?” question yet

again. I asked myself, “Who will hire me at

this age? And do I really want to work for

someone else and risk getting laid off

again?” Could I really handle that?

CFE: Oh boy… It sounds like the ‘90s

alone equipped you with more

experience and education than many

people will normally accumulate in their

entire life. So, what was next on your list

of “things to do in the new millennium”?

Callender: You’re right. I wasn’t a bit sorry

to see the ‘90s end after leaving the church,

experiencing business failures, and getting

laid off. I welcomed the new millennium with

open arms. Once again I had to figure out

what to do next…for the third time in my

life.

CFE: So, what was your learning from

that experience and how has it helped

you with your current companies Dash

Point Financial and Dash Point

Publishing you started in 2001?

Callender: I again learned self-reliance. No

one’s really going to look out for me but me,

and I quickly decided I was done working

for someone else. I was determined to get it

right this time, so I took the time to observe,

to think, to study, and to plan. The Internet

was now in full bloom and held great

opportunity for entrepreneurs. I learned

about multiple streams of income, how to

create web sites and build a web-based

business, and how to write books and

market them online. I also realized I still

enjoyed factoring and how it helps small

businesses.

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

I very intentionally started Dash Point

Financial with specific parameters for

acceptable industries and concentration

limits. I laid out plans for writing a series of

books about factoring that would benefit

those interested in being small factors. I

created Dash Point Publishing as a means

of publishing, marketing, and distributing

these products. In the process, I created my

persona as an industry expert, and the two

businesses have complemented each other

exceptionally well. I’m happy to say that

after so many failures in the past, what I’m

doing now has worked and the success is

extremely gratifying.

CFE: In fact, between 2001 and 2005 you

wrote and self-published five more

books in the “Small Factor” series

followed by four “Top Ten” e-books. Yet

this still isn’t the whole story. When I

brought you on board as a full partner

and CEO of Factor Solutions, LLC in

2003, we set out to develop “BluBeagle”

factoring and business management

software for smaller factors and

factoring brokers. And when I got out of

our software development business

about two years later and left the

business in your capable hands, you

kept at it and, in 2006, turned

“BluBeagle” into “FactorFox”.

Now it’s 2010 and you are still going

strong. This leads me to the questions

on the subject matter of our theme for

this month: As none of us is getting any

younger, what are your thoughts on

retirement? Is there even such a thing as

retirement in the cash flow industry?

Does one retire the same way one retires

from a corporate job? And how will Jeff

Callender retire from the cash flow

industry, if he ever chooses to do so?

Callender: At age 59 – and seeing my

peers beginning to retire – I sometimes

think about it myself. However, I have no

plans to retire in the sense of not working

any more. I think of retirement more as just

slowing down a bit, delegating more, yet

still being active and productive and

contributing. Playing golf or puttering in the

yard every day would bore me to tears.

Quite honestly, I feel like I’ve been semi-

retired for the past several years already.

While I work my business every day and

always have plenty to do, not driving daily

to and from a job taking orders from

someone, has considerably lowered my

stress level. I’m not in a rat race I want to

retire from. I left that long ago and have

been doing what I enjoy every day for quite

some time now. Why stop doing something

you enjoy just because you reach a certain

age? That makes no sense.

I don’t see myself completely getting out of

my cash flow businesses. As time goes by,

January 2014

Cash Flow Exclusive / January 2014

I will probably delegate my business tasks

more and more. My work continues to be to

help others grow their businesses, put food

on the table for clients and their employees,

and provide needed products and services

to their communities. This kind of service

has been what my working life’s been about

for a long time, and I don’t see any reason

to stop. It’s what I’m here for and what

gives me a sense of purpose, fulfillment,

enjoyment, and satisfaction.

CFE: What advice would you offer to

cash flow consultants and fellow small

ticket factors that will help make their

business more successful? Or should

they just throw in the towel… and retire?

Callender: I am a living example that

success comes after failure (in my case,

many failures!). Don’t give up easily; keep

trying, but be smart about it. Figure out

what is needed to succeed – observe, think,

plan, and learn from your mistakes. Don’t

just dive headlong into a business and hope

for the best.

While you need to be profitable in business

to keep it going, when life is over it’s not

about the money. It’s about what you’ve

done to make others’ lives, and your family

members’ lives, and your life, better.

Hopefully your cash flow business gives

you a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment; if

it does, chances are good that retiring from

it isn’t something you think much about.

After all…why retire from what you enjoy?

Well, I hope you found Jeff’s story and take on life and business as inspiring and motivating as

I did when I first heard it. And if nothing else, I’m sure it will give you enough food for thought to

come up with some great New Year’s resolutions for yourself.

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the holidays, had a peaceful Christmas together with your

loved ones, and got off to a great start into a healthy and prosperous 2014.

To your success,

Ralf Bieler Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer Cash Flow Exclusive, LLC Ralf@CashFlowExclusive.com