Tim Bauer: The Decision

Tim Bauer

Welcome to my first blog for insideARM.

This past July, the collection agency I ran — Integrity Solution Services, Inc. (ISS) — was sold.  The sale put me in a position where I had to make a decision about my future. I was too young and immature to retire. My golf game only gets worse the more I play. I knew I had to go back to work.

The ARM industry has changed dramatically in the past 5 years.  It is certainly not the industry that I initially joined years ago. Most of the changes are for the better, but some are not. The business is definitely more complex and difficult.

I gave serious thought to doing something completely different.  I even taunted my wife that I was going to open a Cigar store. But in the end, I just couldn’t leave an industry that I grew up with and allowed me to meet and work with terrific people over the years.

My decision is slightly less newsworthy than that of a certain professional basketball player when he jumped from a city in Ohio to the glamour of South Beach. ESPN is not televising the announcement. There will be no coverage on any talk radio program. Twitter will be silent. More likely, other than my immediate family, there will be a collective yawn. Still, here it is:

I am taking my talents to insideARM.

I am joining Stephanie Eidelman’s team at insideARM. My new teammates are recognizable industry names such as Stephanie, Patrick Lunsford and Mike Bevel, plus a behind-the-scenes staff that is truly outstanding.

When Stephanie first approached me about joining insideARM, I was immediately interested. I thought I knew what insideARM did.  I knew that insideARM is already the premier source of information and educational material for the ARM industry.  But even I was surprised to learn the depth and breadth of the company’s products.

From the robust website (www.insidearm.com) to the daily insideARM newsletter to the webinars, seminars and conferences, the company provides anyone affiliated with the ARM industry with critical news and information. Stephanie and her team have already built the foundation for further enhancements to the company’s product offerings.  I just hope that I can help bring these enhancements to fruition.

One area of focus for 2015 is new and different conferences and seminars.  From speaking with my peers over the last several years, I know that there is a high level of interest in smaller more interactive conferences where people can speak face-to-face with peers and have meaningful best practice discussions. insideARM is responding to those desires. The following are just a couple of examples.

• In April 2015, insideARM will host the Third Annual Larger Market Participant Summit. This event brings together senior executives in the ARM industry for serious interactive discussions regarding critical issues impacting the industry. Oddly enough, it was the first Larger Market Participant conference, two years ago, where I first met Stephanie. I threw a minor temper tantrum at the conference when I felt we were not moving quickly enough to the substantive issues facing the industry.   After Stephanie sent me to another room for a “Time Out,” we had a very positive discussion on what people were looking to get out of these conferences.

• Also in Q2  2015, insideARM will host its second Creditor-Collector conference. This event brings together leaders from both credit grantors and collectors for in-depth discussion of common challenges. The first conference was held in November 2014.  Participants at the event praised the meeting as one of the most positive conference experiences ever.  The second event promises to be even better.

Another area of industry need is a destination for compliance professionals from both creditor and collector organizations, from senior executives to managers. Again, insideARM is responding.

In the coming weeks, insideARM will launch the Compliance Professionals Forum (CPF).  Be on the lookout for the announcement and launch of the website.  The CPF will be focused on individuals working in the compliance arena.  It will provide opportunities for peer interaction among this group that constantly faces new challenges and often feels isolated. The format will include smaller regional meetings, webinars, and conference calls, among other resources on specific compliance topics.

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of insideARM. My only complaint is that I was forced to get a current picture to attach to this blog. (I hate getting my picture taken.) But Stephanie wouldn’t let me use my High School graduation portrait.

Please look for future blog entries from me.