A little respect
Twin Cities Business Monthly
By Margaret Kaeter

Tiff Worley knew there had to be a better way for individuals to deal with financial problems. "Friends told me how excruciating the experience could be," he says. "These were intelligent, successful business people who'd made a few mistakes with money, but they had to sit in an office with someone in their early 20s who would patronize them and make them feel like they were applying for welfare. I felt there should be a way to help people in financial trouble while reaffirming their value as individuals."

In 1989, Worley took that philosophy and started laying the groundwork for a new type of financial management service. He also took his marketing background and experience starting a medical products company, combined t with research, and two years later, Metropolitan Financial Management saw its first clients.

Back then, Worley was the only employee, working out of a one-room office in Roseville. Today the business has 14 locations in 11 states and more than 70 employees. Perhaps the most telling statistic, however, is this one: Fully 90 percent of all people seeking debt/repayment counseling services in Minnesota choose Metropolitan over all other credit counseling agencies combined, according to the Minnesota Commerce Department. "We get about one-fourth of our new business through referrals," says Jim Keen, the company's director of operations. "That doesn't happen unless you do something right."

One such element might be the training as financial and personal counselors that Metropolitan employees undergo. "It takes a lot for people to call us: they have to admit they have a problem," says Keen. "Many have considered bankruptcy but that doesn't solve the problem. We help them understand how to budget and live on a cash basis while working with their creditors to lower their interest rates, monthly payments, and fees. Our recidivism rate is nearly zero; once they work with us, they stay out of debt."

Perhaps the most important factor, however, is that the firm takes a financial stake in each client's success. While it costs about $300 to get a client started on the program - to contact creditors, fill out paperwork, hold client meetings, etc. - Metropolitan charges only $25 upfront and amortizes the rest over the first nine months that the client is on the payback program. These first nine months are the most critical; if the client drops out of the program, it usually happens then.

Worley says dropping out isn't common, however, as fewer than 2 percent of his clients drop out. The industry average is closer to 7 percent. "When people feel good about themselves," he says, "they'll pay back debt. That benefits business as well as other consumers."