Nick Jarman recently took the bold leap of leaving the collection agency he helped start to launch his own consulting firm, RightAway Consulting & Coaching. One of the most well-known and well-respected members of the industry, he took time out from building his new empire to share some details about him and how he got here. If he’s on your Christmas gift list this season, you’ll definitely want to read on for some ideas about what to buy.
Name: Nick Jarman
Company: RightAway, LLC
Length of time at current company: 1 month
Length of time in industry: 17 years
How did you get your start in the industry? Growing up as a kid I always dreamed of one day being a debt collector and while few individuals actually get to live out their childhood dreams, the passion I had to make it into the collection industry never wavered and here I am. Stepping back into reality, when I started in college I needed a job and knew several friends that worked at a collection agency and were making good money so I applied and the rest is history.
What is your career highlight so far? By far it was starting Delta Outsource Group, Inc. organically and building it from the ground up. There is no greater pleasure than seeing a plan come together and with all of the odds stacked against us for so many various reasons we found a way to not just survive, but thrive.
Which industry professional do you admire most? Melvin Powell. When I first got my start in collections as a young man, the organization I was with Central Credit Services, Inc. paired me up with Melvin and have him serve as a mentor to me. At the time he was very resistant and not favorable of the idea, but over time I grew on him. For the first five years in this industry he taught me everything I needed to know when he didn’t have to do so. Over the last two decades our relationship became very close, resembling more of a father/son than friend relationship. I am forever grateful and indebted to him.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else? Apply my passion and relentlessness in everything that I do.
When or how are you most productive? I find myself to be most productive in everything that I do. What I do professionally is such as large part of who I am personally I can never just be half in. If I am doing something it will get 100% of my attention and effort.
What do you like most about this industry? Is that we serve a purpose and what we do as an industry is vital to the health of our credit based economy. Also, turning difficult circumstances into positive experiences is a huge motivator as well.
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry? Hindsight is always 20/20 and what I wish could be changed would be something that transpired way before my time which would be that decades ago the debt collection industry would have taken a proactive stance to tell it’s story and define its own narrative. Because that didn’t happen, the industry’s story and narrative was told by consumers, consumer groups, and regulators which is why debt collectors have such a negative public perception today. It is critical that continue to get the value of what we do and the truth about who we are out there all of the time, not just for days, but weeks, months, years, and decades to come.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing? I was always torn between politics and sports marketing, so it would have been in one of those industries.
Describe a typical work day. Now that I have started RightAway, LLC. I am able to control my day the way I want which is such a blessing. So now a typical day starts off arising around 5:30am to get a few minutes of peace and quiet before helping get my three daughters ready for school and out the door. Once the girls are off to school I spend thirty minutes reading my Bible in order to get my day started off right. From there each day brings new tasks, projects, and phone calls based on which consulting projects I am working which I love because no day is the same. I spend at least part of my lunch time reading some type of leadership, motivational, or mindset book ensuring I continue to feed my mind with the type of information that will allow me to grow. Then it is back at it in the afternoon finishing up ongoing tasks, projects, and phone calls. My wife keeps me grounded so once the girls get home from school the focus is on the family and then once they get settled down for the evening later on I will finish up any outstanding items.
What is your guilty pleasure? This will certainly come across as lame, but drinking Pibb Xtra and Sweet Tea. I suffer from kidney stones and both of those drinks are highly discouraged but for some reason I have found it very difficult to give them up. I have increased my water intake that I hope offsets it a little bit.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? You can’t control everything so be sure to give the best effort you can give and be the best version of yourself you can be and everything else will take care of itself.
What are you currently reading? The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you? That this industry is stuck with me for better or worse 🙂
