Billhighway Nonprofit Financial Management Solutions

Guest blog post written by Ken Wohl, former collegiate Greek member and co-founder of Open Connection Media in Berkley, Mich.

During my sophomore year at Michigan State University, I decided to run for treasurer at my fraternity.  My best friend was running for President so together we decided to spearhead the challenge of getting our local fraternity out of debt.  From the outside in, the position seemed like a fun experience; however, I quickly realized that wasn’t the case.  They may have called the position “Treasurer” but the more proper term would have been “Collections”. I found myself constantly chasing current and past fraternity brothers around for dues and late fees.  As stressful and challenging as that year was, I learned several important things that I still reference today while I build and manage my company.

Top 3 Things I Learned From “Collecting”

3.  It takes a long time to build a good reputation but only seconds to destroy one.

When I became treasurer aka “collector”, I was only a sophomore in college.  Usually this position was held by upperclassman because of their ability to garner younger member’s attention and respect.  I decided that I would need to build a strict and firm reputation within my fraternity house if I was going to succeed in my role.  After several months of never backing down or letting brothers cut corners, I had achieved the reputation I was seeking.  I unfortunately took that for granted and let a couple members get by on late payments.  It took no time for my reputation to crumble after that.  Instantly brothers expected that I would be lenient with them too.

Lesson Learned: Reputation means a lot and it’s a never ending job to maintain.

2.  Building relationships is everything

It would be easy to assume that I already had a strong relationship with the people I was collecting from since we were all in the same fraternity, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.  Our fraternity house had over 100 active members and I still had to deal with another 50 non-active or graduated members who owed dues.  What I learned after some time was that building a strong relationship with the people I was collecting from meant everything.  When trying to get someone to do something for you (especially give you money), they’re more likely to comply and not write you off if they consider you a valuable friend.  Building these relationships not only made my job easier but it also led to a lot of great friendships that I might not have made.

Lesson learned: If you’re willing to go out of your way for someone, more often than not, they’ll go out of their way for you.

1.  Money and friends mix like oil and vinegar

The most important lesson I learned from my experience as treasurer (aka “collector”) was that friends and money simply don’t mix.  We usually go to our friends first when we find ourselves in a bind (even ones that include money) because we trust them most.  This however, creates a problem because money will instantly put trust to a whole new test.  I was fortunate enough to not burn too many friendships during my time in position but to say that I went the whole year friction free would be a stretch.

Lesson learned:  Avoid mixing money issues with friendships at all costs.  It puts your relationship to a whole new test….one that you may not be prepared to handle.

Having a system to organize your finances that can take the “personal” out of the business is highly recommended. Be open to new ideas, they may just make your life a little bit easier.

Ken Wohl is co-founder and managing partner of Open Connection Media, an online brand management agency that specializes in inbound marketing.  He can be reached at @KenWohl on Twitter or Kwohl@OpenConnectionMedia.com by email.

Photo credit: andrewgriffithsblog.com